IMPORTANT: THIS TEXT FILE IS TO REMAIN UNALTERED IF YOU WISH TO PUT IT ON YOUR SITE. Gameboy Manual Mario's Picross Released: 1995 Game Code: DMG-APCP-AUS Written by: Ben Kosmina Email: kosy@alphalink.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 1 [front cover] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 2 Original Nintendo Seal of Quality This seal is your assurance that Nintendo has reviewed this product and that is has met our standards for excellence in workmanship, reliability and entertainment value. Always look for this seal when buying games and accessories to ensure complete compatability with your Nintendo Product. TM & (R) ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO CO., LTD. (C)1995 NINTENDO CO., LTD *(C) 1995 NINTENDO, APE INC., JUPITER CO., LTD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 3 Thank you for selecting the M A R I O' S P I C R O S S Game Pak for the Nintendo Game Boy unit. Please read this instruction booklet thoroughly to ensure maximum enjoyment of your new game. Then save this book for future reference. CONTENTS Basic Controller Functions..................4 What is Picross?............................6 EASY PICROSS and PICROSS....................9 TIME TRIAL.................................11 HOW TO SAVE YOUR DATA......................12 Hints for playing PICROSS..................13 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 Basic Controller Functions The controller functions for "Mario's Picross" are very easy to master. For game playing instructions, please select the "HOW TO PLAY" option on the main menu screen. For further assistance, answer "YES" to the "WITH HINT" option at the beginning of each puzzle. Control Pad: * Select Menu Item * Move The Cursor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 5 Start: * Save and Quit. You can save the game, you can quit or you can change the Background Music. B Button: * Cancel Menu Option * Place or Remove An "X". Mark a square with an "X" when you think it should be left blank. | | | | | -+-+-+-+-+- | |X|X| | -+-+-+-+-+- | | | | | A Button: * Activate Menu Option * Scrape or Clear A Square. Scrape the squares you think should be coloured in. | | | | | -+-+-+-+-+- | |#|#| | -+-+-+-+-+- | | | | | If your guess is incorrect, then time will be deducted and the square will remain blank. # +-+ > | | X +-+ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 6 What is Picross? * Picross (Pick-Ross) is a puzzle game. Use the numbers as clues so you can scrape the correct squares and reveal the hidden picture. | | |1| | | |2|3|1|1|1| <-Vertical clues. |1|1|1|3|2| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ 4 | | | | | | ----+-+-+-+-+-+ 2 | | | | |X| <- An "X" Mark. ----+-+-+-+-+-+ 5 | | | | |#| <- A Scraped Square. ----+-+-+-+-+-+ 2 | | | | | | <- A square. ----+-+-+-+-+-+ 4 | | | | | | <- This puzzle has a 5x5. field. ----+-+-+-+-+-+ /\ || Horizontal Clues * The clues above are read from top-to-bottom. The clues to the left of the rows are read from left-to-right. Each individual number tells you how many consecutive squares need to be scraped. If there is more than one -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 7 one number, then there will be at least one blank square between each of the scraped areas. * If you have figured out that a square should not be scraped, then mark it with an "X". Doing this can be crucial to your solving puzzles. For example, a "5" means you need to scrape 5 consecutive squares. Also, the "1", "3" means you need to scrape 1 square, leave at least 1 square blank, and then scrape 3 consecutive squares. | |3| |1| | For the very top-right |1| |1| |1| | |1| |3| | clue, it is read "1", "2". |2| |2| |2| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ Because it only gives you +-+ +-+ +-+ | |#| |#| | 4 squares of information |#| |#| |X| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ (3 scraped and 1 blank) it +-+ +-+ +-+ | |#| |X| | can fit into the 5 squares |X| |X| |#| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ in multiple ways. +-+ +-+ +-+ 5 |#|#|#|#|#| |#| |X| |X| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ | |X| |#| | |#| |#| |#| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ | |#| |#| | |X| |#| |#| ----+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 8 What is Picross? (continues) * When you have scraped all the squares that are supposed to be scraped, the hidden, mystery picture will be revealed. If your time runs out, then your game is over. * If you scrape an incorrect square, your remaining time will be reduced. The first mistake will cost you 2 minutes, the second 4 minutes, and all other mistakes will cost you 8 minutes each. Incorrectly placed "x"s do not cost you any time. No matter how difficult the puzzles are, you CAN solve them logically with the given clue numbers. You do not need to rely on your intuition in order to figure out which squares to scrape and which to mark with an "X". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 9 EASY PICROSS and PICROSS EASY PICROSS offers you 5x5 square puzzles and 10x10 square puzzles. There are a total of 64 problems. PICROSS contains 2 courses; KINOKO [which is Japanese for Mushroom] and STAR. Each of these courses contain a 15x15 monster. The STAR course is only accesible after you have completed the KINOKO course. In the SELECT A PROBLEM Screen, you may choose any puzzle (including ones you have previously solved,) by moving the cursor to them and pressing the "A" Button. The puzzles get slightly harder with each level, with level 1 being the easiest and 8 being the most difficult. Before starting each puzzle, you will be given the option to play "WITH HINT" or not. This option will give you the solution to one vertical column and one horizontal row before you begin the puzzle. Press the "A" Button once to stop the top cursor, and once again to stop the left cursor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 10 EASY PICROSS and PICROSS (continued) [picture of the "Select a Problem" screen"] * Displays the time remaining when you solved this puzzle for the first time. * An "H" next to the time indicates that the hint option was used in the solving of the puzzle. * This number shows how many times you have attempted this puzzle. You may try each puzzle as many times as you wish. * Displays your best time for this puzzle. * When you solve a puzzle, a check mark will [be] displayed in its box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 11 TIME TRIAL Once you have solved every puzzle in the STAR course, you will be able to access the Menu Item entitled "TIME TRIAL", which has a few new twists. * There is no "WITH HINT" option. * There is no time limit. Take as long as you want with each puzzle. * Your mistakes will not be noted by the computer. You will not be penalized and you will not know that you have made a mistake. * Different puzzles will be presented each time. Please enjoy all the new puzzles! Try to join the rankings by solving the problems as quickly as you can!