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Software Vault: The Games Collection 1
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CDR04
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EUCR35.ZIP
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EUC35.DOC
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1993-05-03
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14KB
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223 lines
*** Four-Handed Euchre ***
Version 3.5
Copyright 1993
David Feltz
SHAREWARE TERMS OF FOUR-HANDED EUCHRE
Four-Handed Euchre consists of two files, EUC35.EXE,
and EUCHRE.DOC, which are being distributed as Share ware.
The two files may be copied and distributed freely, so
long as no money is charged. Organizations in the business of
distributing Shareware programs may charge a small fee to cover
distribution costs. If you like the program and intend to keep
using it, please send $10.00 in U.S. funds only to :
David Feltz
5385 S. Mt. Zion Rd.
Connersville, IN 47331
Suggestions and comments may be sent to the above address.
Your support, provided through suggestions, comments, and PAY-
MENT,will help to ensure the future availability of user support-
ed software (SHAREWARE).
Please feel free to give unmodified copies of Four-Handed
Euchre, (the EUC35.EXE file and EUCHRE.DOC) to friends,
relatives, and co-workers. They to may enjoy the opportunity to
try it out!
RUNNING THE PROGRAM
Four-Handed Euchre has been tested and seems to perform well
in as little as 100K bytes of RAM. It requires NO graphics card.
All screen objects are created using ASCII characters. Four-
Handed Euchre can be played with the keyboard or mouse. The
software detects the mouse automatically.
Four-Handed Euchre is ran by entering EUC35 at the DOS
prompt. There are various command line switches available to
enable the user to customize the program. The available switches
are:
/NOSOUND (turns sound effects off)
/NOSORT (turns card sorting off)
/NOSKIP (causes all 5 tricks to be played, even when not
necessary)
These switches can be use in any order or combination so long as
there is a space between each. For example:
EUC35 /NOSOUND /NOSORT
Since the command line switch must be used each time the
program is ran, it may be necessary to create a batch file as
follows.
1. Log on the drive and directory containing the Four-Handed
Euchre files.
2. At the DOS prompt, type COPY CON EUCHRE.BAT and press
the enter key.
3. Type the startup command (EUC35 plus any command line
switches) and press the enter key.
4. Depress and hold the control key.
5. Press the Z key and then press enter.
The EUCHRE.BAT file should now be saved to disk. To run Four-
Handed Euchre, simply enter EUCHRE at the DOS prompt.
THE USER INTERFACE
Four-Handed Euchre 3.5 incorporates a keyboard and optional-
ly a mouse driven point and click user interface. This interface
consists of three sections - hotkeys, dialog boxes, and card
selection.
HOTKEYS
Hotkeys are displayed at the top of the game screen and can
be selected with a corresponding key stroke or by mouse. The
mouse action is performed by moving the mouse's rectangular
pointer into the hotkey's on screen colored "button" and pressing
the left mouse button. All hotkeys are available at any time
during program execution. After hotkey action is complete, the
program picks up where it left off.
QUIT immediately terminates to the operating system. It does
not verify if you are sure. Be certain you really want to quit
before making this selection. Before termination to DOS, the
current game speed, and the "human" player's name are saved to
disk. These will become the default settings next time the pro-
gram is ran.
The ABOUT hotkey displays information about the program.
When complete, game play resumes where it left off.
Located at the upper left corner of the screen is the GAME
SPEED control. Game speed can be changed with the press of the
plus (+) key or the minus (-) key. Plus (+) increases the game
speed (makes things happen faster) while the minus (-) key de-
creases the game speed (makes things happen slower). Speed con-
trol can also be accomplished with the mouse by moving the
pointer into the purple or red box containing the plus (+) or
minus (-) characters and clicking the left mouse button. A black
colored box indicates the current speed selection.
The BOSS hotkey is a special hotkey which is not displayed
on the screen. It blanks the screen and displays a fake DOS
prompt ( C:\>_ ). When the BOSS key is pressed again the game
play resumes where it left off. This key can be useful if playing
at work. To use the BOSS key simply hold down the ALT key and
press the spacebar. When it is safe to resume game play, repeat
the ALT spacebar combination. Pressing the left and right mouse
button simultaneously also activates the boss mode. The ESC key
immediately exits to DOS while in the boss mode.
DIALOG BOXES
Dialog boxes are the main method of input from the user.
They consist of one or two lines of text and one, two, three, or
four "buttons". The boxes are always displayed over the bottom
part of the user's cards. When the dialog box is displayed, the
first button will be colored light blue or green. If more than
one button is available, the others will be purple or red. A
selection is made by pressing the TAB key or the LEFT and RIGHT
ARROW keys until the desired button is light blue or green. Then
press the ENTER key or the SPACEBAR. Also, the user can press the
key enclosed in brackets ( < > ) to make the selection. To select
with the mouse, simply move the mouse pointer into the desired
button and press then release the left mouse button.
