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- TOMMY'S HEARTS (C) COPYRIGHT 1988 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
- P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- CATALOG #88-108-1A
-
- INSTRUCTIONS:
-
- HEARTS IS ONE OF EARTH'S MOST POPULAR CARD GAMES BECAUSE IT IS SO SIMPLE THAT
- IT CAN BE LEARNED IN A FEW MINUTES, YET IT IS LOADED WITH GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES
- FOR SKILL AND DEDUCTION, EXPERTISE COMING OVER A LONG PERIOD OF PLAY. IT IS
- A GAME FOR THE UNDERDOG, AS THE THE OBJECT IS TO LOSE, NOT WIN TRICKS.
-
- THERE ARE SEVERAL VARIANTS OF BASIC HEARTS. THIS PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE
- STANDARD HEARTS, BLACK MARIA, AND SPOT HEARTS.
-
- PLAYERS:
- HEARTS CAN BE PLAYED WITH 2 TO 6 PLAYERS, BUT 4 IS SAID BY SCARNE TO BE BEST
- FOR STRATEGY PLAY (OTHERS SAY 3 IS). IN TOMMY'S HEARTS, YOU PLAY AGAINST
- 3 COMPUTER PLAYERS; YOU ALWAYS PLAY SOUTH'S HAND.
-
- THE DECK:
- FOR 2 OR 4 PLAYERS, THE STANDARD DECK OF 52 CARDS IS USED.
- FOR 3 PLAYERS, THE DEUCE OF DIAMONDS IS REMOVED.
-
- FOR 5 PLAYERS, THE DEUCES OF DIAMONDS AND HEARTS ARE REMOVED.
- FOR 6 PLAYERS, THE DEUCES OF DIAMONDS, HEARTS, AND CLUBS, AND THE THREE
- OF DIAMONDS ARE REMOVED. (SOME SAY REMOVE ALL DEUCES.)
-
- OBJECT OF PLAY:
- THE PLAY REVOLVES AROUND THE 13 HEART CARDS AND THE QUEEN OF SPADES, CALLED
- BY MANY COLORFUL NAMES INCLUDING BLACK LADY, BLACK MARIA, BLACK WIDOW,
- SLIPPERY BITCH, AND WORSE: THE OBJECT IS TO *AVOID* WINNING ANY OF THESE CARDS
- IN PLAY.
-
- SOME PREFER NOT TO PENALIZE CAPTURING THE QUEEN OF SPADES, BUT ONLY THE 13
- HEARTS (WHICH IS THE OLDER AND MORE PURE FORM OF HEARTS) INSISTING THAT THE
- FORMER GAME BE CALLED SOMETHING OTHER THAN HEARTS, BUT WE'LL CALL EITHER GAME
- HEARTS HERE.
-
- THE DEALER:
- THE FIRST DEALER IS CHOSEN AT RANDOM BY THE COMPUTER. FROM THEN ON THE DEAL
- MOVES COUNTERCLOCKWISE.
-
- THE DEAL:
- THE DEALER DEALS OUT THE CARDS, 1 AT A TIME, UNTIL THE DECK IS EXHAUSTED.
-
- THE EXCHANGE (OPTIONAL):
- BEFORE PLAY, EACH PLAYER TAKES A NUMBER OF CARDS (N) AND PASSES THEM TO THE
- PLAYER ON THE RIGHT (NO LOOKING). FOR 3 OR 4 PLAYERS, N=3, FOR 5 OR 6
- PLAYERS, N=2. ANOTHER OPTION IS TO PROHIBIT PASSING HEARTS AND/OR THE BLACK
- LADY, THE NORMAL GAME ALLOWING IT.
-
- ****
- NOTE: TO SELECT A CARD, JUST TYPE IN ITS VALUE AND SUIT WITH 2 CHARACTERS,
- E.G., 3H FOR 3 OF HEARTS, QD FOR QUEEN OF SPADES, AC FOR ACE OF CLUBS, TD FOR
- TEN OF DIAMONDS. OR JUST USE THE LEFT AND RIGHT ARROW KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEY
- PAD TO HILITE THE DESIRED CARD. EITHER WAY, PRESS <ENTER> TO REGISTER YOUR
- CHOICE.
