Where can I buy puzzles and puzzle games or software?

[ Editor: announcements posted to rec.puzzles in 1996; the addresses
date from then. ]

[ Editor: 3D puzzles. ]

Check out our web page or Email us for a complete listing of our 3D
puzzles all prices below retail!  Our web site now has (hopefully) full
color pictures of each 3D Puzzle we currently have in stock.

Email:        matrixe@frontier.net
WWW:        http://www.frontier.net/~matrixe
        Select Matrix Games, followed by 3D puzzles for a complete listing.

-- Matrix Enterprises <matrixe@frontier.net>, March 1996

[ Editor: MUSE. ]

MUSE, a great puzzle game for Win95/Win311.  Check it out, download
it!  http://www.bznet.com/muse

-- Jeff Baker <jbaker@bznet.com>, June 1996

[ Editor: CRYPTOSOLVE, a cryptogram solver. ]

New shareware cryptogram solver uses an expert system approach to
provide hints for solving cryptograms.  You type in the cryptogram.

You can ask for 3 types of hints:

PATTERNS       This looks for words that have patterns of repeated
               letters like PEOPLE, COMMITTEE, etc

RULES          This fills in partially solved words using rules like
               _HA_=THAT

POSSIBILITIES  Click a word and see possible solutions, ranked by
               probability

You can also let the program try to solve the entire puzzle
automatically using a statistical method.  While it can't solve every
puzzle, it works surprisingly well.

You also get to make new rules.  When a word is stunningly obvious to
you, but the program doesn't get it, add new rules and make the program
smarter.

The expert system rules are based on English language quotations (from
the Celebrity Cypher in my hometown newspaper).

"Challenger" type cryptograms that use uncommon words are pretty much
immune to the approach used in this program, so don't be surprised if
it doesn't work for them.

CRYPTOSOLVE is available to download from:

http://www.cdrom.com/pub/games/win/puzzles/csolve.zip

This is a windows program.  Unzip it and then run SETUP from program
manager.

-- James A. Parsly <jparsly@usit.net>, April 1996

[ Editor: for cryptogram web sites see references/web.sites. ]

[ Editor: word search puzzle software. ]

Castle Oaks Computer Services has several products relating to
puzzles.  Two are of particular interest to puzzle makers/solvers.  See
the attachment for more details.  Or you can can view the web page:

http://mineral.galleries.com/castoaks/homepage.htm

Or contact:
Castle Oaks Computer Services
P. O. Box 36082
Indianapolis, IN 46236-0082
(317) 823-6366

[ Editor: the attachment, "wordpuz.doc", is not in the collected
copy. ]

-- Robert Lafara <rlafara@in.net>, August 1995

[ Editor: 3D puzzles, a later announcement. ]

Come and see the world through 3D Puzzles!  Our web page now features
PICTURES OF EACH PUZZLE we have available!!  3D Puzzles are three
dimensional structures, each of a historic place, which have been cut
into puzzle-type pieces.  These pieces are made of a sturdy foam with
the picture on the outside, so when each structure is completed, the
building stands sturdy due to the foam pieces.

3D Puzzles are loads of fun, especially for those who enjoy regular
puzzles, and are challenging as well.  On the average, it takes at
least 3 times as long to do a 3D puzzle, as it does a flat puzzle of
the same piece size.

Check out our web site at:  http://www.frontier.net/~matrixe/matrixgames.htm

We have pictures available on the web of each of the puzzles we
currently have in stock.  If you do not have web access, email us at
matrixe@frontier.net for a complete listing.

-- Matrix Enterprises <matrixe@frontier.net>, June 1996

[ Editor: The Mega Book of Crosswords (announcement of January 1997;
the address dates from then). ]

The Mega Book Of Crosswords
A collection of 400 mind stretching puzzles imported from the pages of
England's Yorkshire Post.

