═══ 1. General help ═══ Card Games for OS/2 To learn how to use the help function please chose . As a member of CompuServe you can get support thru GO OS2SHARE. Overview Game rules How to play Astra How to play Scrooge How to play TidyUp How to play Elfer How to play Shift How to play Towers How to play King'n'Ace How to play Calculation Menu commands Registering your copy Productinformation and Copyright Special thanks ═══ 2. Overview ═══ This program contains 8 different solitaire card games for OS/2. All games can be won, depending on the luck of the draw and the skill of the player. How to play Astra How to play Scrooge How to play TidyUp How to play Elfer How to play Shift How to play Towers How to play King'n'Ace How to play Calculation ═══ 3. Instructions ═══ To move the cards just drag them to where you want them with the right mouse button. Another way to move cards is to click them with the left mouse button. The card will be moved automatically if there is a legal move. How to play Astra How to play Scrooge How to play TidyUp How to play Elfer How to play Shift How to play Towers How to play King'n'Ace How to play Calculation ═══ 3.1. How to play Astra ═══ Astra is played using an ordinary deck of cards. The Tableau The upper part of the tableau consists of seven auxiliary colomns of five cards each. At the lower left is the talon containing 16 cards beside a single card which has been turned face up. Playing the game To win the game all the cards from the seven columns above and all the cards from the talon must be played upon the single visible card below. Cards from the auxiliary columns are played onto this one card in ascending or descending numerical order without respect to suit. For example any four or six may be played upon any five. When no more cards from the upper part of the tableau can be played, another cards from the talon may be turned up. Strategy It is sometimes best to avoid playing certain cards from the columns above if it will break up the chance of a long sequence at the next draw from the talon. Similarly, given a choice of two cards, either of which can be played, pick the one which will reveal the longest possible sequence in the remaining auxiliary cards. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.2. How to play Scrooge ═══ Scrooge is played using an ordinary deck of cards. The Tableau The tableau consists of the four foundation aces at the top and two auxiliary rows below, each containing six stacks of four cards apiece. The object of the game is to move all the cards to the foundations in ascending order strictly according to suit. Playing the game First move any possible cards from the auxiliaries to the foundations, for example, play the deuce of clubs upon the ace of clubs, and the three of clubs on the deuce, etc. Cards may also be played from one auxiliary stack to another auxiliary, again according to suit but in decreasing order. When no more cards can be played either upon the foundations or within the auxiliary piles, pressing the "Deal Now" button will shuffle the auxiliaries without disturbing any sequences already established. The game is over when all the cards have been played upon the foundations or when no more moves are possible after the last shuffle. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.3. How to play TidyUp ═══ This game is played using 32 cards (the ace and the cards from seven to King of each suit). The Tableau There are 4 rows of cards, each with 8 cards face-up. The four aces are on the left side of the rows. Playing the game To win the game you have to get all the cards of each suit arranged in order from seven to king beside the ace of the same suit. Any seven may be moved to its proper place beside its ace if that spot is vacant. Other than that, a card may only be played if there is an empty spot to the left of the next highest card of the same suit or to the right of the next lowest. In other words, the nine of hearts could only be moved if there were a vacancy to the left of the ten of hearts, wherever it may be, or if there were room immediately to the right of the eight of hearts. Strategy The game comes to a halt when all the free spaces are to the right of the kings, so it is important to be aware of chances to get the kings moved to the far right of the tableau as soon as possible. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.4. How to play Elfer ═══ The game is played using an ordinary deck of cards. The Tableau The cards are placed in three rows of four cards each. The remaining cards are placed face down in the talon. The object of the game is to move all the cards from the talon to the visible part of the tableau. Playing the game Cards are removed from the tableau by clicking on pairs whose face values total eleven, e.g. seven and four, or ace and ten. In addition, any jack, queen, and king may be removed as a triplet. Removed cards are automatically replaced with cards from the talon. Strategy You cannot win the game if you have removed an odd number of jack-queen-king triplets since there will always be one card left in the talon at the end. The game is over when the talon is empty, or when no more "elevens" or triplets can be removed. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.5. How to play Shift ═══ Shift is played using the thirteen diamonds. There are two rows. You have to move the cards so that the upper row contains ace to 7 (from left to right) and the lower row contains the 8 to King so that the free space is at the lower right corner. Cards can be moved horizontally and vertically to the free space. