BOOKWORM ADVENTURES DELUXE version 1.0 November 28, 2006 Developed and published by PopCap Games www.popcap.com PLAYING THE GAME Bookworm Adventures has five modes: a primary story mode (Adventure), 3 mini- games (Word Master, Letter Rip and Link-n-Spell) and a timed mode (Arena). At the beginning of the game only Adventure mode is available; other modes are unlocked as you proceed through Adventure. GOAL The goal of Bookworm Adventures is to make words to defeat the foes standing between Lex the Bookworm and his mission to rescue Cassandra the Oracle. Adventure mode is made up of three books, each of which is divided into ten chapters. GAMEPLAY BASICS To make words, click on the 4x4 grid of letter tiles to send letters up to the top half of the game screen. Unlike in the original Bookworm, the letters can be selected from anywhere in the grid and do not need to be connected. Words must be at least 3 letters long to be valid, and the longer the word you spell, the more damage it will do to an enemy. When a valid word has been spelled, the word will sparkle and the "Attack" button underneath the grid will light up. Click "Attack" (or press "Enter" or "4" on the keyboard) and Lex will launch an attack on the current foe. Lex gives verbal hints about your word power. In order of increasing strength they are: Good, Wow, Nice, Very Good, Awesome, Excellent, Fantastic and Astonishing! The Health meter above each foe shows how much health it has left. When a foe's Health meter drops to zero, it is defeated, at which point Lex is restored to full health, all status ailments disappear and Lex moves on to the next enemy as a scroll of your best words appears to the right of the letter grid. Lex also has a Health meter. As the foes attack, Lex loses health. If Lex's Health meter drops to zero, Lex will die and be returned to the beginning of the chapter. Lex keeps the experience points gained up until his death, but you will lose any potions you used before Lex died. MAP SCREEN When Lex completes a chapter he is taken to the Map Screen where he will make his way to the next chapter. You can enter the chapter either by clicking the "Enter" button at the bottom of the screen or by clicking on the chapter's shiny icon on the map. TREASURES At the end of each chapter is a powerful enemy who must be defeated in a Boss Battle. Once you've defeated the Boss, Lex will wiggle to the end of the chapter where he will be rewarded with a special treasure. Treasures have different powers that affect Lex's fighting ability, and they appear in the treasure area in the lower left-hand area of the screen. Treasures work automatically and do not need to be clicked to activate. Lex can only carry three treasures at a time. Once you complete the 4th chapter of Book 1, Professor Codex will send you to the Treasure Room before each chapter where you can select the three treasures you wish to take with you into battle. (For a more detailed list of Treasures check the Treasure List section of this readme.) EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP) Midway through Book 1, Chapter 2, Cassandra will appear and introduce the Level Up bar in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. From then on every time you defeat an enemy, experience points will sparkle up from the enemy's defeat marker and gradually fill the Level Up bar. When the Level Up bar is filled, the Level Up screen appears and Lex receives a bonus that helps him fight. There are three types of Level Up bonuses: Health Increased (adds another heart to Lex's heart meter), Attack Increased (increases the amount of damage your words cause to the enemy) and Defense Increased (decreases the amount of damage Lex takes when hit by an enemy). LORE At the beginning of Book 1, Chapter 3, the area to the right of the letter grid opens up as the enemy's lore display. The lore shows the enemy's attacks as well as special immunities (such as immunity to 3-letter words) and vulnerabilities (such as weakness to "fire" words). The lore section also contains additional information or commentary about the enemy. POTIONS Starting at Book 1, Chapter 3, Lex gains the chance to earn special potions as he defeats enemies. There are three kinds of potions. Health potions become available during Book 1, Chapter 3 and restore some of Lex's hearts when he's been damaged. Power-Up potions become available during Book 1, Chapter 4 and increase the amount of damage a word will cause to an enemy. Purify potions become available in Book 1, Chapter 5 and remove the effects of attacks to the board (such as smashed tiles, locked tiles, plagued tiles, Stun or Petrify) as well as lingering attacks to Lex (such as Poison, Bleed, Freeze or Power-Down). Potions