HEARTS.TXT   (Ver.  6a)                        November 17, 1989


             HEARTS  is a very easy card game to play and one that will
       give you many hours of enjoyment.  The rules for this  game  are
       quite simple.    After  the  cards  have been shuffled, they are
       dealt clockwise to each player.  There are four players in  this
       game with  each  receiving 13 cards (a total of 52).  The direc-
       tion of play, like most card  games,  is  clockwise  around  the
       table.   A player must always match the SUIT of the card that is
       played first.  If a player does not have the LEAD suit  then  he
       or she can play any card in their hand.  The cards are RANKED in
       descending value  from  the  A  to the 2.  The Ace (A) being the
       HIGHEST rank.  The player having the highest ranked card in  the
       lead  suit  takes  that TRICK and BEGINS play on the next trick.
       There are four cards in each trick (one from each player) and 13
       tricks per hand.  Each NEW HAND is started by leading the TWO OF
       CLUBS.

             The scoring of HEARTS is what makes this game unique  from
       most other  card  games.   The LOWEST accumulated score wins the
       game.  The score is determined by the number of POINT CARDS that
       a player has received in the tricks that he or  she  has  taken.
       The point cards are - all HEARTS, each counting as one point and
       the QUEEN OF SPADES which counts as 13 points.  There is a total
       of 26  points  for  each hand.  The score from each hand is then
       added to your Game Score.  When a player reaches or exceeds  the
       Game  Point,  then  the  game  is  ended and the player with the
       LOWEST score wins that game.

             If you are able to take all 26 points for that hand,  then
       you have "SHOT THE MOON" (a run) and each of your opponents will
       receive 26  points.  Remember, LOW score wins, and a score of 25
       does not qualify as a RUN.  You cannot lead a HEART or the QUEEN
       OF SPADES until they have been  BROKEN  (one  has  already  been
       played), or unless this is all that remains in your hand.

             At  the beginning of each hand all players have the oppor-
       tunity to PASS three cards to another player.  The direction  of
       the pass  is counter-clockwise.  The first pass is to the player
       on your RIGHT.  The next pass to the player ACROSS from you  and
       the last  to  the  player on your LEFT.  The next hand is a HOLD
       hand, in which no cards are passed.    The  pass  rotation  then
       begins again.

          3      The players are numbered from 1 to 4, with YOU playing
       2     4   position  number  "1" at the bottom of the table.   As
          1      always, play rotation is clockwise.

             The OPTION MENU can be called at any time  throughout  the
       game.  This is done with the ESCAPE key.  The hand you are play-
       ing  will  be  SAVED and the game will continue upon your return
       from the Option Menu.

             When selecting your cards  to  PASS,  you  may  void  your
       selection at  any  time by pressing the ESCAPE key.  The process
       will then begin again.

             Use the RIGHT and LEFT arrow keys or  ROLL  the  mouse  to
       select the  card  to  play.   After you have selected your card,
       press the ENTER key or LEFT mouse button to play that card.  The
       keyboard CURSOR will skip played cards and will jump to the  low
       card of the suit in play.  The CURSOR will also wrap from end to
       end.   Pressing  the  ENTER  key or LEFT mouse button after each
       trick will bypass the Delay and speed the game along.

             The DOWN arrow key or LEFT mouse button will act the  same
       as  the  ENTER key and will respond "Y" to a question and the UP
       arrow key or RIGHT mouse button will act the same as the ESC key
       and will respond "N" to a question.  This allows game play to be
       conducted entirely from centrally located KEYS.

             When  using  the DOS Shell  from the Option Menu,  be sure
       that Hearts  can  find the file COMMAND.COM.   This  can be done
       by setting the environment variable COMSPEC.  At the DOS prompt,
       type and Enter  --  set comspec=[location]\command.com.

             Any comments or suggestions will  be  gratefully  accepted
       and an honest attempt  will be made to answer them.  Please read
       the file HEARTS.REG for additional information.

             This  program  requires  a  computer  with  color  monitor
       capabilities and the following files present (in the same direc-
       tory) to operate properly.

                     HEARTS.EXE - HEARTS.DAT - HEARTS.TXT

                         --- Good Luck and Enjoy ---