Shape Match — Kiosk Game — User Manual

This manual applies to:

Shape Match is a downloadable PHP / HTML5 touchscreen game for trade shows, lobbies and websites: a player drags each target shape into its matching cutout before the clock runs out. This manual covers download, installation, kiosk set-up, gameplay, the operator menu, lead capture and GDPR.

Caution: this is software you host yourself — before any public deployment, change the default operator PIN and make sure the game’s data/ folder can never be browsed over the web. You are the data controller for any player data you collect.

Disclaimer

Made for Arcade makes no representations or warranties with respect to this manual and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, expressly limits its liability for any failure to conform to any warranty resulting from the replacement of this manual with another. In addition, Made for Arcade reserves the right to revise this publication at any time without obligation to notify any person of the revision.

The information in this documentation contains general descriptions and/or technical characteristics of the performance of the machine mentioned in this documentation. This documentation is not intended as a substitute for, and should not be used to determine, the suitability or reliability of this machine for specific user applications.

It is the duty of such user or system integrator to carry out — in relation to the relevant specific application or use of the product — an adequate and complete risk analysis, evaluation and testing of the products.

Please note: all images used in this manual are for illustrative purposes only and may differ from the actual product. This is because the colours, dimensions and other properties of the actual product may differ from the image.

Made for Arcade and/or its affiliates or subsidiaries are not responsible or liable for any misuse of the information contained in this document. If you have any suggestions for improvements or changes, or have found any errors in this documentation, please let us know.

All relevant national, regional and local safety regulations must be followed when installing and using this machine. For safety reasons and to ensure compliance with the documented system data, the components may only be repaired by the manufacturer.

If machines are used for applications with technical safety regulations, the relevant instructions must be observed. Failure to observe this information may result in personal injury and/or damage to the machine.

This machine is intended for entertainment purposes only. It is not intended for use for profit, for the wagering or payout of money, or for gambling or games of chance. Made for Arcade makes no representation or warranty that the use, installation or operation of this machine is permitted or lawful in any particular region, country, jurisdiction or venue. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer and/or end-user to ensure that their use of the machine complies with all applicable laws, regulations and licensing or permit requirements (including any gambling, gaming or amusement regulations).

Copyright

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Other languages

This is the English user manual (or an automatic translation thereof). Manuals in other languages may be available on request.

Support and service

For more information, service, technical support, ordering user manuals, or for any other questions, please contact:
Made for Arcade
Besterdstraat 9a, 5051HH Goirle, The Netherlands
Email: [email protected] · Web: madeforarcade.com

Game description

Shape Match is a high-tempo shape-matching activation delivered as a self-contained PHP / HTML5 package — no database, no external dependencies and no analytics SDKs. You drop the folder onto any PHP-capable web host and it serves. The same package runs full-screen on a touchscreen kiosk at an event, or embedded as a browser demo inside your own website. This manual also applies to the other Signature-Series kiosk titles (Bubble-Pop, 4-in-a-Row and Sliders): they share the same installation, operator menu, branding and data handling — only the gameplay differs.

What’s in the ZIP:

Item	Purpose
`index.php`	Entry point — assembles the UI and serves the gameplay JavaScript.
`config.php`	Game palette, texts, default settings and the `DEMO_MODE` flag.
`save.php` / `load.php`	Tiny endpoints for settings, high scores and raffle leads.
`UI_parts.php`	Reusable HUD, on-screen keyboard and panel helpers.
`screens/`	One PHP partial per screen (idle, countdown, gameplay, score reveal, recap, etc.).
`CSS/design.css`	Single stylesheet with the signature look.
`assets/shape_packs/`	Optional icon bundles you swap per campaign.
`sounds/, music/, images/, branding/`	Game audio and default artwork.

Intended use

Shape Match is intended as promotional entertainment — at trade shows, lobbies, showrooms and on your own campaign website — under your control as operator. It is software you host and run; there is no physical machine supplied. There is no minimum age, but young children should play under supervision.

How to get it

Every Made for Arcade title is distributed as an instant-download ZIP.

Purchase the game on madeforarcade.com — payment is handled by our checkout partner.
Save the confirmation e-mail — it contains your download link and licence key.
Click the download link to fetch shapematch.zip (typically under 20 MB).
Unzip locally — you’ll see a folder with index.php, config.php and the asset sub-folders.

Download links are valid for 7 days and can be used up to 5 times. Need another link? Reply to the confirmation e-mail and we’ll reissue one.

Install on your web host

The game runs on any shared or dedicated web host supporting PHP 8.0 or later. No database is required.

Open your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, etc.) or connect via SFTP.
Upload the unzipped folder into your web root — typically public_html/ or a sub-folder such as public_html/games/shapematch/.
Make sure the data/ sub-directory is writable (permissions 0775 or higher) — the game writes settings, high scores and (optionally) leads there.
Visit your URL in a browser, e.g. https://yourdomain.com/games/shapematch/. The idle screen should load within a couple of seconds.
Set your own operator PIN hash in server_config.php before going public (change the default first — see Operator menu).

Run the game under HTTPS: the operator form submits over POST and sets a session cookie, and the shipped code sets the cookie’s secure flag automatically when PHP detects HTTPS.

Install locally with XAMPP

For local testing, use XAMPP on Windows, macOS or Linux.

Download and install XAMPP from apachefriends.org.
Start Apache from the XAMPP control panel.
Unzip the game into C:xampphtdocsshapematch (Windows) or /Applications/XAMPP/htdocs/shapematch/ (macOS).
Browse to http://localhost/shapematch/index.php. Changes to PHP / JS are visible on refresh.

