States

States, distributed on Info-Mac as states-3000-102-ppc.hqx, is the 1.02 build of States3000, a Macintosh shareware learning game by Ken Winograd of Space-Time Associates in Merrimack, New Hampshire. It reframes the classic hangman word-guessing format around the names of the fifty United States.

Hangman With a Geography Hook

Where standard hangman picks a random word, States3000 always draws from the roster of US state names, turning each round into a small geography drill. The release notes pitch it as the easiest way to learn about all fifty states for players who grew up with the paper-and-pencil version of the game.

Sound, Speech, and Pictures

The build pairs colourful, deliberately non-violent graphics with digitised sound effects, synthesised speech, and per-state pictures and information. Special options aimed at visually challenged users make the title one of the more accessibility-minded entries on the Info-Mac shareware shelf.

What 1.02 Fixes

Version 1.02 corrects a bug that prevented the program from running when the user was missing certain shared libraries, plus an issue that surfaced in some dialog windows. The release also rolls in a few cosmetic touch-ups carried forward from the prior build.

Distribution and Registration

States3000 was announced on January 26, 2001 and is listed as PowerPC-only Macintosh shareware. The author directed players to www.winograd.com for downloads, registration, and additional information about the Space-Time Associates catalogue.