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.6. How to play Towers ═══ Towers is played using 52 cards. The Tableau There is one row with 10 columns of 5 cards each in the lower half of the tableau. In the upper part of the tableau there are 4 auxiliary fields in the middle, two of which are already filled with a randomly dealt card each, and two empty fields on either side where the four foundations are to be built. To win the game you have play all the cards from the tableau onto the foundations strictly by suit in increasing order, starting with the aces. Playing the game First, any free ace may be moved to the foundation fields. Then any available card from the ten columns or from the auxiliary fields which can be played upon the foundations may be moved there. When no more cards can be played directly to the foundations, cards can be played from columns below to other columns in descending order by suit. For example, the eight of spades may be played upon the nine of spades, and the seven upon the eight, etc. The four auxiliary fields in the middle above are used as a "holding tank" for temporary storage of cards. Each field can hold but one card. Cards from the auxiliaries may be played directly upon the foundations in the proper increasing order by suit, or upon the columns below in decreasing order by suit. Only a king may be placed in an empty column area in the lower part of the tableau. Strategy Before building a sequence in one of the columns longer than the number of available holding cells in the auxiliary fields, make certain that the sequence is not burying a card necessary for moving the cards in the series to the foundations or to another column. The game is over when all the cards have been played onto the foundations by suit from ace to king, or when no more moves are possible. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.7. How to play King'n'Ace ═══ King 'n' Ace is played with two decks of cards. The Tableau The foundations consist of two central columns, one of four aces, the other of four kings. To the left and right are two auxiliary columns containing eight randomly dealt cards, and in the right corner is the talon holding the remaining cards beside a blank space for the waste pile. The game is won when all the cards have been played on the foundation columns, strictly by suit, in ascending order upon the four aces and in descending order from the four kings. Playing the game Any card from the top of the eight auxiliary stacks, from the talon, or from the top of the waste pile may be played upon the foundations. Only cards of the same suit may be played, and the order must ascend from ace to king on the left and descend from king to ace on the right. For example, only a deuce of clubs may be played upon the ace of clubs in the left foundation column, and only a three of clubs upon that. Similarly, in the right foundation column, only a queen of diamonds may be played upon the king of diamonds, etc. Any visible card from the foundations, from the auxiliaries, the talon or the waste pile may also be played upon those in the auxiliary columns, again strictly by suit, but here the order may either descend or ascend, and it may change within a single stack. For example, either a nine or a seven of hearts may be played upon the eight of hearts. An empty place in the auxiliaries may be filled with the top card of any other pile from anywhere in the tableau except for the four kings and aces at the bottom of the foundations or from the top of a completed foundation pile. When no cards can be played upon the foundations or into the auxiliaries, the top card from the talon is moved to the waste pile. Cards from the top of either the talon or the waste pile may be played at any time, but cards from the waste pile may not be returned to the talon. The game is over when no more cards can be played, or when all cards have been played on the foundations from ace to king on the left and from king to ace on the right. Further information: Instructions ═══ 3.8. How to play Calculation ═══ Calculation is played with one deck of cards. The Tableau The Ace, two, three and four of diamond are placed across the top of the playing area. These cards form the foundations. The object is to get all the cards onto the foundations. Each Foundation is built up in arithmetical sequence (as shown below), without regard to suit or color. Foundation pile 1 counts by ones, as in: A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K Foundation pile 2 counts by twos, as in: 2 4 6 8 10 Q A 3 5 7 9 J K Foundation pile 3 counts by threes, as in: 3 6 9 Q 2 5 8 J A 4 7 10 K Foundation pile 4 counts by fours, as in: 4 8 Q 3 7 J 2 6 10 A 5 9 K Playing the game The card on top of the deck may be played onto one of the foundations, if possible. Alternatively, place it on one of the auxiliary piles (which are located below the foundations). There are 5 auxiliary piles. If there is already a card on the auxiliary pile, simply place the new card on top of the existing card. At any time, the top card of any auxiliary pile may be played onto the Foundation. No other movement of cards from the auxiliary piles is possible. To win the game, play all the cards onto the Foundations, in the proper order. The game is over when no more cards can be played, or when all cards have been played on the foundations in the proper order. Further information: Instructions ═══ 4. Menu commands ═══ Game New game Games Highscore Quit Moves Undo Redo Pause Cheat Options Deck Single mouseclick Beep Helpbar Time counter Language Help Index help General help Help on help Key help Register Product information ═══ 5. Hotkeys ═══ Hotkeys: F2 New game. F3 Exit. Undo Undo last move. Strg+Undo Redo last move. Strg+p Pause. ═══ 6. Menu Commands ═══ ═══ 6.1. Game ═══ The menu choice includes the following menu choices: Starts a new game. Lets you chose between 8 different Solitaire games. Brings up the records screen (high scores). Terminates Card Games for OS/2. ═══ 6.2. Move ═══ The menu choice includes the following menu choices: Backs up one move. Undoes the last Undo. Interrupts the game. Lets you make illegal moves. By doing so you can't receive a high score. ═══ 6.3. Options ═══ The menu choice includes the following choices: Lets you chose between 9 different pictures. Allows you to play the cards with a single click on the left mouse botton instead of a double click. Lets you turn off the annoying warning beep. Turns the status row including the online help for menu selection on or off. Turns the time counter on or off. It is impossible to reach the Highscore, when disabled. Lets you chose the language support between English, German, Norwegian and Swedish. ═══ 6.4. Help ═══ The menu choice includes the following choices: Displays a list of all help topics in alphabetic order. If you want to know more about one topic, click on the word to go to that entry. Brings up information about the active window. Displays information how to use the help functions. Displays the available hot keys. Brings up a dialog where you may enter the registration code to eliminate the reminder screens. Further information: How to register Brings up the dialog with copyright information. ═══ 7. Informations about the dialogs. ═══ ═══ 7.1. Dialog: Product information ═══ Selecting this option brings up the about screen, wich gives you information about the version number and the author. Please click on the button if you want to see more information about the copyright of this program. Clicking on the button brings up the register dialog. Further Information How to register. ═══ 7.2. Dialog: Game over ═══ You solved the game! Clicking on starts a new game. ═══ 7.3. Dialog: Game over ═══ Hah! You lost! There are still cards left. Clicking on starts a new game. ═══ 7.4. Dialog: Registering your copy ═══ This dialog let's you registering your copy. Please enter your name and the number you have received with your registration (don't ignore white spaces in the registration number). The programm will save the data if you click on the button. Further information How to register. ═══ 7.5. Dialog: Pause ═══ You have paused the game. Clicking on let's you continue the game. ═══ 7.6. Dialog: High score ═══ This dialog box brings up the top scores. You can reset the records from this screen by clicking on . ═══ 8. Register ═══ You have to pay to register this program. To register, send me a note (EMail or post card) with your name and adress or use SWREG on CompuServe or contact BMT Micro. You will receive a registration code which may be entered to eliminate the registration reminder screens. This registration will apply to ALL future releases of this package. Important: The registration fee is all you have to pay. There are no further costs. Direct registration via author --------------------------------- Felix Maschek Pappelallee 5 29640 Schneverdingen Germany The registration fee for this method is DM 35,-- (or USD 28 or equivalent in other currencies) I accept Check, Money order and Cash. Bank account 1238 457 756 Hamburger Sparkasse BCN/BLZ: 200 505 50 (For Germany only: These fees includes 15% sales tax.) Registration via BMT Micro ----------------------------- BMT Micro 452 Horn Rd Wilmington, NC 28412-2411, USA (800) 414-4268 Orders Only (8.00 am - 8.00 pm EST) (910) 791-7052 Orders and Questions (910) 350-2937 Fax Orders and Questions (910) 350-8061 Online Orders (10 lines, all 14.4) The registration fee for this method is USD 28. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, personal checks, cashiers checks and money orders. Registration via CompuServe ---------------------------------- Members of CompuServe have an easier way to register, by using on-line registration. The registration fee for this method is USD 28. Log in to CompuServe. After the 'forum!'-prompt, enter 'GO SWREG', look for FMCRDS or the program 1839 and register online. ═══ 9. Product Information and Copyright ═══ Card Games for OS/2, Copyright 1994 by Felix Maschek, Schneverdingen. This package of games is shareware. That means that if you like it and use it, you have an obligation to pay for it. This program may distributed freely, but it is NOT puplic domain or freeware. You may NOT distribute this program in any commercial format without my express written permission. The author does not warrant uninterrupted or error free operation of the program and is not liable for any loss or damage of your data. Please take care of the possible occurence of virus infections. You have 4 weeks to test the games. If you are using the games beyond the 28 day free trial period, you are required to register your copy. When you register, you will receive a registration code which can be used to personalize your copy. Once the registration code and your name has been entered, your name will appear in the Product Information dialog. You are not allowed to give your registration code or a copy of the registered copy to others. Further information: Registering your copy. This program and all accompanying files may be distributed freely, provided that neither text nor any other file is modified in any way. No file may be omitted in the distribution. This program may be distributed only with the following files: INSTALL.CMD CARDS.EXE PICTURES.DLL FILE_ID.DIZ VERSION.DOC CARDS.ICO ENGLISH.CMD ENGLISH.TXT CARDSENG.DLL CARDSENG.HLP DEUTSCH.CMD DEUTSCH.TXT CARDSGER.DLL CARDSGER.HLP NORSK.CMD NORSK.TXT CARDSNOR.DLL CARDSNOR.HLP SVENSKA.CMD SVENSKA.TXT CARDSSWE.DLL CARDSSWE.HLP FRANCAIS.CMD FRANCAIS.TXT CARDSFRA.DLL CARDSFRA.HLP Please support the idea of shareware. I will program more games and applications for OS/2 if I get enough registrations. Felix Maschek Pappelallee 5 29640 Schneverdingen Germany CompuServe 100120,1370 Internet 100120.1370@compuserve.com ═══ 10. Special thanks ═══ I have to thank the following persons for their help: Britta Drews (beta-testing, ideas and support) Larry Snyder, Michael Kilby and Markus Wetzel for beta-testing and English online-help. J. P. Fagerback for Norwegian online-help. Jan Bergquist for Swedish online-help. Raphael Vannay for French online-help.