If high scores or settings fail to save on Windows, right-click the data/ folder → Properties → Security and give Users full control.

Run on a touchscreen kiosk

The game is designed for a portrait 1080 × 1920 touchscreen, typically a 43″–55″ commercial display in kiosk mode.

Use a long-term-support browser (Chrome, Edge or Firefox) with auto-update disabled.
Start the browser full-screen, e.g. chrome.exe --kiosk --app=http://localhost/shapematch/.
Rotate the display to portrait in the operating-system display settings.
Disable screensaver, sleep and system notifications.
Keep pinch-to-zoom disabled (already handled in our CSS, but check the OS does not override it).
To start automatically on boot, pin the kiosk URL to a startup shortcut with the --kiosk flag — the game resumes to the idle screen by itself.

Embed in your own website

You can embed the game inside your own corporate or campaign site as a browser-based demo by dropping a full-viewport iframe on a page.

For a public demo, set $DEMO_MODE = true in config.php: the operator menu is fully blocked, settings revert on each page reload, and high-score / lead writes are disabled.
To open the operator menu over a live URL, append ?operator=1 — in normal mode this opens the PIN prompt; in demo mode the menu stays locked.
Keep the frame’s aspect ratio at 1080/1920 or the layout stretches.

Gameplay mechanics

Shape Match is a timed matching game. Each round shows a target shape and a grid of candidate cutouts; the player drags the target into the matching cutout before the shape clock runs out.

Idle screen — a rotating info deck attracts the player.
Push to start → a 5-second countdown.
Level 1 opens a simple 3 × 3 grid; players drag the target into the matching cell.
Each level adds rotating cells, veiled cells or bigger grids, and the shape clock gets tighter.
Game over → score reveal → high-score entry (name + optional e-mail) → Hall of Fame.
After 15 seconds the kiosk returns to idle automatically.

Scoring: correct matches score points based on level × remaining shape clock; wrong matches block the cell and cost points. When a branded target image is active, a configurable percentage of rounds use your logo or mascot as the target instead of a built-in geometric shape.

Game options & features

Every tunable setting is live-editable from the operator menu. Defaults below come from config.php.

Setting	Range	Default
Volume	0 – 100	70
Time per shape	4 – 20 s	8 s
Shapes to clear level 1	1 – 20	3
Max rotation RPM	1 – 25	12
Rotating cells	0 – 30	5
Shape background tone	0 – 100	8
Brand target chance	0 – 100 %	35
Demo mode	on / off	off
Colour scheme	default or single-colour override	default

In demo mode, operator changes apply for the browsing session only — reloading the page restores the baseline saved in shapematch_settings.json.

The operator menu is a hidden settings panel behind a PIN.

Open it by tapping the invisible 110 × 110 px hotspot in the bottom-right corner of the idle screen, or deep-link to index.php?operator=1.
Enter the operator PIN. The shipped default is 2468 and is public — replace the SHA-256 hash (operator_pin_sha256) in server_config.php before any public deployment, or your settings are wide open.

From the menu you can adjust every setting above, plus the branding options:

Option	What it does
Branding media	Image or short video shown in the idle deck.
Branded target image	The PNG used as the brand-target shape.
Brand title	Replaces the idle title plaque and footer label.
Colour scheme	Default, or pick any colour to recolour the whole UI.

Shape packs

Shape packs are ZIPs of transparent PNG / WebP icons (up to 30 per pack, 10 packs total). Upload from the operator menu — each pack is auto-normalised to 512 × 512 and stored in assets/shape_packs/. Switch the active pack from the dropdown; the game falls back to its built-in geometric shapes when no pack (or fewer than 2 enabled shapes) is active. In demo mode, shape-pack uploading is disabled because it would write to disk.

Retrieve the data list

All player-supplied data is stored as plain files inside the game’s data/ folder — no database, no cloud export.

Data	Location
High scores	`data/high_scores/shapematch_highscores.json` — name, score, level and shapes-matched.
Raffle / leads	`data/user_data_csv/shapematch_raffle_leads.csv` — one line per lead; opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.

To fetch the files: SFTP / SSH into the host and download from /data/high_scores/ and /data/user_data_csv/, or use your hosting control panel’s File Manager. Rotate the leads file after each activation and move it into your CRM or mailing tool.

Never expose data/ over HTTP. Add a .htaccess with Deny from all inside the data/ folder, or move it outside your web root, so leads and high scores are not publicly browsable.

Made for Arcade ships the software; you are the data controller for any player-supplied information. All data stays on your own host — nothing is transmitted to Made for Arcade.

What the game can collect: a player display name (max 18 characters); an e-mail address (optional — only if the player opts in for raffle prizes); an optional free-form choice field; and the high-score record. It collects no IP address, device fingerprint, analytics cookie or third-party tracker.

Your responsibilities as operator / data controller:

Display a short consent notice on your booth or page explaining why you collect name and e-mail.
Offer a clear opt-in (the in-game GDPR checkbox) — never pre-tick it.
Keep a retention schedule (many campaigns delete leads 90 days after the raffle closes).
Respond to access and deletion requests — you own the CSV, so edits are made by hand.
Publish a privacy-policy URL wherever you embed the game.
In the EU / UK, you may list Made for Arcade as a processor for the software only — we never see the leads.

When $DEMO_MODE = true, lead-capture writes are disabled server-side — even a consenting player’s e-mail is discarded. Use demo mode for any public URL where you are not running a real campaign.

Music licensing

The game ships with a bundled music playlist licensed for non-commercial kiosk use only. If you plan commercial radio-style playback in public spaces, replace the tracks in the music/ folder with licences you control.

Shape Match — Kiosk Game — User Manual.