




M*A*T*H
CIRCUS

User's Guide




Copyright  Steve Luckett, Bruce Mitchell and David Smith, 
1993, 1996.

First published in 1993 by Greygum Software, Ashgrove, 
Queensland, Australia.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be 
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, 
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, 
recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or 
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the 
publisher.

M*A*T*H CIRCUS is distributed in the United States of 
America by Power Industries, Inc., 37 Walnut Street, 
Wellesley Hills, MA  02181. User support is available by 
calling 800 395-5009.









** OVERVIEW **

M*A*T*H CIRCUS is a collection of puzzles based on the 
theme of a circus. The puzzles are "mathematical" in that 
they require reasoning, but they are better described as 
problem-solving activities, designed to stimulate the user 
and to provoke clear thinking in an enjoyable and 
challenging manner. There are twelve puzzles, each with 
five levels of difficulty. Together, these address a wide 
range of ages and abilities.

M*A*T*H CIRCUS provides challenging and thought-
provoking entertainment for all ages. The lowest levels of 
many of the puzzles are suitable for the youngest members 
of the family - even those at pre-reading ages. Most 
puzzles have very little text. The youngest users might 
need help from an older person to read any text and 
explain the concept of the puzzle. However, once they 
grasp the intent of each puzzle, they will be able to meet 
the challenge. The middle levels generally require more 
persistence and the development of a strategy, while 
everyone - including adults - should find the top levels 
of some of the puzzles quite tricky.

Older children and parents should avoid giving too much 
help to younger users. Help them to read any text and to 
understand what each puzzle is about, but let them work 
out the solutions for themselves. Remember that it might 
take younger children some time to work out what appears 
obvious to an older person.

There is no one correct solution to each puzzle. It is up to 
the user to explore and to work out a suitable approach. If 
you are not sure what to do, guess. Solutions are found 
through trial and error - even if it requires more error than 
trial!


** GETTING STARTED **

INSTALLATION

DOS  (If You Are Not Running Windows)

1. Place the M*A*T*H CIRCUS disk in the disk drive.
2. At the DOS prompt, type A:\INSTALL (or replace A 
with the letter that signifies the disk drive in which you 
placed the M*A*T*H CIRCUS disk) and press ENTER. 
3. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen and 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS will be installed successfully.

Windows

1. Place the M*A*T*H CIRCUS disk in the disk drive.
2. Start Windows if it is not already running.
3. Select Run from the File menu.
4. Type A:\INSTALL in the Command Line box (or replace 
A with the letter that signifies the disk drive in which you 
placed the M*A*T*H CIRCUS disk) and press ENTER.
5. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen and 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS will be installed successfully.

Creating a Windows Icon for M*A*T*H CIRCUS

The software installation automatically creates the 
directory C:\CIRCUS in which to store M*A*T*H CIRCUS 
- unless you specify otherwise. If you choose another 
directory or drive, replace C:\CIRCUS in these instructions 
with the appropriate information.
1. With the Program Manager window active, click on the 
group in which you want the M*A*T*H CIRCUS icon to 
appear. For example, you might choose the Games group.
2. Select New from the File menu, click on Program Item, 
and click on OK.
3. Fill in the dialog box that appears with the following 
information (pressing TAB rather than ENTER at the end 
of each line):
	Description:		Math Circus
	Command Line:		Circus
	Working Directory:	C:\CIRCUS
4. Now click on the button labeled Change Icon. You will 
see a message saying that no icons are available. Ignore 
this and click on OK.
5. A Change Icon dialog box will appear. In the box labeled 
File Name, type C:\CIRCUS\CIRCUS.ICO.
6. Click on OK. An icon of a circus tent will appear.
7. Click on OK to leave the Change Icon dialog box, and 
again on OK to return to the Program Manager window.
8. Double-click on the program group in which M*A*T*H 
CIRCUS is installed and you should find the circus icon.
9. Double-click on this icon to launch M*A*T*H CIRCUS.

REGISTRATION

When you start M*A*T*H CIRCUS for the first time, a 
screen will appear asking you to register the software by 
typing in your name. You will need to do this only once - 
the registration screen will not appear again.


