How to Play Mage
There are three color grids called "source" (S), "current" (C) and "target." Your job is to make the source look like the target. You do so by applying the proper combination of operations using the buttons shown below the grids. These either set the current to the source (C=S), add the source to the current (C=C+S), add the identity matrix to the current (C=C+I), or multiply (in a matrix sense) the current times itself (C=CxC).
Pro-tip: The C=S op is useful when your solution has clearly gone wrong.
After each button press, your progress is displayed in the current panel. The puzzle ends if/when the current matches the target. Your score is the number of button presses you took to generate the target. Generally, solutions are not unique. You get Special Kudos Message if you generate the target using fewer ops than Mage did (use "show solution" to see Mage's solution).
Pro-tip: You can replay a completed puzzle by pressing C=S. The count resets and play continues.
Press enough buttons and grid entries may start turning white. White entries no longer change color, even if the contents do. Note if there are white entries in the target, you must match their (unknown) contents -- diabolical!
Choose your preferred difficulty by selecting a 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4 puzzle (1x1 is easy, 2x2 is challenging, 3x3 is hard, and 4x4 is probably impossible.) There are also "easier" and "harder" settings, which tell Mage to use, respectively, fewer or more ops when generating the target.
Mage!
Footnote: To play you must have Javascript turned on and be using a browser that supports canvas objects, which should be about all of them these day. If you find any bugs, send them to labkittydesign at gmail. Mage!
There are three color grids called "source" (S), "current" (C) and "target." Your job is to make the source look like the target. You do so by applying the proper combination of operations using the buttons shown below the grids. These either set the current to the source (C=S), add the source to the current (C=C+S), add the identity matrix to the current (C=C+I), or multiply (in a matrix sense) the current times itself (C=CxC).
Pro-tip: The C=S op is useful when your solution has clearly gone wrong.
After each button press, your progress is displayed in the current panel. The puzzle ends if/when the current matches the target. Your score is the number of button presses you took to generate the target. Generally, solutions are not unique. You get Special Kudos Message if you generate the target using fewer ops than Mage did (use "show solution" to see Mage's solution).
Pro-tip: You can replay a completed puzzle by pressing C=S. The count resets and play continues.
Press enough buttons and grid entries may start turning white. White entries no longer change color, even if the contents do. Note if there are white entries in the target, you must match their (unknown) contents -- diabolical!
Choose your preferred difficulty by selecting a 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4 puzzle (1x1 is easy, 2x2 is challenging, 3x3 is hard, and 4x4 is probably impossible.) There are also "easier" and "harder" settings, which tell Mage to use, respectively, fewer or more ops when generating the target.
Mage!
Footnote: To play you must have Javascript turned on and be using a browser that supports canvas objects, which should be about all of them these day. If you find any bugs, send them to labkittydesign at gmail. Mage!
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