appear to the left of the letter grid above the treasures and are activated by clicking on them or by hitting "1" on the keyboard for Health potions, "2" for Power-Up potions and "3" for Purify potions. Clicking a potion does not use up one of Lex's turns. SCRAMBLE At the beginning of Book 1, Chapter 4, Cassandra introduces the Scramble button underneath Lex's treasure area. If you're stuck trying to find a word with the letters available on the grid, clicking Scramble will give you a new grid of letters to work with. However, hitting Scramble takes a turn and leaves Lex open to an enemy's attack. GEM TILES Once you have completed Book 1, Chapter 5, Lex acquires the power of gem tiles. Gem tiles are earned by spelling longer words and each unleashes different effects when they are used in a word. They are: -Amethyst gem (purple) - Poisons enemy for two turns, adds 15% damage to the word. -Emerald gem (green) - Heals Lex for two hearts, adds 20% damage to the word. -Sapphire gem (blue) - Freezes enemy for 1 turn, adds 25% damage to the word. -Garnet gem (orange) - Weakens the enemy's attack for two turns, adds 30% damage to the word. -Ruby gem (red) - Sets enemy on fire for three turns, adds 35% damage to the word. -Crystal gem (bright pink) - Purifies Lex and the grid, shields Lex from damage for 1 turn, adds 50% damage to word. -Diamond gem (white) - Fully heals Lex, gives one of each potion type, adds 100% damage to word. Gem tiles are cumulative in their effects. So, for instance, if you use an Emerald gem (20% damage boost, or 1.25 multiplier) and a ruby gem (35% damage boost, or 1.35 multiplier) in a word, then Lex will be healed for two hearts, the enemy will be set on fire for three turns, and the word's power will be increased by 1.25 x 1.35 times, or 1.6875x (1.75x after rounding to the nearest 0.25). Stacking gem tiles with damage effects will increase that effect's duration; for example, if you spell a word with three Amethyst gems then the enemy will be poisoned for six turns. AILMENTS Some enemies have attacks that can cause lingering damage to individual letter tiles, the letter grid as a whole or to Lex himself. TILE AILMENTS Smashed Tile - Tile can be used but causes no damage to enemy. Tile returns to normal when the number reaches zero. Gem tiles cannot be smashed. Locked Tile - Tile cannot be used to spell words. Tile returns to normal when the number reaches zero. Gem tiles cannot be locked. Plagued Tile - Tile causes no damage to enemy. In addition, the infection can spread to other tiles if the plagued tile is not used or purified. Tile returns to normal when the number reaches zero. Gem tiles cannot be plagued. GRID AILMENTS Stunned - Lex is stunned and must click the tile grid to clear his head. This takes a turn during which the enemy will launch another attack. Frozen - Lex is frozen and must click the tile grid to warm up. This takes a turn during which the enemy will launch an attack. Petrified - Lex is petrified and must click the tile grid to de-petrify. This takes two turns during which the enemy will attack. STATUS AILMENTS Poison - Damages Lex a constant amount each turn. Poison disappears when the number reaches zero. Bleed - Damages Lex each turn. Bleed damage increases by a factor of 2 each turn. Bleed disappears when the number reaches zero. Burn - Damages Lex each turn. Burn damage decreases by a factor of 2 each turn. Burn disappears when the number reaches zero. Power Down - Reduces Lex's attack power. Lex's attacks return to normal when the number reaches zero. Clicking a Purify potion removes all ailments. BONUS WORDS Some creatures have vulnerabilities to particular categories of words. For example, the Bronze and Steel Stymphalian Birds are weak to "metal" words, so any metal words will do additional damage. In addition to specific vulnerabilities, which are listed in an enemy's lore section, there are also Secret Bonus Words that apply to chapters or particular enemies. These typically relate in some fashion to the creature or area, so feel free to experiment and seek them out! STATS BOX Mousing over Lex's name in the upper left corner of the screen will reveal a drop-down box that contains statistical information about your play. The box shows number of hearts, attack multiplier, defense multiplier, Lex's current overall level, your average word length, the number of enemies you've defeated and the number of times you've been defeated. CONGRATULATIONS SCREEN Each time you complete a Book in Adventure mode, you will be rewarded with the Congratulations screen which lists total words spelled, number of gems created, your best words overall as well as the number of times you spelled words of various lengths. REPLAY