** LAUNCHING M*A*T*H CIRCUS **

HOW TO START THE SOFTWARE

DOS  Without Windows

To run M*A*T*H CIRCUS from a floppy disk:
1. At the DOS prompt, type A: and press ENTER (or 
replace A with the letter that signifies the disk drive in 
which you placed the M*A*T*H CIRCUS disk).
2. At the A:\> prompt, type CIRCUS and press ENTER.
3. M*A*T*H CIRCUS will start.
To run M*A*T*H CIRCUS from a hard drive:
1. Type C: and ENTER at the DOS prompt, then CD 
CIRCUS and ENTER to change to the directory in which 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS was installed. 
2. Type CIRCUS at the C:\CIRCUS> prompt and press 
ENTER.
3. M*A*T*H CIRCUS will start.
If M*A*T*H CIRCUS was installed in a different 
directory, replace the directory name CIRCUS in these 
instructions with the name of the directory in which 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS was installed.

With Windows

To launch the software from Windows, double-click on 
the M*A*T*H CIRCUS icon. Use the instructions above 
to create a Windows icon for M*A*T*H CIRCUS.

HOW TO DRIVE THE SOFTWARE

Every screen has a number of choices available. Each is 
shown in a rectangular box that contains some text or an 
icon. The user chooses the required one, using a mouse or 
the keyboard. If you experience difficulty, see the section 
below on Troubleshooting to solve any problems.

Using a Mouse

This is the normal navigation method. Move the mouse 
until the pointer highlights the required choice, then click 
the left-hand mouse button. If your mouse has two or 
three buttons, you can click the right-hand mouse button 
to step through the choices instead of moving the mouse.

Using the DOS Keyboard

You can use the SPACE BAR to step through the 
available choices, pressing ENTER when the required 
choice is highlighted. Note that the pointer will appear 
even if you are not using a mouse.

Driving Each Puzzle

At the top of each puzzle screen is a bar containing 
various icons. The gauge shows the level of difficulty. 
The five dots indicate the five levels of difficulty, and also 
indicate whether or not each level has been solved - a 
green dot if it has, a red dot if success is elusive. Click on 
the arrows on each side of the gauge to select the level 
you want to attempt. Click on the check-mark icon to start 
the puzzle, and click on the circus-tent icon to return to the 
puzzle menu.

Quitting

You should quit M*A*T*H CIRCUS by returning to the 
main menu and selecting Quit. However, if for some reason 
you wish to quit immediately, this can be achieved by 
typing CTRL-C or CTRL-Q.


** THE MAIN MENU **

INSTRUCTIONS

Click on "Instructions" to receive a brief description of 
how to operate M*A*T*H CIRCUS using a mouse or the 
keyboard. The icons that appear at the top of each puzzle 
are also explained.

START M*A*T*H CIRCUS

Click on "Start Math Circus" to try any of the puzzles. 
Another menu will appear with the following four items.

Start a New Circus

This option allows your progress to be saved when you 
want to quit M*A*T*H CIRCUS. It enables you to 
continue from the same point the next time you play, 
providing a record of the level you have reached in each 
puzzle. Up to fourteen circuses can be saved - enough 
for most families!

When you start a new circus, you will be asked to type in 
your name. Next, choose the puzzle you want to attempt to 
solve. There is also an option allowing you to check your 
progress, so you can see which levels you have solved at 
any time. Each time you successfully solve a puzzle, your 
achievement is recorded.

Continue a Saved Circus

Choose this to resume a saved circus. The names of all 
saved but incomplete circuses will be displayed. Click on 
the one you want or select it and press ENTER.

Just Practice

This option allows you to attempt any of the puzzles 
without having to save your progress. Many of the 
puzzles have a random renewal so that each level will be 
slightly different each time it is selected.

Do not select this option if you intend to quit M*A*T*H 
CIRCUS to work out a puzzle on paper. Invariably, when 
you restart the program and go to put your customized 
solution into practice, the puzzle will be different. It's best 
to start a new circus in the first place, and then return to 
that circus when you want to apply your solution.

Cancel

Clicking on this option returns you to the main menu.

SOUND MENU

There are two kinds of sound used in M*A*T*H CIRCUS. 
The first is the introductory music that plays when the 
program is launched. The second comprises the sound 
effects that accompany each puzzle. The Sound Menu 
allows each type of sound to be turned on or off.

