Use your cursor to move around the game map and to select and move objects. When you select an object, the cursor turns red. Press the select key again to deselect an object; the cursor will turn black again.
Thank you for playing Gumball Gauntlet!
This readme file is designed to help new players. It can always be found at the Gumball Gauntlet Web site.
In order to install and run Gumball Gauntlet you must have Java version 1.5 or newer installed and the following system requirements:
If you do not have Java installed, go to This Link and click on the "Download NOW!" icon, and then click the Download button for the download option you want (usually the first choice is the best one).
Gumball Gauntlet, Zip-File Version:
Unzip this file to an accessible folder. If using Windows, click on "run.bat"; otherwise, invoke the main program by opening up a CLI (command-line interface) for your operating system, and entering: java -jar gauntlet.jar in the gauntlet/ subdirectory. (For example, the CLI for Windows is the Command Prompt icon, and for Macs it's the Terminal program.) You can even automate the process with a shell script, if you know how to write script or batch files for your operating system.
Gumball Gauntlet, WebStart Version:
If you allowed the program to install a desktop shortcut or a menu shortcut, use either one to start the game. Otherwise, invoke the Java WebStart program to start the game; you can do this in Windows by clicking on the Control Panel icon for Java, or it may also be a menu option in your browser. For example, for Internet Explorer, choose Tools->Java Sun Console, and then when it puts the Java icon in your taskbar, right click it and choose Open Control Panel to start the game.
Goal:
The goal of Gumball Gauntlet is to move all of the gumballs into a hole on
the gameboard. When all gumballs are in a hole then you win. If you lose a
gumball then you fail. You may find yourself in a situation where you can
no longer place gumballs into holes, in which case you must restart the game.
Game Objects:
Gumball Gauntlet contains a variety of interesting game objects. You must learn
how these objects work if you wish to do well in Gumball Gauntlet. Each object
is described below, but only through playing the game will you become familiar with
their behaviors. You will also find information about the various game objects
in the in-game Help menu.
Your Cursor:
Use your cursor to move around the game map and to select and move objects.
When you select an object, the cursor turns red. Press the select key again to
deselect an object; the cursor will turn black again.
Gumballs:
Your objective is to move all gumballs into holes. You do this by selecting a gumball
and then pressing a direction key. The gumball will continue moving in that direction until
it is stopped by a block, falls into a hole, or falls into the void.
Holes:
The hole is the final resting place for your gumballs. Once all of your gumballs
are in a hole, you win. There may be many holes in a single level. If you cannot
reach one hole you should try a different hole.
Immovable Blocks:
The most basic block type. These blocks cannot be moved by the player.
Moveable Blocks:
Moveable blocks are blocks which can be moved in order to direct the ball.
They will be your primary tool used to move the ball into the correct position.
Turbo Blocks:
Turbo blocks force both blocks and balls to move in a certain direction. If a ball
or block lands on top of a turbo block it will be moved in the direction of the turbo block.
Movable Turbo Blocks:
Like regular turbo blocks, movable turbo blocks force blocks and balls to move in a particular
direction. In addition, movable turbo blocks can themselves be moved around by the player.
Ice:
Ice acts similarly to Turbo blocks, except that Ice does not change the direction of movement.
Both balls and blocks slide on Ice and you will not be able to stop a block or ball
while it is sliding.
Teleporters:
Teleporters move balls and blocks to arbitrary locations on the map. Teleporters do not show
where they move objects to; however, you can test a teleporter by selecting it with your cursor.
This causes your cursor to be teleported to the destination of the teleporter.
Pipes:
Pipes act like normal blocks, but they stop blocks from moving. A ball can pass
through a pipe, but a block cannot. Curved pipes can also change the ball's direction.
Ramps:
Ramps allow the ball to roll up to a higher level or down to a lower one. Whether going up
or down, the ball will keep rolling until it encounters an obstacle. (Gravity has no effect on the ball.)
The Void:
The Void is the starfield beneath the game board. If your gumball falls into the void
it is lost and you can no longer complete the level.
3.1) Why is the ball behaving strangely?
Gumball Gauntlet saves the next movement of a ball before the current movement is completed.
This is an attempt to make ball movement more intuitive. If you are pressing directions
while the ball is moving you could send it in a different direction after it completes
the current movement.
Example: I select a ball, then press up, then press left. This will cause the ball to move up, then after it has completed its move, it will move left.
There is a known issue where on certain systems the game appears to be accelerated, and the timer ticks much faster than it should. As a workaround, users with this problem can download and run one of the many CPU "slow-down" programs available freely on the net. You should run the slow-down program before invoking Gumball Gauntlet.
Slow-down programs are available at: http://www.geocities.com/kulhain/
Gumball Gauntlet Mike (or equivalently "Gumball Gauntlet M<version number>") is a derivative work based on Gumball Gauntlet 1.0. Gumball Gauntlet 1.0 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license, and it was created by the following awesome developers (listed in alphabetical order):
Jeff Loiselle
Mike Matloff
Ross McClure
Christoph Otto
Eli Seemann
Erin Winter
The above developers were part of a student group (nicknamed the "TechnoTribbles") in the spring 2005 CIS 422 class in the University of Oregon's Computer and Information Science Department. This class was taught by Dr. Stuart Faulk, who is in no way responsible for the code, but the developers are grateful for his guidance.
Gumball Gauntlet Mike was created by Mike Matloff as a derivative work based on Gumball Gauntlet 1.0. Gumball Gauntlet Mike consists of changes, additions and deletions to the original Gumball Gauntlet 1.0 code and associated files, plus remaining unchanged code and associated files. Gumball Gauntlet Mike is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit this link or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Both Gumball Gauntlet Mike and Gumball Gauntlet 1.0 use the incredible Golden T Game Engine (GTGE), created by Paulus Tuerah. More info on GTGE is available at the following link: http://www.goldenstudios.or.id/products/GTGE/. GTGE is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.