Reliquarium

Reliquarium is a very unique set of four 3D slider puzzles, all with a Crystal Skull theme. Three are my own creation, while the fourth is a well-known Grabarchuk slider puzzle.

A reckless raider from Indiana has plundered tombs and displaced ancient relics. The objective is to return each relic to the center of its cubical box by rearranging the numbered blocks back into their proper order.

Dragging the cursor rotates the cube for a better view angle. The mouse wheel zooms. Typing a number 1..8 selects a block to move, 0 selects the relic itself. Then use the keys {u,d,l,r,f,b} to move the selected block ( Up, Down, Left, Right, Forward, Backward ).

Alternatively, you can select a block by clicking on it prior to the move.

As indicated on screen, (h) will toggle a help screen.

These puzzles are easy enough for children and will likely help with learning 3D visualization, geometry, problem solving and computer skills.

Works on Windows, Macs running OS-X and PCs running GNU/Linux.

Strategy suggestion: temporarily combine complementary pieces to maximize contiguous empty swap space.

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## Mouse/touchpad/keyboard controls

Look direction is controlled by a touch pad swipe or mouse drag;

Movement is controlled by the keys:

u d l r f b (Up Down Left Right Forward Backward)

In other words...

* forward/backward : moves selected block in Z direction

* right/left : moves selected block in X-direction

* up/down : moves selected block in Y-direction

This terminology for key-assignments assumes X+ is rightward, Y+ is upward, and Z+ is outward...the standard "view" for geometrical discussions in mathematics and physics. Note that the X, Y, & Z Axes are displayed by default.

Other keys active:

* (esc)-key => Exit puzzle

* (q)-key => Exit selection screen

* (mouseWheel) => Zoom

* (i)/(o)-keys => Zoom In/Out

* (spc)-key => Restart

* (c)-key => nextSkinColor

* (n)-key => toggle Numerals

* (h)-key => Help toggle

* 0-9 => select numbered block

* (s)-key => select Skull

* (m)-key => select Medusa head

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There are 4 variations numbered 2, 4, 5, and 6, according to a dimension of each puzzle. Note that the puzzles with a smaller number are somewhat more difficult.

One way to start the game is to open a [command-line] console, navigate to the installation directory, and at the command line type "reliquarium_gnu" or "reliquarium_osx" or "winreliq.bat".

In Linux, you may also double click the icon for reliquarium_gnu in the file manager.

For Mac users, there is now a Mac bundle (named "reliquarium.app") that acts like a real Mac app. You can put it into your personal Applications directory with the command "cp -r reliquarium.app ~/Applications". You can navigate to the installation directory in Finder and click the reliquarium.app icon named "Reliquarium".