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Quick start

Get started playing the Mouse and Cats game in just a few minutes. This guide assumes you’ve already installed CLIPS 6.4 and have the raton_y_gatos.clp file ready.

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Launch the game

There are two ways to start playing:
If this is your first time playing, view the in-game instructions:
CLIPS> (load "raton_y_gatos.clp")
CLIPS> (instrucciones)
This will display a two-screen tutorial explaining the rules and gameplay.

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Understanding the board

After starting the game, you’ll see an 8x8 chessboard rendered in ASCII art: 
        1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
    ┌───────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬───────┐
  8 │ /\_/\ │       │ /\_/\ │       │ /\_/\ │       │ /\_/\ │       │
    │( o.o )│       │( o.o )│       │( o.o )│       │( o.o )│       │
    │ > ^ < │       │ > ^ < │       │ > ^ < │       │ > ^ < │       │
    ├───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┤
  7 │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │
    │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │
    │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │
    ├───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┤
  6 │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │
    │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │
    │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │       │
    ├───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┼───────┤
  ...
  1 │       │ . . . │       │(_)_(_)│       │ . . . │       │ . . . │
    │       │ . . . │       │ (o o) │       │ . . . │       │ . . . │
    │       │ . . . │       │==\o/==│       │ . . . │       │ . . . │
    └───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴───────┘

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Board legend

  • Cat (/\_/\) - Four cats start at row 8, columns 1, 3, 5, and 7
  • Mouse ((_)_(_)) - Starts at row 1, column 4
  • Black square (. . .) - Playable squares where pieces can move
  • White square (empty) - Non-playable squares

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Making your first move

The mouse always moves first. You’ll be prompted to enter your move:
1

Enter the row number

Type the destination row (1-8) and press Enter:
Ingrese la fila (1-8): 2
2

Enter the column number

Type the destination column (1-8) and press Enter:
Ingrese la columna (1-8): 3
3

Watch the AI respond

After your move, one of the cats will automatically move. The updated board will be displayed showing the new positions.
The game validates your move automatically. You can only move to adjacent diagonal black squares that aren’t occupied by a cat.

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Example game sequence

Here’s what a typical opening might look like: 
CLIPS> (jugar)

[Board displays with mouse at row 1, column 4]

Ingrese la fila (1-8): 2
Ingrese la columna (1-8): 3

[Mouse moves to row 2, column 3]
[Cat at row 8, column 3 moves to row 7, column 4]
[Updated board displays]

Ingrese la fila (1-8): 3
Ingrese la columna (1-8): 2

[Mouse moves to row 3, column 2]
[Cat at row 8, column 1 moves to row 7, column 2]
[Updated board displays]

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Movement rules

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Mouse movement

The mouse can move diagonally in any of the four directions:
  • Up-left (row + 1, column - 1)
  • Up-right (row + 1, column + 1)
  • Down-left (row - 1, column - 1)
  • Down-right (row - 1, column + 1)
The destination square must be:
  • A black square (diagonal from current position)
  • Not occupied by a cat
  • Within board boundaries (rows 1-8, columns 1-8)

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Cat movement

Cats can only move diagonally forward (toward row 1):
  • Forward-left (row - 1, column - 1)
  • Forward-right (row - 1, column + 1)
Cats cannot move backward toward row 8.

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Common errors

You tried to move to a square that’s occupied by a cat or is not a valid black square. Choose a different destination.
Your move doesn’t follow the diagonal movement rule or is outside board boundaries. Remember, the mouse can only move one square diagonally.
The mouse is trapped - game over! The cats win when you have no legal moves remaining.

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Game tips

Head for the edges

Moving toward the sides of the board (columns 1 or 8) can give you more escape options

Avoid the center

The center of the board makes it easier for cats to surround you from multiple directions

Watch cat formations

The cats coordinate their movements - if you see them forming a line, try to break through before it closes

Plan two moves ahead

Think about where the cats will move in response to your action before committing

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Next steps

Now that you’ve played your first game, explore more:

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