Tutorial Contest Entry 1

= JUDGES' SCORES =

See the forum-announcement post for a description of the judging categories.

The averaged scores of the judges for this entry were: Clarity: 9.50 Comprehensiveness: 8.17 Contribution: 9.50 Illustrations: 9.33 Presentation: 9.83 Research: 7.83

The final score is a sum of these scores, with "internal" categories (clarity, comprehensiveness, illustrations, presentation) counting 2x as much as "external" categories (contribution, research). Maximum score is 100. The final score for this tutorial is: 91

= Whirlpools: Don't avoid 'em - use 'em! =

= Introduction =

= Using the Whirly Math Laboratory Applet =

Full details fer using the Whirly Math Laboratory applet are found at How to Use the Whirly Math Laboratory. For practicing the patterns below, just click either Start at Open or Start at Closed as appropriate, then click Change Tokens to set the tokens to match the pattern shown. While Change Tokens is active, clicking the spots where the tokens (or cannonballs or grapples) go will rotate between the possible tokens just like it does in-game. When ye have the pattern matched, click Change Tokens again to deactivate it, then click Go. Ye can adjust the speed of the applet by moving the slider bar at the top of the applet to the left a bit.

= Basic Patterns =

Shooting
= Variations =

Shooting Parallel
Sitting parallel to the whirlpool be extremely useful in shooting. If the brigand is parked with his backside to a whirlpool, and ye have been sitting there on the other side shooting him, when ye be ready to grapple it just takes one turn. Use a gold turn into an open entrance, or a blue turn into a closed entrance, with the grapple on the first turn. Or ye can enter the whirlpool and shoot from there.

In-game video of Shooting Variation from Open

In-game video of Shooting Variation from Closed

Advanced Variations
More confusing are variations where ye don't take the time to line up the right place to enter the whirlpool, but instead use a token after ye be inside the whirlpool that leaves ye still in the whirlpool. This is fer advanced Whirly Math experts, but ye can experiment with it in the Whirly Math Laboratory applet to see if ye can discover some good ones.

This trick is useful when the wily rascals move after ye enter the whirlpool, so yer original plan to shoot or grapple doesn't work. If ye need to be bouncing the other pair of corners, then choose a time tick where ye are not pointed out of the whirlpool, and use a green token. 'Twill take practice to know which direction to shoot after doing this, but pretending yer hand is a boat helps when ye be in the heat of battle and no time to test it in the lab.

Moving Across Two Whirlpools
= Target Practice Games =

There be three target practice games ye can play in the Whirly Math Laboratory. Set the target? switch to On and then click Random start to play one of them. Tis a target, not a brigand, so it won't move and it won't shoot at ye.

Bull's eye!
In the Bull's Eye game, yer goal is to move yer sloop until it is on the same square as the target (and then stop). When this happens, the target vanishes. If ye don't stop, it counts as a miss.

Grapple!
In the Grapple game, yer goal is to grapple the target. When this happens, the target changes color and yer sloop stops moving (even if it be in a whirlpool or has more token moves lined up).

Fire!
In the Fire game, yer goal is to shoot the target as many times as ye like. Every time yer cannonball hits the target, flames burst out fer a short time.

= Links =
 * Whirlpool
 * Sea battle
 * Whirlpool discussion
 * Whirly Math Laboratory

''In-game images and videos used above were taken from Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates,'' copyright Three Rings Design, Inc. Images were composited by the author of this tutorial for use on this page and also in the applet. This tutorial was created as an entry in the Ultimate Guru event.