I take no credit for anything in this guide. I collected the information in this guide from Steam and from other websites in order to put them in one place for your convenience. You're welcome.

Part A - Hard Requirement: Windows Configuration
1. Right-click your Windows Icon.
2. Click Run.
3. Enter "OptionalFeatures.exe" (without the quotes) in the Open box and click OK.
4. Click the + by the Legacy Components folder.
5. Make sure that the checkbox by Direct Play is checked.

Part B - Maybe This Helps the Game Crash Less: Compatibility Mode
1. Right-click on the game in your Steam Library.
2. Select Manage.
3. Browse Local Files.
4. Right-click on the Galactrix application.
5. Choose Properties.
6. Select the Compatibility Tab.
7. In the Compatibility Mode box, check the only checkbox.
8. Some people suggest that you check Windows 7. Others suggest Windows XP (Service Pack 3). Since the crashes happen randomly, I have no way of telling which one is best.

Well, you still have to hack gates (and sniff out rumors), but this trick will make it dirt simple. However, you'll need the following tools to make this trick happen:
1. A file zipper (7-Zip is free, and it is what I used)
2. A text file editor (Notepad++ is free, and it is what I used).

You can search for 7-Zip and Notepad++ on your favorite search engine to find what you need.


Step A: Unzipping the Zipped Folders
1. Right-Click Puzzle Quest Galactrix in your Steam library > Manage > Browse Local Files.
2. Unzip the Assets and Update folders using your file zipper. 7-Zip has an option has an option if you right-click on the zipped folder and choose 7-Zip. The Extract Files... option will create a new folder for you with everything unzipped inside it. I prefer that option.


Step B: Finding the Files for those Pesky Mini-Games
1. Hack.lua and Rumor.lua are found in Assets > Assets > Scripts > GlobalFunctions.
2. Hack.lua is also in Update > Assets > Scripts > GlobalFunctions.
3. You have three files to open with your text file editor (Notepad++).


Step C: Both Hack.lua Files

They should look like this:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
local function Hack(sourceMenu,player1,location,questID,objectiveID)


player1:SetAttribute('team',1)
local keys = 1

You only need to change the local keys line. By setting the keys to 1 you are making all warp gates only take one match to open. It's glorious. Make the change to both Hack.lua files and save them.


Step D: The Rumor.lua File

It should look like this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
local function RumorGame(sourceMenu, player1, location,questID,objectiveID)

player1:SetAttribute('team', 1)

local event = GameEventManager:Construct("GameStart")
event:PushAttribute('Players', player1)

local rumor = string.format("R%03d", _G.SATELLITES[location].rumor)
local cost = 1

You only need to change the local cost line. By setting the cost to 1 you are making all rumors only take one match to find. It's glorious. Make the change to the file and save it.


Step E: Replacing the Original Game Folders
1. I chose to backup the original folders in someplace other than your Galactrix directory (such as Downloads).
2. To zip the Assets folder, you need to drill into the folder structure until you see a folder called Assets and also folders for various languages. Then you select all the folders and zip them into a folder called Assets.zip. Move the new folder to your Galactrix directory.
3. Just as with Assets, you need to go into the Update folder and find the Assets folder with the folders for other languages. Zip them all into a new folder called Updates.zip. Move the folder to your Galactrix directory.

Step F: Enjoy!