- ****
-
- THE PLAY:
- STARTING WITH ELDEST HAND (FIRST ON DEALER'S LEFT), TRICKS ARE PLAYED IN
- SUCCESSION UNTIL ALL THE PLAYERS' CARDS ARE USED UP.
-
- THE TRICKS:
- THERE ARE NO TRUMPS, SO THE WINNER OF A TRICK IS THE HIGHEST CARD OF THE
- SUIT LED. YOU MUST FOLLOW (THE LEAD) SUIT IF ABLE, ELSE YOU CAN PLAY ANY OTHER
- CARD (BUT CANNOT WIN THE TRICK). THE WINNER OF A TRICK LEADS THE NEXT.
-
- HEART LEAD:
- NO ONE MAY LEAD A HEART UNTIL A HEART HAS BEEN PLAYED IN AN EARLIER TRICK TO
- THE LEAD OF ANOTHER SUIT; THIS LOWERS THE ADVANTAGE OF THE PLAYER WITH A RUN
- OF LOW HEARTS (SOME PLAYERS OMIT THIS RULE BUT THEY ARE FAINT OF HEARTS).
-
- NOTE: IF A PLAYER HAS NOTHING BUT HEARTS, THEN HE MAY LEAD HEARTS ANYWAY.
-
- WHEN A HEART HAS BEEN PLAYED, A BLINKING HEART APPEARS ON THE BOTTOM LINE OF
- THE DISPLAY.
-
- OBVIOUSLY, YOU TRY TO PLAY OUT YOUR PENALTY CARDS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO AVOID
- WINNING THEM BACK IN THE TRICK; THEY ARE LIKE HOT POTATOES.
-
- SCORING:
- AFTER ALL THE TRICKS HAVE BEEN PLAYED, EACH PLAYER'S SCORE IS DETERMINED FROM
- THE CARDS IN THE TRICKS HE HAS WON:
-
- 1. FOR EACH HEART CARD, 1 POINT.
- 2. FOR THE QUEEN OF SPADES, 5 POINTS.
-
- THERE ARE THUS 18 POINTS PER HAND.
-
- GAME AND MATCH:
- A GAME IS 5 HANDS. THE PLAYER WHO HAS THE *FEWEST* POINTS WINS THE GAME: THE
- LOSING PLAYERS THEN HAVE 50 POINTS ADDED TO THEIR SCORES AND THE WINNER
- COLLECTS CASH POINTS FROM EACH OTHER PLAYER EQUAL TO THE DIFFERENCE IN SCORES.
-
- STEPPING:
- IF A PLAYER HAS WON ALL 18 POINTS, HE IS SAID TO "STEP" AND GETS TO COLLECT
- 18 POINTS FROM EACH PLAYER INSTEAD.
-
- FOR EXAMPLE, IF PLAYER 2 WINS WITH 30 POINTS, PLAYER 1 HAS 45 POINTS, PLAYER
- 3 HAS 62 POINTS, AND PLAYER 4 HAS 71 POINTS, THEN PLAYER 2 GETS 45+50-30=65
- CASH POINTS FROM PLAYER 1, 62+50-30=82 CASH POINTS FROM PLAYER 3, AND
- 71+50-30=91 CASH POINTS FROM PLAYER 4. IF 2 OR MORE PLAYERS TIE FOR WINNER,
- ANOTHER HAND IS PLAYED (AS MANY TIMES AS NECESSARY). AT THE START OF THE
- SESSION EACH PLAYER IS GIVEN 1000 CASH POINTS.
-
- OTHER VARIANTS:
- AT PROGRAM STARTUP, YOU CAN SELECT STANDARD (STRAIGHT SCARNE), OR ONE OF THESE
- VARIANTS:
-
- BLACK MARIA: QUEEN OF SPADES COUNTS 13 RATHER THAN 5 AGAINST THE PLAYER TAKING
- IT; THERE ARE THUS 26 POINTS PER HAND.
