Click the link phrase in any question to see our answer. If your question isn't here, please send us an email.
- Why does Internet Explorer give an invalid handle error when I try to download?
- Why am I getting garbage on the screen when I try to download?
- I'm stuck in Santa's Secret Valley! Can I get a hint?
- I'm stuck in Uncle Julius and the Anywhere Machine. How about a hint for me?
- Do you have a catalog of your products?
- I would like to use your quizzes in class. Am I allowed to?
- Why aren't there Macintosh versions of your software?
- Why don't you have hundreds of games like some other sites?
- What is your next adventure game? When is it coming out?
- I need to re-install one of your games, but I've lost my registration code. What should I do?
- I don't live in North America. Can I order one of your games?
- I own a shareware CD with your game on it. I paid for the CD. Why do I have to pay to register?
1. Why does Internet Explorer give an "invalid handle error" when I try to download?
This seems to be an annoying trait of older versions of Explorer. It happens quite a bit with perfectly valid files, and if you know what causes it we'd like to hear from you. In any case, the cure seems to be simply to try again, and if necessary yet again. We recommend that you download our files using the right-button context menu options available in both Explorer and Netscape (see question 2 for more information).
2. Why am I getting garbage on the screen when I download?
This may happen if your browser hasn't been configured with a suitable default action for the file you are trying to download. One quick way to sidestep the problem is to use the right mouse button when you click the download link. This will bring up a number of options; the one you should choose is "Save link as..." (Netscape) or "Save target as..." (Explorer).
3. I'm stuck in Santa's Secret Valley! Can I get a hint?
Yes. Version 3 of the game has complete hint support built right in - just click the hint (life ring) button.
Version 2 comes with its own bundled hint utility. Look for the SSV Hint Utility shortcut/icon that was installed with your game.
Hint resources for Version 1 of Santa's Secret Valley are available here on our web-site, as follows:
If you have not yet registered your copy of the game, download the official "Santa's Secret Valley Hint Encyclopedia". This guide for newcomers to the game is in the form of a Windows help file. It's set up to give you exactly the level of hint you need for any game situation you'll face in the parts of the game that are accessible prior to registration.
For registered users, we have a password-protected on-line Hint Service. You will be asked to give your name and password the first time you try to access this area during an on-line session. The name you give should be the name your game is registered under; your password is the first four characters of your registration code.
4. I'm stuck in Uncle Julius and the Anywhere Machine! How about a hint for me?
If you have a newer version of the Uncle Julius, a hint utility is installed on your machine along with the game. Look for it on your Windows Start/Programs menu. If you don't have the Hint Utility on your machine, you can download it for free from the Uncle Julius hints page.
5. Do you have a catalog of your products?
Not as such. However, all our products - both freeware and shareware - are available on this web site, so it serves as a kind of on-line catalog. For easy reference, here is an up-to-date list of our products and features:
For downloading to your Windows computer:
For browsing on-line:
6. I would like to use one of your quizzes in class. Am I allowed to?
We're happy to give permission for teachers to use our quizzes in their classrooms, and many have done so. All we ask is that the "Family Games Web Center" and its URL (http://familygames.com/) should be acknowledged as the source of the information in any written materials based on the quiz, and that you give us at least a mention in oral versions of the quiz. We also like to know (mostly for our own interest!) when you're doing this, so please send us an email and tell us about your plans.
You can also download our Christmas quizzes for use off-line. Use the same link to obtain printable question and answer sheets for use at Christmas parties.
Please note that you are not allowed to sell any of our quizzes in whole or in part in any form, to publish or distribute them other than as mentioned above, or to display them on a web-site or bulletin board, without explicit permission from AHA! Software Inc. You don't need permission to link to our quizzes from your own web-site, however.
7. Why aren't there Macintosh versions of your software?
We apologize to the many Mac owners who have asked us this question, but we simply don't have the resources to develop and maintain Mac versions of Santa's Secret Valley, Twisted Tails and our other programs. It isn't that we don't respect the Mac and its users, or that we have anything against Apple, or that we think the Macintosh market too small to bother with. If we were a larger company, we would develop for both platforms and be glad of it. Meanwhile, we hope you'll understand our situation, and continue to enjoy the many fine programs that are available only for the Mac!
8. Why don't you have hundreds of games like some other sites?
Unlike the Games areas on ZD-Net or SoftSeek (to name only two), our web site is not meant as a repository for games at large. The games we present were all designed and written here at AHA! Software. The collection is steadily growing, but it's safe to say that it will never be huge. It is unique - it's unlikely you'll find all our games in one place anywhere else on the web.
9. What is your next adventure game? When is it coming out?
Our most recent adventure game is All Aboard for Santa, released in the summer of 2000. We don't have immediate plans for the next one, but it's safe to say there will be one eventually. Watch this space.
10. I need to re-install one of your games, but I've lost my registration code. What should I do?
Get in touch with us, preferably by email, and give us enough information to identify your order. Often just your name and email address are enough, but if you ordered under a different name, or have changed your email address, we might need other information such as a phone number, address and approximate order date. Once we know who you are, we'll replace your registration code at no cost.
11. I don't live in North America. Can I order one of your games?
If you have a VISA or MasterCard credit card, it's easy to order via the Internet from anywhere in the world. Just fill out one of our secure on-line order forms, or order via email with your credit card number split across two separate messages for security. You can also order by mail to the address given in the ordering information for the game you want to register.
When ordering by mail, you can use an international money order or cheque made out for the appropriate amount in U.S. or Canadian funds. Cheques must be drawn on a U.S. or Canadian bank. You can also send cash (U.S. or Canadian), but in that case you must accept the slight risk of your order being lost in the mail.
12. I own a shareware CD with your game on it. I paid for the CD. Why do I have to pay to register?
The kind of CD you have bought is a "shareware compilation". The software consists of evaluation versions of shareware programs that the CD publisher downloaded from the Internet - just as you or anyone else can. The publisher has no connection at all with the developers of the shareware, who do not get a cut of the sales price, and often don't even know that their software has been scooped up for a CD.
The only reason for buying a CD of this type is to save yourself the time, trouble and expense of downloading. It doesn't mean that you have paid for the programs on the CD - it just gives you a chance to try them out so that you can decide which ones you want to register. In fact, when you consider that a shareware CD often has several hundred titles on it, it should be pretty obvious that to buy all of them would cost a lot more than the price you paid.
| 