The above mentioned book is now on sale in the entertainment section of:
http://www.bedfordgrp.com/bedford/entert.htm

**Delivery time is less than 10 days for orders shipped within the
continental US.**

British Books In America? Blimey!  http://www.bedfordgrp.com/bedford

-- Bedford Group <bedfordgp@aol.com>, January 1997

[ Editor: the attachment "wordpuz.doc" to Robert Lafara's August 1995
announcement of the Castle Oaks Computer Services products (above),
recovered from a separate copy in the collection.  The prices and
address date from 1995. ]

HINTHUNT - (a word search puzzle generator with a twist)

is a program to create word search puzzles.  Its name is derived from
its capability to make puzzles where the puzzle contains one set of
words and the provided word list contains a set of hints corresponding
to the words in the puzzle.  This program was originally created to
provide language teachers with the capability to make puzzles to be
used for vocabulary drills.  A teacher can put the vocabulary words in
one language in the puzzle and the corresponding words in a different
language in the list of hints.  Because a hint may contain up to 60
characters and any character can be used, puzzles can be made as
teaching aids in any discipline.

You can make ordinary puzzles where the words in the puzzle are the
same as those in the list of hints.  (e.g. spelling words)

Another feature is that you can make not only standard puzzles where
words are entered in eight different directions, you can make simpler
puzzles for use with new readers and the learning disabled.

Registration fee is $15.00.

Here is a sample puzzle:

                   HINT-HUNT (TM) Version 3.3
                         Copyright 1994
                  Castle Oaks Computer Services
                      Post Office Box 36082
                   Indianapolis, IN 46236-0082

                CONJUGATION OF SOME COMMON VERBS

                    L N B J W Y H O R M A G
                    J J O M E O F C D A H I
                    A J D C A U I Y T T H J
                    O Q E E R A Y E H T S T
                    H M M R E R L E E A Q H
                    G R N O E E Y I W X E V
                    E R E W E W E I A I E M
                    V B O V E D U W S M Q T
                    K I U R L Z E O E N N Y
                    F X E J O Y P T Y I V G
                    S J C B I Z S B P D P B
                    O E N Q E V W B S K Q Z

Here is the list of hints.  Find the corresponding words in the
puzzle.

* Present tense, first person, singular of the verb, to be *
* Present tense, second person, singular of the verb, to be *
* Present tense, third person, singular of the verb, to be *
* Present tense, first person, plural of the verb, to be *
* Present tense, third person, plural of the verb, to be *
* Past tense, first person, singular of the verb, to be *
* Past tense, second person, singular of the verb, to be *
* Past tense, third person, singular of the verb, to be *
* Past tense, first person, plural of the verb, to be *
* Past tense, third person, plural of the verb, to be *

[ Editor: no answer key was included. ]

WORDFIND -

a system to help solve word puzzles such as crosswords, cryptograms,
crostics, etc.  It consists of a vocabulary of over 100,000 words and
a program to search that vocabulary for words that match a template
that the user specifies.  Suppose that you have the clue 'riddles' and
you know the second, fourth, and seventh letters are 'N', 'G', and 'S'
respectively.  You then enter the template:

   ?N?G??S

and the program returns these words that fit the template:

   ENIGMAS KNIGHTS ONAGERS

Wordfind includes a special feature that is useful in solving
cryptograms.  The wild cards '-', '+', and '=' are reserved to
indicate duplicate but unknown letters.  The wild card, '~' means that
letters in these positions are not to match any other letters in the
word.  Suppose you have the encrypted word:

   ABCBCDAEFGB

The template:

   -+=+=~-~~~+

means to find all words where the 1st and 7th letters are the same,
the 2nd, 4th, and 11th letters are the same, the 3rd and 5th letters
are the same, and no other letters are to match any other letters in
the word.  WORDFIND will return 'REMEMBRANCE', the only word that fits
that template.

WORDFIND has several other features, including one that unscrambles
anagrams.  Registration fee for WORDFIND is $15.00.

Utilities are provided for modifying the vocabulary or for creating
additional vocabularies.  Also, three auxiliary vocabularies of
additional words and phrases are available at a cost of $15.00 each.
They are:

Set A - Extra words with unusual spelling (174,629 entries)
Set B - Seven families (136,503 entries)
        Expressions
        U. S. Places
        U. K. Places
        All the words in the New Testament
        All the words in the Old Testament
        Armament terms
        Cities
Set C - Seven families (167,559 entries)
        Latin words
        German words
        Spanish words
        French words
        Italian words
        Terms from the Jewish tradition
        Literary terms

-- Castle Oaks Computer Services