CARD SELECTION
Card selection is also done with dialog boxes, except there
are no buttons. Instead, an arrow pointing down appears above the
first card. This arrow can be moved with the TAB key or LEFT and
RIGHT arrow keys to until it points at the desired card. Then
press ENTER or SPACEBAR. Cards can be selected with the mouse
by moving the mouse pointer over any exposed area of the card and
then clicking the left button.
GAME PLAY
The first step in playing Four-Handed Euchre is to enter
your first name. The name of the last player (if any) will be
displayed. If you want to use that name, simply press enter. If
not, begin typing your name and the previous name will be erased.
There is no need to backspace over the previous name. Only alpha-
betic character will be excepted. Spaces, function keys, numbers,
etc. will be ignored. A maximum of ten letters can be entered. At
least one letter must be entered.
The names of the computer players will be picked at random
from a list of about fifty names. The computer player names
will never be the same as the human player.
DEALING THE CARDS
The "Human" player's computer controlled partner will be
the first to deal. The deal will then move to the left on each
successive hand. The act of dealing the cards will be performed
by the PC, even if it is the "Human" player's deal. The dealer
will distribute the cards in a clockwise direction start-
ing with the player on his or her left. In keeping with the rules
of the game, each player will receive three cards, then two
cards. After each player has all five cards, the dealer will
turn one card up in the middle of the screen. The "Human"
player's cards are face up at the bottom of the screen and his or
her partner's cards are at the top of the screen. The opponents'
cards are on the left and right of the screen. The game will be
played by the rules of Euchre (described below). The computer
generated players will NOT renege (cheat) and the "Human"
participant will not be permitted to renege. If the human player
tries to renege, a dialog box will popup and say "You must follow
suit". Simply press the enter key or space bar or click the
"Continue" button with the mouse to resume play.
When the game is over, a dialog box will appear stating that
the game is over. It asks if the player would like another game.
If the answer is no, the program exits to DOS. If the answer is
yes, a new game will begin with the same players.
GAME INFORMATION
The computer players "talk" to the user though a popup
dialog box which appears over their cards. How long this box
remains visable depends on the selected game speed.
The game score (tricks taken and points scored) are dis-
played at the upper left and upper right portions of the game
screen. The name of the player who dealt and the name of the
player who lead is displayed at the bottom left of the game
screen. Trump suit and the player name who made that suit trump
is displayed at the bottom right of the game screen.
RULES OF EUCHRE
Euchre is a card game usually played by four people with a
pack of cards consisting of nines through aces. The cards are
ranked downward with the jack of trump suit (called right bower)
as the highest card. The jack of the same color as the trump
suit (called left bower) is the second highest card and is also
considered a trump card. The remaining cards are ranked from the
ace down.
The cards are dealt to each player, three on the first round
and two on the second. After the last card is dealt, the dealer
places the next card face up to indicate the trump suit. Starting
with the player to the left of the dealer, each player in turn
has the option of accepting or passing the trump suit. If the
player accepting the trump suit is not the dealer, that player
orders the card up. If the player accepting is the dealer, he or
she picks the card up. No matter who makes trumps, the dealer
must place the card that is turned up into his or her hand and
discard one card in exchange for it. If all the players pass the
trump, it is turned down, and each player in turn may make the
suit, that is, call another suit trump, or may pass again. If all
players pass the second time, the hand is abandoned and the deal
moves to the left. A player making trump may go alone without the
aid of his or her partner. The partner will give the player
the best card he or she has available and the player will
discard one card in exchange for it. As soon as a player makes
trump, the player to the left of the dealer leads. Each player
must play a card. If the player has cards of the same suit as
that led, that suit must be played. Please note, the jack of the
same color as trump (left bower) is played as if it had the same
suit as trump. Failure to follow suit is called reneging and
will not be allowed. If the player doesn't have cards of the
same suit as that led, any card may be played, including a
trump.
Tricks are taken by the highest card of the suit led or by
the highest trump. Cards that are not trump or the same suit as
that led, can never take a trick. The player who took the trick
then becomes the lead. Play continues until all cards have been
played.
The object of the game is for the team making trump to take
three or four tricks, which would score them 1 point. Taking five
tricks would score them two points, unless the player went alone,
which would score four points. Failure to take at least three
tricks is referred to as being euchred and scores the oppo-
nent team two points. The game is played to ten points. The team
who reaches ten points wins.