This little blog is the temporary home for Morpion Solitaire, an iPhone game.
[information français ici]
About Morpion Solitaire
Despite its odd name* (what is that, a mutant scorpion?) Morpion is a well-known game: in its non-solitaire version, you might know it as Tic-Tac-Toe: Morpion is its name in the French, a language spoken in the France.
There are a lot -- might I dare say too many? -- Tic-Tac-Toe games for the iPhone. Less well known is the solitaire version, though, which is also a lot better game. In fact, there's a small coterie of Morpion fanatics out there, whose high scores -- the hard earned result of years of playing -- will come to either astound or appall you once you've played a few games of Morpion Solitaire**.
However, no iPhone version existed that I could find. So, I wrote one, as a way of getting to learn the iPhone platform and as a penance for an indiscretion on a commuter train in Hoboken involving 8 sacks of potatoes and a trombone. I'm submitting it to the App Store this week -- just a few last minute changes needed -- and once I get it approved, there'll be a link here to download it to your own iPhone or iPod Touch.
Morpion Rules:
- The objective is to add as many lines as possible to the board.
- Lines need to connect 5 dots in a row.
- Lines can be added horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
- Only one dot can be added by any one line when it is added. So, if you draw a line across 4 existing dots, a dot will be added at whichever end is appropriate to complete the line. If you draw a line across a sequence of 4 dots plus a single gap somewhere in the middle, that missing dot is added.
- Lines cannot touch in the same plane. That is, two horizontal lines can't share a starting or ending point, and the same applies to lines that are vertical or diagonal. A diagonal, and, say a vertical line, or a horizontal and a diagonal line can share a starting point.
- Lines can cross.
- You add a line by swiping across the board.
- You can undo the last line drawn using the undo button. You can't undo more than one move.
- Dots are added automatically.
- Score is updated in the lower right of the screen.
Timer Play
A game that just does what the paper version does is pretty dull, although sometimes convenient. Our Morpion Solitaire adds an optional timer that allows you to limit moves to 30 seconds. If time runs out, you lose. You can activate the timer from the Help screen, which appears when you first start the game up, and which is accessible at any time when you press the help button in the lower left.
A few things about the timer:
- if you undo a move, the timer may suddenly jump to give you less time to complete the move. That's because when you undo, you also reset the timer to where it was when you made the last move. That way, you can't keep undoing to get more time! Cheater!!
- You can turn the timer off and on during the game. You can cheat this way, but that's a matter for you and your conscience. Just remember that now more than ever, you are being constantly watched…
- The timer halts when you go to the Help screen. But you can't really cheat this way, because you also can't see the game board.
- I don't really think you're a cheater, it's just I thought you'd be interested. Plus, I've had a really hard day.
To abandon a game and restart, press the restart button -- but you would have figured that out yourself.
A Closing Note
Morpion Solitaire is a mental challenge and a balm to the soul for folks from immediately post conception to 206. It presents endless subtle variants and for this reason is known as the Stradivarius of Tic-Tac-Toe. It offers tons of game play. It's a great little time-waster and a source of quiet pride that not even family, country or the Nobel Committee prize can provide. Your mileage may vary, please consult your physician if games persist over 4 hours. Important decisions and difficult confessions, to say nothing of facing your own failures can be avoided for days, weeks even months or years through diligent use. I urge you to do follow your impulse and immediately download and play Morpion Solitaire for the iPhone, and let your new life begin.
*morpion, in french, is also a rather vile little creature called Phtirius Inguinalis, better know in english as the crab…
** if you're interested in this particular form of noble madness, there's a site here
that documents the game and its masters. To cut to the chase, the world record for Morpion Solitaire is 80 moves…if you can get to 60, congratulate yourself.
