Welcome to the Volity Network
Getting Started
If this is your first time here, we recommend jumping right in and trying some games! Two of our games prove particularly good for first-time players: one is a simple game that lets you play alone as much as you'd like, and the other is a more sophisticated game featuring computer-controlled opponents. Both will help you become familiar with the Volity game system and the Gamut application at your own pace.
Treehouse
Treehouse is a simple and fun game that's a perfect introduction to Volity and Gamut. It's meant to be played by two or more people racing to meet the goal first, but our Volity version allows solo play.
Solitaire Treehouse
First, if you'd like, you can read the rules of Treehouse, though you don't have to; the Volity version of it prints the rules on the screen and tells you what moves you can make, every turn. When you're ready, click here to create a new Treehouse table. After the graphics load and you are looking at the splash screen, click the seat button in the table window's upper right corner, and then click the Ready button that's right next to it. The gameplay screen will appear, and the game begins.
As the gameplay screen itself explains, the goal of the game is to make your trio (the "tree" of three colored triangles at the bottom of the screen) to look like the House (the three gray triangles in the center). Each turn, the game will roll a die for you, and then tell you what you can do, based on that die roll.
Like most games that you play with Gamut, the controls are entirely mouse-based. To manipulate your trio, click on its triangles. To move the house around (when allowed), click on its triangles. Often you'll need to click on other controls that pop up, like directional arrows and move-confirmation buttons, depending upon what you choose to do, but we have tried to make everything as self-explanatory as possible. Try it!
When you succeed in matching the trio and the House, you'll hear Gamut's cheerful "you win" sound and see a crown next to your name. You can click the Ready button to play again, if you'd like, or read on to learn how to play the game with a bot.
Treehouse with bots
When you're ready for a little competition, you can invite
bots, computer-controlled opponents, to the table. Once the
table graphics load, select Request Bot from Gamut's
Game menu. You should see a new player named "Bot 1"
(though its number may be different) appear in the player roster pane
on the window's right side.
Just like you, the bot needs to sit down before it can start
playing. Volity bots are very subservient and won't take seats by
themselves; they instead wait for human players to seat them. So, drag
the bot's name into the box labeled <new seat>,
below the Seat and Ready buttons. Then sit yourself down as usual (if
you're not already seated), and click the Ready button to start the
game.
Since you are actually facing an opponent this time, there is a chance you will lose; you will know the game is over when either you or the bot gets that little golden crown next to your name. Don't be alarmed at how quickly the bot takes its turn, either; it's an old hand and this game and doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about its next move. Good luck, and do your best!
Whether you win or lose, you can choose to play again by clicking the
Ready button. If you're feeling cocky, you can invite even more bots
to the table in between games by issuing the Request Bot
command repeatedly, and then sitting the bots down one by one. The
game can support up to four players, meaning that you can take on as
many as three bots at once!
Once you've had your fill of Treehouse, move on to the last part of this tutorial: trying your hand at Fluxx!
Fluxx
Fluxx is a unique card game with self-modifying rules. Every card that you play has rules written on it, many of which permanently affect how the game is played and what its goal is - at least until another rule card supercedes it. As with Treehouse, it's an invention of Andrew Looney, and you can read its rules on the Web even though it too puts all of its rules within the game itself.
Click here to start a new Fluxx table. Unlike Treehouse, Fluxx doesn't let you play all alone, so you must invite bots to the table. Go ahead and call some in, just as you did with Treehouse. Note that the commands for common activities like sitting down and calling bots are the same among different Volity games; that's part of what makes the Volity Network cool!
Once the game starts (don't forget to click the Ready button!) you will be dealt your first hand of cards, and then either you or the bot will take the first turn. (If it's the bot, you'll get to play in a second anyway; it moves very quickly.) To see a close-up view of a card and what happens when it gets played, move the house over the small card icon in the orange "Your Hand" box. You can also get more detailed about the game's current rules mean by mousing over the items in the yellow "Current Rules" box.
Other than that, what happens in the game is up to you, and your luck.
Moving on...
If you have succeeded in playing these games, then you know everything you need to know to get started with Volity, and can start mixing it up with other human players! Have fun playing Treehouse and Fluxx with bots all you like, and then return to this manual's index page when you're ready to learn more about Gamut.