-
- SPOT HEARTS: JACK, QUEEN, KING, ACE OF HEARTS COUNT 11, 12, 13, 14,
- RESPECTIVELY; THERE ARE THUS 18-4+50=64 POINTS PER HAND.
-
- OTHER POPULAR TYPES OF HEARTS (NOT IMPLEMENTED) ARE AS FOLLOWS:
-
- GREEK HEARTS: THE PENALTIES ARE 1 PER SPOT HEART, 10 FOR COURT HEART, 15 FOR
- ACE OF SPADES, AND 50 FOR QUEEN OF SPADES; THERE ARE 105 POINTS PER HAND.
-
- OMNIBUS HEARTS: THE TEN OF DIAMONDS COUNTS 10 IN FAVOR OF THE WINNER OF IT
- (10 IS DEDUCTED RATHER THAN ADDED TO PLAYER'S TOTAL); THUS THERE ARE ONLY
- 8 EFFECTIVE POINTS PER HAND (YES, THE SCORE CAN GO NEGATIVE).
-
- PINK LADY: THE QUEEN OF HEARTS ALSO COUNTS 13 AGAINST THE PLAYER TAKING IT;
- THERE ARE THUS 31 POINTS PER HAND.
-
- HEARTSETTE: LESS THAN 13 CARDS ARE DEALT, THE REST BEING DUBBED THE WIDOW.
- THEN THE WINNER OF THE FIRST (OR LAST) TRICK HAS TO TAKE IN THE WIDOW,
- THE CARDS BEING ADDED INTO HIS POINT TOTAL. NOTE: WHEN PLAYING HEARTSETTE
- WITH 3, 5, OR 6 PLAYERS, THE FULL DECK OF 52 WILL BE USED.
-
- DOMINO HEARTS: THE FULL DECK OF 52 IS USED. EACH PLAYER IS DEALT 6 CARDS,
- THE REST BECOMING THE STOCK. IN PLAY, A PLAYER UNABLE TO FOLLOW SUIT MUST
- DRAW FROM THE STOCK UNTIL HE CAN; BUT WHEN THE STOCK IS EXHAUSTED HE MAY
- PLAY ANYTHING. IF A PLAYER RUNS OUT OF CARDS, HE CEASES TO PLAY, AND IF
- IT WAS HIS TURN TO LEAD, THE NEXT PLAYER TO THE LEFT LEADS INSTEAD. THE
- LAST PLAYER LEFT WITH CARDS IN HIS HANDS IS PENALIZED FOR THEM.
-
- GAME LOG FILE:
- THE COMPUTER AUTOMATICALLY SAVES THE NUMBER OF GAMES AND CASH POINTS WON BY
- EACH OF THE 4 SIDES ON FILE HEARTS.SCR. TO CLEAR THE LOG, JUST ERASE THAT
- FILE.
-
- NOTES ON STRATEGY:
- THIS GAME REQUIRES BACKWARDS THINKING OF A SORT, SINCE HIGH CARDS ARE BAD,
- LOW CARDS GOOD, CERTAIN CARDS ARE PLAGUE, AND WINNING TRICKS CAN BE GOOD
- OR BAD.
-
- IN THE EXCHANGE, GET RID OF ACES AND KINGS OF SPADES, ELSE YOU ARE LIABLE TO
- END UP CAPTURING THE BLACK LADY. IT IS GENERALLY SAFE TO KEEP A RUN OF LOW
- HEARTS, BECAUSE THEY CANNOT BE FORCED TO TAKE TRICKS AND CAN 'GUARD' ANY
- HIGH HEARTS WHICH YOU WERE PASSED BY BEING PLAYED TO A HEART LEAD. IF YOU
- ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE DEALT JUST A FEW HEARTS, ALL MID-VALUE, YOU CAN
- PASS THEM ALL, REASONING THAT THE OTHERS HAVE SOME HIGH AND SOME LOW
- HEARTS, AND PROBABLY WON'T PASS YOU ANY OF THEIRS. IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF
- HIGH HEARTS, YOU MIGHT TRY VOIDING OUT A SHORT SUIT (PASSING THEM ALL AWAY)
- ON THE EXCHANGE SO YOU HAVE AN 'OUT' FOR THESE HEARTS DURING PLAY. IF YOU
- HAVE BEEN DEALT THE QUEEN OF SPADES, YOU BETTER HAVE SOME LOW SPADES TO
- GUARD IT; IF YOU HAVEN'T, YOU BETTER NOT HAVE THE ACE OR KING OF SPADES,
- AND IF YOU DO, YOU BETTER HAVE SOME LOW CARDS TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE
- QUEEN OF SPADES.