There is also an option in the Sound Menu to use Sound 
Blaster. Turning on Sound Blaster will improve the sound 
and music quality of M*A*T*H CIRCUS if you have a 
Sound Blaster card. If you turn on the option and the 
computer does not have a card or the necessary driver, an 
error message will appear. If you do have a Sound Blaster 
card and it doesn't work when the option is turned on, 
follow the advice in the Troubleshooting section below.

DELETE SAVED CIRCUSES

Use this option to delete any one or all saved circuses. 
The program allows for fourteen saved circuses. Once the 
limit is reached, you will have to delete some if you want 
to save others.

QUIT

Select this option when you want to leave M*A*T*H 
CIRCUS.


** TROUBLESHOOTING **

MOUSE DOES NOT WORK

Remember that you do not need a mouse to operate 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS. If you find that your mouse works 
properly in Windows but does not work when you launch 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS, then you do not have a suitable 
mouse driver installed on your computer. Even though 
your mouse works successfully in Windows, you may not 
have a mouse driver suitable for operating in a DOS 
environment. Windows uses its own mouse driver, but a 
separate driver is needed to use a mouse with non-
Windows programs such as M*A*T*H CIRCUS. This is 
the case even if M*A*T*H CIRCUS is launched from 
within Windows.

When your computer was set up, a mouse driver would 
have been installed and your AUTOEXEC.BAT or 
CONFIG.SYS file should contain an entry that starts up 
the mouse driver when your computer is turned on. Your 
mouse should have been supplied with a disk that 
contains all its possible drivers - and instructions for 
their installation. Use it to install the driver that runs your 
mouse for non-Windows programs.

If you do not have the disk, contact your computer dealer 
and ask for a mouse driver that allows the mouse to 
operate outside Windows.

SOUND BLASTER DOES NOT WORK
 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS supports Sound Blaster, provided 
that suitable hardware and software are correctly installed 
on your computer. M*A*T*H CIRCUS has been tested on 
386, 486, and Pentium computers - with genuine Sound 
Blaster cards and current drivers - and started from both 
DOS and Windows. However, because of the variety of 
sound cards and software, their numerous possible 
settings, and the varying speeds of different computers, 
you might experience problems - particularly running 
M*A*T*H CIRCUS from within Windows.

If you have a Sound Blaster card but receive the message 
that it is not available, try launching M*A*T*H CIRCUS 
from DOS. To do this, you must quit Windows altogether. 
It is not enough to double-click on the MS-DOS icon in 
Windows.

If Sound Blaster operates by launching M*A*T*H 
CIRCUS from DOS, then there is a clash between 
Windows and Sound Blaster. You need to check that your 
drivers are the most current versions. If your sound card is 
only a "compatible" and not a genuine Sound Blaster card, 
there may be no option but to switch off Sound Blaster in 
the M*A*T*H CIRCUS Sound Menu.

Other errors that occur when running M*A*T*H CIRCUS 
through Windows can also be caused by clashes with the 
sound system. The solution is to either launch M*A*T*H 
CIRCUS from DOS or switch off Sound Blaster in the 
Sound Menu.

OPENING MUSIC PLAYS SLOWLY OR ODDLY

On some slower computers, particularly if they are running 
Windows, the opening music might play irregularly or 
slowly - or completely freeze. The animation on the title 
screen might also be jerky or run very slowly. There might 
also be odd clicks from the speakers. To relieve any of 
these problems, you can turn off the opening music or 
Sound Blaster in the M*A*T*H CIRCUS Sound Menu.

CAN'T REACH THE SOUND MENU

A clash involving the program's sound system might be 
so bad that you can't launch M*A*T*H CIRCUS to turn 
off Sound Blaster! If this occurs, change to the M*A*T*H 
CIRCUS directory and type SOUNDOFF and ENTER at the 
C:\CIRCUS> prompt.

Now launch M*A*T*H CIRCUS again. There will be no 
sound. You can go to the Sound Menu and turn on sound 
effects and music again, but you should leave Sound 
Blaster off.


** SOLUTIONS **

Ideally, no one should need these. The whole point is to 
try to find the solutions for yourself! If you become really 
stuck, however, you can obtain a copy of the puzzle 
solutions by calling Power Industries at 800 395-5009.
