Solitaire Till Dawn includes a number of features designed for intelligent card play. These are called the “Card Shark Features,” and Ace the Card Shark is your host as you explore and use these features.
The Card Shark features are options. Some people will appreciate the help and convenience that the Card Shark offers; others will find satisfaction in using few of these features and instead doing it all for themselves. You can control all of the Card Shark features by using the items in the Card Shark menu.
There are two sections in this chapter. The first section, The Card Shark Menu, briefly explains what each item in the Card Shark menu is for. The second section, Card Shark Options, explains in detail the controls in the Card Shark Options window.
The Card Shark Menu
Card Shark Options… Select this menu item to open the Card Shark Options window, which is explained in detail below.
Ace’s Tips… Select this menu item to see a tip from Ace the Card Shark on how to get the most out of Solitaire Till Dawn. You should select this menu item once every time you play—you’ll usually learn something worthwhile! If you see a tip you’ve seen before, you can click the Next Tip button in the window to see a different tip.
Deal Select this menu item to deal from the Hand. You can also deal by clicking once on the Hand.
Auto Play The Auto Play command will begin moving cards to the foundations (that is, the goal piles) if there are any that can go, and will continue until the game has been won, or until no more cards can be moved to the foundations, or until you stop it by clicking the mouse or by pressing any key.
Auto Play is not guaranteed to make smart moves. You should use it only when you’ll be happy with any legal move.
Am I Stuck? Select this menu item to get Ace the Card Shark’s opinion about whether you are stuck. It is possible in some games to be stuck even though there are still some moves you can make, so Ace will tell you that you’re stuck if he thinks that you have no “useful” moves left.
Rules Select this menu item to see a brief summary of the rules for the game you are playing. This summary is meant only as a reminder. To learn the rules for a game you’ve never played before, you should read the appropriate chapter in the Solitaire Till Dawn Games Guide.
Card Shark Options
The Card Shark Options window lets you set your preferences for Card Shark intelligent play features. (See picture: Card Shark Options.) Here are the controls in the window:
Standard Settings / Special Settings
The Card Shark window settings can apply as defaults for all solitaires, or they can be special settings for particular solitaires. Select Standard Settings to have your choices apply as defaults; select Special Settings to have your choices apply only to the solitaire you’re currently playing.
Tell Me When I’ve Won
This box encloses a set of options that control how the program will notify you when you’ve won a game of solitaire. Check the With an Alert box to be notified with a special window. Check the With a Sound box to hear a special sound when you’ve won a game. Check the Early box to be notified early: that is, when the game is not complete, but your win is guaranteed anyway.
Smart Cards
Check this box to have the cards fly to legal destinations when they are clicked. If the box is not checked, cards will not respond to clicks: you will have to drag cards to their destinations.
Autoplay to Goal
Check this box to have cards fly to the foundations automatically whenever it’s legal for them to do so. You should leave this box unchecked for most games, because it’s not always wise to play cards to the foundations immediately. But in some games it’s okay, and you can safely check this box for those games. See Ace’s Advice, below.
Tell Me When I’m Stuck
Check this box to be notified whenever you’re stuck. The notification is unobtrusive: it’s a small red X that appears over an icon in the status bar, near the lower-left of the window. See the chapter Score and Statistics for details.
Ace’s Advice Click this button to see what settings Ace the Card Shark recommends for the solitaire you’re currently playing. Ace’s advice will temporarily replace most of the controls in the window. If you decide to take the advice, just click the OK button; otherwise click Cancel.