-
- IN THE PLAY, MOST PENALTY POINTS ARE TAKEN IN THE LATER TRICKS BY PLAYERS
- WHO TAKE OVER THE LEAD (I.E., WHO HAVE TO LEAD THE TRICK) LATE AND THEN CAN'T
- LOSE IT. TO AVOID THIS DANGER IT IS ADVISABLE TO LEAD HIGH IN 'SAFE' SUITS
- AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, IN OTHER WORDS, TO TAKE ALL THE TRICKS YOU 'HAVE' TO AT
- THE BEGINNING OF PLAY, TO THWART ATTEMPTS TO PUT YOU IN THE LEAD LATER.
-
- WHEN YOU SEE YOU CANNOT WIN THE TRICK AND CAN THEREFORE DISCARD A CARD, DON'T
- NECESSARILY DISCARD A PENALTY CARD, BUT FIRST CONSIDER IF YOU HAVE CARDS THAT
- WILL GIVE YOU THE LEAD LATER, SUCH AS MID VALUE CARDS WITH NO LOWER ONES TO
- GUARD THEM.
-
- EXPERTS CAN USUALLY FIGURE OUT THE OTHER PLAYERS' CARDS HALFWAY THROUGH THE
- HAND BY OBSERVING WHAT THEY WERE PASSED IN THE EXCHANGE, THE DISCARDS, AND
- THE LEADS. TO THWART THIS A BIT, DON'T BLINDLY REVEAL THE LIE OF SEQUENCES BY
- AUTOMATICALLY PLAYING THE HIGHEST OR LOWEST ALL THE TIME.
-
- IF YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF HIGH CARDS IN A SUIT, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER TRYING TO
- FOOL THE OTHER PLAYERS INTO THINKING YOU ARE VOIDING OUT THE SUIT BY LEADING
- A LOW CARD IN THAT SUIT EARLY IN PLAY; THEY THEN WON'T WANT TO LEAD THAT SUIT
- LATER, JUST WHEN YOU ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO WINNING SOME TRICKS. BUT IF THEY
- DISCOVER YOUR RUSE, IT MIGHT BACKFIRE HEAVILY ON YOU, BECAUSE NOW THEY KNOW
- YOU ARE VULNERABLE IN THAT SUIT -- SO THINK ABOUT IT FIRST.
-
- o A USEFUL REFERENCE ON HEARTS IS "SCARNE ON CARDS" (1949, REV. 1964),
- PUBLISHED BY SIGNET.
-
- FUNCTION KEYS:
- SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F1 TOGGLES THE SOUND EFFECTS ON AND OFF.
-
- DEMO MODE TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F2 TOGGLES THE DEMO MODE. IN DEMO MODE, THE
- COMPUTER PLAYS YOUR HAND TOO.
-
- TO QUIT: HIT FUNCTION KEY F7.
-
- TO CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR (COLOR MONITORS ONLY): HIT FUNCTION KEY F10.
-
- TO DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS: HIT FUNCTION KEY F5.
-
- GAME SPEED CONTROL: THE UP ARROW (ON THE NUMERIC KEY PAD) INCREASES, AND THE
- DOWN ARROW DECREASES, THE MAX DELAY BETWEEN COMPUTER TURNS. THE VALUE OF THIS
- DELAY, IN SECONDS, IS DISPLAYED ON THE BOTTOM LINE OF THE SCREEN, RIGHT SIDE.
-
- COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
- S START UP WITH SOUND OFF
- M FORCE MONO MODE
- C FORCE COMMAND MODE
-
- FOR EXAMPLE: >HEARTS MS
-
- ----------------------
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-
- TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.
-
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