GoMoku v 1.0

Gomoku is old Japanese checker-paper game. In the game two players try to get 5 square long line to the board. Winner is the one who gets five-dot line first. In Europe Gomoku is also known as "Dots and Crosses" or something like it.

You can start new game with F2 or with Game menu option. Game menu opens with right mouse or alt key. When you open game, single click with mouse opens game board and  new game, after game is finished and recorded, you can start new game with double click to game board or it's background.

Game cannot be played with keyboard. In game menu you can control visibility of this right side bar. Side bars width can be adjusted with a bar on left. During the game, you cannot change player names, human player to computer player. Other changes in Game tab takes place immediately. Game creates stats from each finished game. PopUp menu function "Stats ..." opens statistic form.

When two humans play against each other, both have chance to use undo.

Controls
- Dots must be placed with mouse.
- Key F2 starts new game
- Ctrl-Z is  Undo
- Ctrl-W is Redo.
- Clear and F10 activates games Pop-Up menu.
-  F11 opens statistics screen.
- Escape always closes opened menu.

- Ctrl-S saves game to default game-save file.
- Ctrl-D loads game from default game-save file.

Strategies

Colored lines on the right shows you all accepted line directions. At the bottom you see the basic line for either winning pr losing the game.  After you get 4 dot long open line to board, you are certain to win. In the next round, your opponent can close only the other end of your 4 dot pattern ( Violet dot-2 ). On your turn you can place the winning, pink-3, dot to other end.

There are also more complicated systems for winning the game. Games AI opponents typically detects and blocks all open straights. When you play solo or man-to-man, you typically lose to some unnoticed open straight construction. Victory needs more than simple attempts to build open straights.

Game allows you to use undo after game is finished. After game is over you have 5 seconds to use UNDO for canceling results. Launching new game or closing the game will also clear UNDO and record open stats.

Settings
- Player name's max length is 35 chars. It has meaning only in screening and stats. When you play solo, against computer, your opponent has fixed name : "Easy AI", "Medium AI", "Hard AI". Entry in player name is ignored. Your name is added to players drop down lists, when you begin new game   By default lists remember 50 latest players.
- Player One must always be human. Player two can be human or computer. "Human" must be the selected opponent, when man plays against man. 
- There are 12 colors, you can choose for your play mark.  Play-mark color settings are not bound to player's name. They are stored as color for Player 1 and Player 2.
- Chessboard setting changes looks of the game board.
- Swap starters setting works only then, when same player pair plays more than one game in row. When Swap Starters is checked Player 1 begins first game, Player 2 begins second, and so on. When you change player names, Player 1 always begins the next game.
- Wait booking allows you to change 5 second undo time after game is over.
- Boxes remember sets maximum number of names for player boxes.
- List shows sets maximum number of names, which are displayed, when open player's combo boxes drop down lists.

When you change player settings, you must always start new game with F2, before settings takes place. Game is "set-up" mode when you open program and when it shows results from previous game. Stat box in side bar shows the name of current player. Box settings are set and takes place when you open program. 

Saving and loading games
You save and load unfinished games. Save and Load uses "Moku_GameSave.Rnd" file. Open and Save As allows you save and load games with different names. When you close program with unfinished game, it is never automatically saved. Save option is not asked either.

Game settings are in Gomoku.Ini file. Also in application directory.

Statistics are also in Application directory, and in file "Moku_Stats.Rnd" file. Stats file is hybrid file. Each entry begins with common ansi text section. Each name is separated by # character. Although it looks like common text, it is length indicator for the following name. Name lengths for the file were chosen so, that in text editor length indicator displays printable special character. After "<ZB " begins binary RIFF section. HTML tag marker is followed by 32 bit offset to next entry. RIFF section is always closed with CrLf line breaker codes. So that in text editor each entry always begins from Column one. And with "#" character. Binary data in RIFF section can and often causes unintentional line breaks. From the same reason RIFF section misses HTML closing for data. When HTML reader finds <ZB tag, it must use RIFF's length entry for jumping over the binary data section.

This stat file uses fixed text lengths. If you change names in stat file, you must preserve 35 character length. Hybrid format allows you to use variable length text entries.

Copyrights and technical notes

- Clear key is next left from right CTRL key. It has picture from popup menu on it. Clear or Key-12 is seldom used. It is a standard key in all millennium time keyboards.
- Game board is 19 x 19 and 361 squares. Maximum number of rounds is 180. After board gets almost full, AI is disabled. Solo play ends into tie. In man-to-man game, tie comes with menu option.

Freeware game control ( the panel where you play the game ) was fully made during years 1998 - 2001 by Radu Buzea. User interface and Stats were designed and made by R&D of Putnamis in September 2021.