ADVENTURE Once you have completed Adventure mode, you can replay it by creating a new profile on the Main Menu page by clicking the "Click here to change users" link in Lex's "Welcome Back" speech bubble. MINI-GAMES As you make your way through the Books of Adventure mode, every so often Moxie the Fox will appear with an offer to visit her mini-game hut to win potions and gem tiles. There is no penalty if you lose and you are guaranteed at least one potion if you play. If you die during a chapter Moxie will allow you to play any of the mini-games you've unlocked for that Book. LETTER RIP unlocked at end of chapter 3, Book 1 unlocked at end of chapter 6, Book 2 unlocked at end of chapter 6, Book 3 Spell as many words as you can using the letters from the starting word before time runs out. Every six words spelled earns an additional prize. When the time runs out, the game is over. Longer words add time to the timer. WORD MASTER unlocked at end of Chapter 6, Book 1 unlocked at end of Chapter 3, Book 2 unlocked at end of Chapter 3, Book 3 Guess Moxie's word in 5 or fewer tries to earn potions and gems. Gold tiles show the correct letter in the correct spot. Silver tiles show the correct letter in the wrong spot. Red tiles show letters that are not in the mystery word (though you can still spell words with them if it helps you think). LINK N’ SPELL unlocked at end of Chapter 9, Book 1 unlocked at end of Chapter 8, Book 2 unlocked at end of Chapter 8, Book 3 Spell any valid dictionary word using the tiles provided. Use a tile once to upgrade it to silver, twice to upgrade it to gold. Upgrade an entire line to gold to win the prize indicated. Completing Book 2 of Adventure mode will unlock Moxie's Mini-game Hut on the Main Menu screen. The mini-games play the same way as they do in Adventure mode with two differences. One, you earn points rather than potions and gems, and two, you can keep playing as many times as you like to go for a High Score. (For more information on mini-game scoring, check the Scoring section of this readme.) ARENA MODE Completing Book 3 of Adventure mode unlocks the Arena in the Main Menu screen, in which you face the bosses from Adventure mode one after the other for as long as you can last. This is a timed mode. A bar above the letter grid slowly fills up and the boss attacks as soon as the bar is filled. Spell quickly! You earn Level Up bonus tokens by spelling words and defeating enemies in special ways. Try attacking first, spelling small words quickly or taking out your opponent in a few shots. You'll level up faster and stay ahead of the curve. Every five bosses you defeat leads to a checkpoint where you can return to the Treasure Room to select treasures for the next five bosses. Different treasures have an enormous impact on how difficult the bosses are to defeat, so don't be afraid to try out different combinations. You can pause the game to take a breath, but the letters will be hidden while the game is paused. If you quit Arena mode your progress will be saved so you can continue at a later time. TOME OF KNOWLEDGE Completing Book 1 of Adventure mode unlocks the Tome of Knowledge on the Main Menu screen. The Tome contains information on all the enemies you have defeated in Adventure mode as well as displaying the percentage of characters you've seen, the treasures you've found, the gem tiles you've created and the number of secrets you've discovered. HALL OF FAME You can visit the Hall of Fame from either the Main Menu screen or after a game. This lets you see the high scores and best words players have made in the game! The Hall of Fame shows best word and power rating letter grade for Adventure mode, the score and number of words spelled for the mini-games, and the last enemy defeated, total survival time, total score and number of bonuses for Arena mode. GAMEPLAY TIPS GENERAL TIPS: -Right-click to return all tiles to the letter grid. -Left-click on a letter in a spelt word to remove tiles from that letter rightward. -Press "1" on the keyboard to use a Health potion. -Press "2" on the keyboard to use a Power-Up potion. -Press "3" on the keyboard to use a Purify potion. -Press "4" or the "Enter" key on the keyboard to attack. -If stuck for a word, a useful technique is to separate out all the vowels so that you can quickly tell at a glance which vowels and consonants you have to work with. -If you're trying to spell a long word, spell out as much of it as you can. Then, spell words from the remaining tiles in order to generate the letters you need for the word you're going for. -If you're having trouble on a chapter, try changing your treasure selection to address the thing you're having problems with. -When picking treasures, it's