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 12 HOW TO SAVE YOUR DATA There are 3 data files for saving your progress. The data will be saved automatically. To save your data in the middle of a game, simply press the "START" Button. This will pause the game, and you may select the SAVE option, and then select "YES". The game data will be saved and you may continue your game. To erase all the saved files, press "SELECT" and left on the Control Pad as you turn on the game on. Choose "OK" and press the "A" Button. To simply erase only one of the saved files, select the file you wish to erase on the Data Select screen, and press the "A", "B" and "SELECT" Buttons simultaneously. The message "ERASE OK?" will appear. Press the "A" Button to confirm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 13 Hints for playing PICROSS -HINT 1- If you know that a square should be left blank, mark it with an "X" before you forget. By doing so, you add more information and can gradually determine which squares should be scraped. -HINT 2- The more squares you manage to scrape successfully, and the more "X"s you mark off, the more information you will have to help compare against the other clues. -HINT 3- Try and solve the rows with the rows and columns that have the largest number of squares to be scraped. For example, a "15" means all the squares must be scraped, while a "0" means that all the squares must be left blank! -----+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 15 |#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#| -----+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -----+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 0 |X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X| -----+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 14 Hints for playing PICROSS (continued) -HINT 4- If the clue is "4, 1, 2", and you determine the placement of the 4 scraped squares, then you also know that all squares to the left of the 4 are blank, as is the first square after the 4 scraped ones. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |#|#|#|#| | | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-* |X|#|#|#|#|X| | | | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ -HINT 5- If the clue has multiple numbers, always add one square for each space between the numbers when totaling the number of squares. If this total is equal to the number of squares in the field, then you know exactly how to solve that line. The clue is "7,7", this means 7+1+7=15. It must, therefore have only 1 solution: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |#|#|#|#|#|#|#|X|#|#|#|#|#|#|#| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The clue is "1, 2, 4, 3, 1", the row must look like this: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |#|X|#|#|X|#|#|#|#|X|#|#|#|X|#| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 15 -HINT 6- Work on the lines with large clue numbers first. If the clue number is larger than half of the field size, you can scrape part of it in. For example, the clue is "13". You must scrape 13 of the 15 squares, meaning you can scrape the centre most 11. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ This is because there are only 3 ways to scrape 13 of the 15 squares. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#|#| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |_____________________| So logically, the middle 11 must be scraped! Additionally, for the clues "10" and "8", you can determine the following using the same technique: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ [10] | | | | | |#|#|#|#|#| | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ [8] | | | | | | | |#| | | | | | | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 16 Hints for playing PICROSS (continued) -HINT 6 (continued)- Let us switch gears and try something more difficult. Take the clue "6,6", what do we know for sure? First let me give you the answer: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |#|#|#|#| | | |#|#|#|#| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ We can figure the answer out using the same technique. This time there are 6 possibilities: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |#|#|#|#|#|#| |#|#|#|#|#|#| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |#|#|#|#|#|#| | |#|#|#|#|#|#| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |#|#|#|#|#|#| | | |#|#|#|#|#|#| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |#|#|#|#|#|#| |#|#|#|#|#|#| | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | |#|#|#|#|#|#| | |#|#|#|#|#|#| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |#|#|#|#|#|#| |#|#|#|#|#|#| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |_______| |_______| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 17 Which shows you must scrape the following squares: +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | | |#|#|#|#| | | |#|#|#|#| | | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "This was a difficult one wasn't it?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 18 Hints for playing PICROSS (continued) -HINT 7- Once the edge squares have been determined, some parts of the corresponding clues become automatic. For example, look at the problem below: [This problem is too big to draw, but you should get the idea by now.. ^_^] If these squares have been determined... || \/ Then you can scrape in the first part of most of the clues on the left side, as shown. This is why it is important to always ask yourself, "Can I solve the edges first?" Consider yourself lucky if the "WITH HINT" option reveals an edge or two! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All names and characters are copyright and TM their respective owners. This is NOT to be used as a permanent manual. This text file is only to be used for temporary situations where you may have lost your manual. If you need a new manual, please contact your game supplier or Nintendo and they will supply you with a new one. Quote the game code at the top of this text file when ordering your manual. This text file was taken from: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~kosy/