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10-20-30

   File

   Options

   Help

   How to Play

   Support

  General information

This is a game I learned to play when I lived in Hay River, N.W.T., Canada. I have found during my time of writing and telling friends about this program that not many people seem to know it. I hope you like it. Don't tell your kids, but it's a great math drill too.

This is not a traditional seven-row solitaire game, where you could just as easily play the game with a deck of real cards - and much more cheaply too, if that was your only reason for owning a computer. The nature of this game sometimes causes you to have a row of 30 cards or more, and when coupled with removing cards from the top and bottom of the row, it makes for a fair amount of care needed to keep things neat. This is where a computer program really shines, completely reformatting a longer row each time cards are added or removed from it. You will see this as you play, when the rows get long. Don't worry if you start to get middle cards bunched together so tightly that you can't see which cards are there - you can only make your group of three cards out the top or bottom three, and those ones will always be visible.

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File

      New Deal

Here is where you start a new game.

      Exit

This exits the program.

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Options

     Sounds

Selecting this menu item toggles sounds on and off. I recommend you turn this off if you don't have a sound card, since you won't be able to hear the sounds anyway. Although you can continue playing while most sound effects run, turning off the sounds does make certain operations like new deals faster.

An explanation of various sounds you will hear when you deal cards is in order. There are several different sounds associated with the number of cards left in the deck, which play if you deal several cards without picking up any. These are only reminders that you are in danger of losing the game, and are not associated with missing groups of cards to take off.

     Card Backs

This is where you select one of the six card backs to use during the game. Click your mouse on the card back you want to use.

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Help

   Help

      About

Displays this help file.

      Version

Displays a dialog box with the current version information on this program.

      Enter Serial #

      Register

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Enter your serial number:

   Cancel

   OK

   Serial number fields

Once you register your copy of the program and receive your serial number, enter the number in the fields here.

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Enter your serial number:, Cancel

   Cancel

Use the Cancel button if you don't want to enter your serial number. The register reminder screen will return.

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Enter your serial number:, OK

   OK

Use the OK button once you have entered your serial number.

At this point the serial number you have entered will be checked for validity and feedback on same will be given. If you made an error in entering your serial number you will get another chance to enter it.

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Reminder Screen
Register Reminder Screen

The register reminder screen automatically comes up every time you either shut down or minimize the program. Once you register your copy of the program, receive your serial number, and enter it into the program this screen never comes up again.

   Register

   Enter serial #

   Count Down Display

This display gives you positive feedback that the program hasn't stopped responding, and shows how many seconds are left before the reminder screen disappears on it's own.

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Reminder, Register
Register

   Clicking on the Register button

Brings up the registration application form in Notepad. Fill this in and mail it to me with your money order. If you would rather use your credit card for payment and register online, check my website at www.enc.yk.net/10-20-30/ for details.

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Reminder, Enter serial #
Enter serial #

   The Enter serial # button

Clicking on this button brings up the form where you can enter your serial number.

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How to Play

  Rules of the game

  Playing the game

  Strategy

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Rules of the game

This game, as the name implies, focuses on adding the values of cards to reach ten, twenty or thirty. To do this:

1) You must select a group of three cards.

2) The cards must be either on the top or bottom of the active row. That is, in order to select, for example, the second from top card, you must also select the top card.

3) The three cards you select can be any combination of top and bottom cards.

4) Face cards all have a value of ten.

5) You must take your group of three cards from only the active row.

The game begins with a new deal to four rows. As you remove groups of three cards adding up to ten, twenty or thirty, they are returned to the bottom of the deck to be reused. The object of the game is to remove all cards from each row. Once a row is empty it remains unused for the rest of that game. You win the game when all of the cards are back in the deck.

You can remove more than one group of three cards in the active row if there is another 10-20-30 grouping uncovered when you take a group of three cards off the row. Taking three and sometimes four groups off one row before moving to the next row is not unheard of.

Moving to the next row is begun by dealing another card.

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Playing the game

    Dealing cards

To move to the next row, click on the deck. Another card will be dealt to the next row, and the horizontal marker above the row will move signifying which row is active.

Note: a row which has only one card in it will have a card dealt to it, and the program will automatically move on to the next row. This is because you cannot make a group of three cards if there are still only two cards in the row.  If you have sounds enabled you will hear a click sound when this happens, giving you audible feedback.

The same automatic move to the next row will happen if you remove cards from a row, reducing the number of cards left to less than three.

Rows which you have emptied will be skipped until you click on the menu choice New Deal.

(Empying rows is how you win the game.)

    Picking up a group of three cards

You can select a group of three cards several ways.

1) Click on each card in turn, starting from the outer card inwards.

2) Click on an inner card; that will automatically mark the card or cards outward from there to the end of the row.

Note: Since you must make the 10-20-30 out of exactly three cards, you cannot select cards farther from the end than 3 cards, either from the top or bottom. If you click on the third card in from the end you will have selected 3 cards with one mouse click. Clicking on any card in a 3 card row will select all 3 cards for removal.

3) If you are making a group of three cards out of a combination of top and bottom cards, double click to select all 3 cards at once. For example, if you want to take off the bottom card and the top 2 cards, double-click the bottom card or double-click the second from top card.

Once you have selected 3 cards for removal the program will perform a check for a valid 10-20-30. If the cards you selected qualify, the cards will be removed to the bottom of the deck for reuse.

    Special instructions for short rows

For 4 and 5 card rows there is an overlap in the groups of three cards. For example, in a 5 card row the third card from the top is also the third card from the bottom. That means you could use the card in a group of three top cards or a group of three bottom cards. In order to distinguish which this is in 4 and 5 card rows I elected to require the player to first mark the outer two cards, then the third card.

Note: mixing top and bottom cards, and marking them with the double mouse click as described above, operates the same for short rows as for longer rows.

Examples:

1) Marking the bottom three cards in a 5 card row. [Screen shot]

Click on the second from bottom card, which marks the bottom card as well.

Click on the center card, which is the third card from both top and bottom.

2) Marking the bottom three cards in a 4 card row. [Screen shot]

Click on the second from bottom card, which marks the bottom card as well.

Click on the third card from the bottom, which is also the second card from the top.

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Strategy

Sometimes you have choices on which three cards you take off a row. At these times some choices increase your chances of winning the game. They are listed here loosely in order of priority.

1) Leave a face card at the top of the row (as seen in the window) if possible, or better yet two facecards, or two cards adding up to ten.

(This is because there are more cards with a value of ten than anything else, so your chances of dealing one to the row is higher than any other card.)

2) It is better to take cards off the top of the row (cards on the row longest) than the bottom (cards added most recently), except in the case of item #1.

3) If the row is not so long you can't see middle cards, check to see if you can change which three cards you take and so give yourself another group of three cards to take off next.

4) Once you have emptied two rows be especially careful to not miss 10-20-30's as the pattern of how the cards come back off the deck to two rows makes it harder to take cards off.

5) Never pass up taking cards off unless you're down to nine or twelve cards in the deck and you're in a no-win looping pattern.

6) If you get down to only one row you are assured of a win unless you miss a lot of 10-20-30 groups. Don't be afraid of making new groupings, since that's the way to take off the last row.

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Support

    Email me at rodcarty@yknet.yk.ca

    For late-breaking news, bug reports, FAQ list, etc. check the web site at www.enc.yk.net/10-20-30/

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[4 card row]

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[5 card row]

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