usually a good idea to have a mix of defensive, offensive and special powers. -Try to save up your potions as much possible for the boss battles or other tough monsters. -On the other hand, if you can overkill a monster with a really big word, adding a Power-up potion will increase the quality of the gem you're awarded. ARENA TIPS -Save time by hitting the "1", "2", or "3" keys on the keyboard for potions. -Save time by hitting the "4" or "Enter" key on the keyboard to attack; clicking the "Enter" button below the grid takes too much time. -When you're spelling a word, try to find a word in the remaining tiles so you're ready to spell it as soon as possible. -You don't need to wait for Lex's attack animation to finish before spelling another word; get the jump on enemies by spelling your next word as Lex is carrying out his attack. -Don't be afraid to use the Scramble button if you're stuck for a word. It only takes a few seconds so it's less of a penalty than in Adventure mode, and it absolutely beats staring at a letter grid with no ideas. -Though you should try to experiment with treasures, defensive treasures that resist stun, poison and power down are particularly effective in Arena mode. SCORING Adventure Mode The amount of damage a word causes is based on its adjusted word length. The pips on the letter tiles give clues about their values. A, E, I, O, U, D, G, L, N, R, S and T (bronze pips) count as 1 letter. B, C, F, H, M and P (silver pips) count as 1.25 letters. V, W and Y (silver pips) count as 1.5 letters. J and K (gold pips) count as 1.75 letters. X and Z (gold pips) count as 2 letters. Qu (gold pip) counts as 2.75 letters. Letter bonuses are tallied and rounded up to achieve the adjusted word length. So, for example, WAXY would count as W(1.5) + A(1) + X(2) + Y(1.5) for an adjusted word length of 6 letters in total. The adjusted word lengths then translate into base attack damages to foes: 3 letters - 0.5 hearts damage 4 letters - 0.75 hearts of damage 5 letters - 1 heart of damage 6 letters - 1.5 hearts of damage 7 letters - 2 hearts of damage 8 letters - 2.75 hearts of damage 9 letters - 3.5 hearts of damage 10 letters - 4.5 hearts of damage 11 letters - 5.5 hearts of damage 12 letters - 6.75 hearts of damage 13 letters - 8 hearts of damage 14 letters - 9.5 hearts of damage 15 letters - 11 hearts of damage 16 letters - 13 hearts of damage Potions, gems, treasures, attack multipliers and bonus word vulnerabilities apply to these basic values. Final scoring in Adventure mode is calculated by the following formula: (100 x average word length) + level - (10 x deaths) Insane game end: (100 x 7.25) + 30 - (10x 0) = 755 mid-game: (100 x 7.25) + 15 - (10x 0) = 740 early-game: (100 x 7.25) + 1 - (10x 0) = 726 Excellent game end: (100 x 6) + 30 - (10x 0) = 630 mid-game: (100 x 6) + 15 - (10x 0) = 615 early-game: (100 x 6) + 1 - (10x 0) = 601 Pretty Good game end: (100 x 5.5) + 31 - (10x 1) = 571 mid-game: (100 x 5.5) + 16 - (10x 1) = 556 early-game: (100 x 5.5) + 1 - (10x 0) = 541 Good game end: (100 x 5) + 33 - (10x 3) = 503 mid-game: (100 x 5) + 16 - (10x 2) = 496 early-game: (100 x 5) + 1 - (10x 1) = 491 Not So Good game end: (100 x 4.25) + 35 - (10x 5) = 410 mid-game: (100 x 4.25) + 17 - (10x 3) = 412 early-game: (100 x 4.25) + 1 - (10x 1) = 416 Poor game end: (100 x 3.5) + 37 - (10x 7) = 317 mid-game: (100 x 3.5) + 19 - (10x 5) = 319 early-game: (100 x 3.5) + 1 - (10x 3) = 321 Ouch game end: (100 x 3.0) + 40 - (10x 15) = 190 mid-game: (100 x 3.0) + 20 - (10x 10) = 220 early-game: (100 x 3.0) + 1 - (10x 5) = 251 Once these points have been calculated, they translate to letter grades: 700 A+++ 650 A++ 600 A+ 550 A 500 B+ 450 B 400 C+ 350 C 300 D+ 200 D 100 F+ 0 F Mini-Games Letter Rip Adventure mode, Book 1 no tiers - 1 Health potion 1st tier - 2 Health potions 2nd tier - 3 Health potions 3rd tier - 4 Health potions 4th tier - 5 Health potions 5th tier - 6 Health potions Adventure mode, Books 2 & 3 no tiers - Health potion 1st tier - Health potion, Power-Up potion 2nd tier - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion 3rd tier - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion, Amethyst gem 4th tier - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion, Amethyst gem, Ruby gem 5th tier - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion, Amethyst gem, Ruby gem, Diamond gem Moxie's Mini-game Hut (Main Menu) 100 points per letter used 1st tier - x 1 point multiplier 2nd tier - x 2 point multiplier 3rd tier - x 3 point multiplier 4th tier - x 4 point multiplier 5th tier - x 5 multiplier Word Master Adventure mode missed word - Health potion 5 guesses - Health potion, Power-Up potion 4 guesses - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion 3 guesses - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion, Amethyst gem 2 guesses - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion, Amethyst gem, Ruby gem 1 guess - Health potion, Power-Up potion, Purify potion, Amethyst gem, Ruby gem, Diamond gem Moxie's Mini-game Hut (Main Menu) 1st guess - 10,000 points 2nd guess - 5,000 points 3rd guess - 2,500 points 4th guess - 1,000 points 5th guess - 500 points Link n' Spell Adventure mode no lines - Health potion 1st line - Power-Up potion 2nd line - Purify potion 3rd line - Amethyst gem 4th line - Ruby gem 5th line - Diamond gem Moxie's Mini-game Hut (Main Menu) 100 points regular letters 50 points silver letters 10 points gold letters 1st line gold - +500 points 2nd line gold - +1,000 points 3rd line gold - +1,500 points 4th line gold - +2,000 points 5th line gold - +2,500 points TREASURE LIST SPOILER WARNING! This section contains specific descriptions of all the treasures in the game and is recommended only for players who have already completed Adventure mode at least once. Book 1 -Bow of Zyx - Increases damage done by X, Y and Z letter tiles, makes X, Y and Z count as 2.5 letters each (up from 2, 1.5 and 2) towards adjusted word length. -Golden Fleece - Increases player health by 1 heart. -Poseidon's Shield - Reduces damage from enemy attacks by 1/2 heart. -Icarus Sandals - 50% chance to resist stun. -Hephaestus's Hammer - Increases damage of player attacks by 1/2 heart. -Boots of Theseus - 100% chance to resist stun (upgrades Icarus Sandals). -Arch of Xyzzy - Greatly increases damage done by X, Y and Z letter tiles, makes X, Y and Z count as 3 letters each (up from 2, 1.5 and 2) towards adjusted word length (upgrades Bow of Zyx). -Hand of Hercules - Increases damage of player attacks by 1 heart. Bonus Category: Metals - Increases damage of "metal" words by 50% (upgrades Hephaestus's Hammer). -Aegis of Athena - Reduces damage from enemy attacks by 1 heart (upgrades Poseidon's Shield). -Medusa Bust - 50% chance to resist petrify and power down attacks. Book 2 -Cloak of Shades - 50% chance to resist poison attacks. -Jeweled Key - Gives a chance to create gems from 3, 4 and 5 letter words. Specifics: 3 letter words- 5% Amethyst 4 letter words- 25% Amethyst 5 letter words- 75% Amethyst, 25% Emerald Normally, words must be at least 6 letters long (adjusted word length) to create gems. -Tome of Ancients - Bonus Category: Colors - Increases damage of "color" words by 100%. -Sphinx Lantern - Increases potency of Health potions by 50%. -Wooden Parrot - Increases damage done by R letter tiles, makes R tiles count as 2 letters towards adjusted word length. -Endless Gem Pouch - Greater chance of gems for 3, 4 and 5 letter words (upgrades Jeweled Key). Specifics: 3 letter words- 10% Amethyst 4 letter words- 25% Amethyst, 10% Emerald 5 letter words- 65% Amethyst, 35% Emerald Normally, words must be at least 6 letters long (adjusted word length) to create gems. -Robe of the Unseen - 50% chance to resist poison and burn attacks (upgrades Cloak of Shades). -Genie Lamp - Increases potency of Health potions by 50% and Power-up potions by 100% (upgrades Sphinx Lantern). -Tablet of the Ages - Bonus category: Colors- Increases damage of "color" words by 150%. Additionally, spelling a "color" word restores 3 hearts of Lex's health (upgrades Tome of the Ancients). -Scimitar of Justice - Increases damage of all gems by 10%. Book 3 -Magistrate's Map - Increases chance of getting potions by 25%. -Wanderer's Hourglass - Increases duration of poison/burn effects on an enemy by 1 turn. -Gargantuan Girdle - 25% chance to resist tile smash/lock. -Wolfbane Necklace - Bonus category: Mammal - Increases damage of "mammal" words by 50%. -Silver Compass - Increases chance of getting potions by 50% (upgrades Magistrate's Map). -Grim's Timepiece - Increases duration of poison/burn effects on an enemy by 2 turns (upgrades Wanderer's Hourglass). -Quadrumvir Signet - Increases damage of words containing "QUA" by 50%. Additionally, spelling a word containing "QUA" purifies the player of all ailments. Immortal Wrapping - 50% chance to resist tile smash/lock (upgrades Gargantuan Girdle). -Slayer Talisman - Bonus Category: Mammal - Increases damage of "mammal" words by 75%. Additionally, spelling a "mammal" word inflicts a bleeding effect on the enemy (upgrades Wolfbane Necklace). -Magic Pen - Small chance to stun enemy with each attack. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION (c)2002, 2006 PopCap Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Bookworm, PopCap Games, the PopCap Games logo and PopCap are registered trademarks of PopCap Games, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.