Mille plays a two-handed game reminiscent of the Parker Brother's game of Mille Bornes with you. The rules are described below. If a file name is given on the command line, the game saved in that file is started.
When a game is started up, the bottom of the score window will contain a list of commands. They are:
P
Pick a card from the deck. This card is placed in the ‘P' slot in your hand.
D
Discard a card from your hand. To indicate which card, type the number of the card in the hand (or ‘P' for the just-picked card) followed by a <RETURN> or <SPACE>. The <RETURN> or <SPACE> is required to allow recovery from typos which can be very expensive, like discarding safeties.
U
Use a card. The card is again indicated by its number, followed by a <RETURN> or <SPACE>.
O
Toggle ordering the hand. By default off, if turned on it will sort the cards in your hand appropriately. This is not recommended for the impatient on slow terminals.
Q
Quit the game. This will ask for confirmation, just to be sure. Hitting <DELETE> (or <RUBOUT>) is equivalent.
S
Save the game in a file. If the game was started from a file, you will be given an opportunity to save it on the same file. If you don't wish to, or you did not start from a file, you will be asked for the file name. If you type a <RETURN> without a name, the save will be terminated and the game resumed.
R
Redraw the screen from scratch. The command ^L (control ‘L') will also work.
W
Toggle window type. This switches the score window between the startup window (with all the command names) and the end-of-game window. Using the end-of-game window saves time by eliminating the switch at the end of the game to show the final score. Recommended for hackers and other miscreants.
If you make a mistake, an error message will be printed on the last line of the score window, and a bell will beep.
At the end of each hand or game, you will be asked if you wish to play another. If not, it will ask you if you want to save the game. If you do, and the save is unsuccessful, play will be resumed as if you had said you wanted to play another hand/game. This allows you to use the “
S” command to reattempt the save.