F I V E H U N D R E D release 6.2 - 1995 written by G.M.McKAY COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS : Any 8088 , 286 ,386 , 486 or better IBM compatible computer will successfully run this game as long as it has an EGA or VGA colour monitor and 640K of memory. A good speaker is preferable for the voice synthesizer. It will use a mouse if fitted, but this is not a requirement. DISTRIBUTION : This copyrighted game is distributed under the SHAREWARE system which depends upon your support for on-going development. You are encouraged to freely copy and distribute this product unaltered to friends, business associates, bulletin boards and user groups. HOWEVER THIS PRODUCT IS NOT FREE ! You have an evaluation period of two weeks. If you decide you do not like the game, simply pass the disk along to someone else. If you are still using FIVE HUNDRED after two weeks of evaluation, you are obligated to send a minimum payment of $23. If the future of low-cost quality software is to continue, we all must support this concept. If you cheat on this payment may you be constantly finessed. You should have these files - 500.EXE - base program TALK.EXE - voice synthesizer 500.TXT - this information REGO.FRM - user registration form README.BAT - program to display this information SCORES. - game scores and set-up information *.CRD - card & sound data files - 26 files RUNNING IT : FIVE HUNDRED can be run from a floppy disk or your hard disk - if you run it from a floppy make sure the disk is NOT write protected - check the tab on the disk. To run it, simply access the directory it is stored in and type '500'. eg. for directory '500' on drive C: type - C: CD \500 500 To copy it from a floppy disk in drive A: to your hard disk type - C: MD \500 CD \500 COPY A:\500\*.* /V The bidding rules and strategy can be set by choosing the "rules set up menu", while the sound, background colour, and timing can be set in the "layout set up menu". Make bids and play cards using the F1 - F10 function keys, or with the left mouse button (the right mouse button cancels selections made). If you have a mouse fitted but do not want to use it, it can be parked off the screen at the bottom. If your mouse is not working properly, jumping, or pointing to the wrong place, the problem is usually that your mouse does not fully meet the Microsoft standard - try running another mouse driver, preferably the standard Microsoft driver (you may have to remove the current one from memory first - change it in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and reboot). There may be a MOUSE.COM driver in this directory. You can change the set up conditions at any time during a game by pressing "S". Similarly "B" lets you review the bids made in that hand, and "R" replays the cards played in that hand. "C" shows you the score card with the last 10 scores in your game to date. These options are also available at the end of a hand, to let you review it. Press "ctrl Q" to quit. If you have trouble with the voice synthesizer or the computer locks up, try removing TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs eg. ANSI) which may be running. Otherwise you may not have enough memory (you need a full 495 Kb free to run the game and the voice synthesizer) - choose "music only" on the set-up menu. The program has an internal memory check and will not allow you to choose full sound if you have less than 495 Kb of conventional memory free. The synthesizer quality may be poor if your computer has a piezo ceramic speaker on the mother- board rather than a real speaker - remember if you don't like it, you don't have to use it - choose "music only". If you run this game through WINDOWS the sound quality may be poor because WINDOWS remains resident as a TSR. RULES : FIVE HUNDRED is a well loved card game with a myriad of local house rules (some are accommodated here via the set up menu). The object of the game is to collect 500 points and avoid collecting -500 points. The game is played in teams with you and your partner (player 2) playing against players 1 & 3. Cards are ranked in order of Ace down to 5 in the black suits and 4 in the red suits, except in the suit that has been designated the TRUMP suit for that hand, in which the order is - Joker, right bower (the Jack of the trump suit ), left bower (the Jack of the other suit of the same colour), Ace, King, etc. The game starts with each player bidding for the number of tricks they think they can win (with their partner's help) with a particular suit as trumps - 6 is the minimum bid, and the order of the suits is spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts, no trumps. The highest bidder wins the bid and endeavours to win at least as many tricks as he/she bid; if successful he/she gains the points for that bid otherwise he/she loses those points. 250 points are awarded for all 10 tricks, and the non-bidding team gets 10 points for each of their tricks. NO-TRUMPS with no suit as the trump suit is a legitimate bid, with the Joker being played as the sole trump. MISERE (or NULLO) is a bid in which the bidder tries to lose all 10 tricks (the bidder's partner does not play). CLOSED MISERE is worth 250 points and can only be bid after a 7 bid has been made, while OPEN MISERE is worth 500 points and must be preceded by an 8 bid. OPEN differs from CLOSED only in that the bidder displays his hand to the other players after the first lead. An 8 bid is higher than a CLOSED MISERE bid (in the rules set-up menu you can choose whether you want 8 spades to be higher or not), and 10 no trumps is the only bid to beat OPEN MISERE ( 10 hearts is of the same points value so OPEN cannot be bid after 10 hearts). MISERE has a different balance of luck to skill from other bids, so it is not allowed in some card schools. You can choose to have no MISERE, only OPEN, or both OPEN and CLOSED. You can also set the enthusiasm the players have for bidding MISERE to match your own. The winning bidder gets the 3 card kitty to supplement their hand, and chooses which 3 cards to "throw out" again. Each player plays consecutively in a clockwise direction, with the winner of the last trick leading. Each player must follow the suit led if they can. VERSION 6.2 : This version plays misere (or NULLO). It is designed to be mouse friendly. Different bidding rules are accommodated to increase its international appeal. REGISTRATION : As discussed above, if you are still enjoying this game after two weeks you should support the Shareware concept and register your copy by sending a minimum donation of $23. For an extra $6 postage I will send you the latest updated registered version (with even better card playing skills), and a copy of STRIP500 (500 card game with naked women playing). Dealer enquiries welcome. Corporate licenses available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ F I V E H U N D R E D Name: _________________________________ Date: ____/____/____ Address: _______________________________________________________ City: _______________________ State: _____ Code: __________ Country: _______________________ Version: _6.2__ My Copy From: ______________________ Computer: ________________ Floppy (eg. 1.44MB,1.2MB): _________ Registration . . . . . . $----- ($23) Latest version + STRIP500 $----- ($6) total $----- ($29) I will be grateful for any suggestions, comments, or information on problems with the game you may have. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SEND THE FORM TO: G.M.McKAY 29 Melissa St. Strathmore Victoria , 3041 Australia