BACK STORY
In the year 2920, the Golden Age of Psionics is unlocking worlds of
possibilities for humankind. The psionically gifted are recruited at
a young age to participate in the Planetary Defense Force’s psi-ops
program, where their talents are honed through
cybernetically-interactive mind games. These games can reprogram the
trainees’ subconscious minds for optimal psionic output, all in
parallel with the conscious effort toward solving the puzzle.
DARKNESS IS SPREADING
The popular puzzle game coined “Darkness Is Spreading” is a
user-friendly version of a standard P.D.F. training exercise. It has
been repackaged into a geometric format which can be understood by
normal humans, but it also contains metasensory ‘shortcuts’,
accessible through the game’s cybernetic interface, which only the
psionically gifted will be able to detect.
The P.D.F. has now made this unique game available to the public, in
an effort to more effectively scout out talented individuals. The
game can in fact be solved consistently in less than twice as many
moves as there are colors on the grid, no matter what the grid’s size.
Those who are capable of this feat are solicited for recruitment into
the P.D.F., where they will use the quantum-formatted version of the
game in the training of their psi abilities.
HOW TO PLAY
The goal of the game is to cover the grid with black tiles. The
player starts with several black tiles scattered throughout the
initial grid. Clicking a colored tile adjacent to a black tile will
eliminate it, along with any other tiles of the same color which are
connected to it. In fact, any tile connected to the black area by the
same color will be eliminated, causing the black to spread in multiple
directions.
As players carve a path through the grid, the black areas will grow,
and more colored tiles may be removed at a time. Aiming for long
chains of a single color can open up the grid at a faster pace. If
you have the ‘gift’ — along with the necessary brain implants to plug
in to the cybernetic interface, of course — you will notice even more
ways to cut your move count down… but even if you cannot compete
with the psionically adept, you can still try to beat your personal
best scores with repeated play. No two games are the same!
Prepare yourself for a challenge which may unlock talents you never
dreamed you had. Prepare to spread the Darkness.
~ by Grant Rose
