500 Game Surplus/XSurplus.iso/115/CLOBBY.DOC

Text File | 1994-04-18 | 12KB | 240 lines

TOMMY'S CLOBBY (C) COPYRIGHT 1993 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #TM-140-1A

INSTRUCTIONS:

THE GAME OF CLOBBY, CLOB, CLAB, KLOB, KLAB, KALABER, KALABRIASZ OR KLABERJASS
(PROUNOUNCED KLOBIOSH) IS POPULAR IN EUROPE, WHERE THERE IS A DIFFERENT VERSION
FOR PRACTICALLY EVERY COUNTRY -- BELOTE IN FRANCE, ALSOS IN HUNGARY, KLAVERJASS
IN THE NETHERLANDS.  JASS (PRONOUNCED YASS) IS GERMAN FOR JACK, AND KLABER FOR
CLUBS.  IN THIS GAME THE JACK OF TRUMPS IS CALLED THE JASS, AND THE NINE OF
TRUMPS IS CALLED THE MENEL.  SOMETIMES JASS IS SPELLED JASZ -- WE KNOW, YOU'RE
CHUCKLING ABOUT THE MANY WAYS TO AVOID COMING OUT AND SAYING JACKJASS -- HA HA!
PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF GIN RUMMY, THIS WAS THE MOST POPULAR 2-PLAYER GAME AMONG
THE "GENTRY", THAT IS, THOSE WITH MONEY TO THROW AWAY (HA).

PLAYERS:
THIS IS A 2-HANDED CARD GAME, YOU AGAINST THE COMPUTER.  YOUR CARDS ARE SHOWN
AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN, THE COMPUTER'S UNDERNEATH.

THE DECK:
THE 32-CARD DECK, CONSISTING OF THE 52-CARD DECK WITH DEUCES THROUGH SIXES
REMOVED.

THE DEAL:
THE FIRST DEALER IS CHOSEN RANDOMLY BY THE COMPUTER, AFTER THAT, DEAL ALWAYS
ALTERNATES.

STARTING WITH DEALER'S OPPONENT, CARDS ARE DEALT THREE AT A TIME UNTIL BOTH
PLAYERS HAVE 6 CARDS.  THE NEXT CARD IS TURNED UP FOR TRUMPS (USUALLY PLACED
PARTIALLY UNDERNEATH THE DECK BUT HERE IT WILL BE LAID NEXT TO THE DECK).

THE OBJECT OF PLAY:
IS TO BE THE FIRST TO REACH GAME POINT (TRADITIONALLY 500) OVER SEVERAL DEALS.
SCORES ARE MADE FOR MELDING AND FOR WINNING CERTAIN CARDS IN TRICKS; THERE IS
NO SCORE AWARDED FOR THE NUMBER OF TRICKS MADE.

RANK/VALUE OF CARDS:

IN TRICK-TAKING, CARDS WON HAVE THE FOLLOWING RANKS AND SCORING POINT VALUES:

          TRUMP SUIT:                 NON-TRUMP SUITS:
RANK...    J  9  A  T  K  Q  8  7      A  T  K  Q  J  9  8  7
VALUE...  20 14 11 10  4  3  0  0     11 10  4  3  2  0  0  0

THE JASS AND MENEL ARE THE TWO HIGHEST RANKING CARDS IN THE DECK AND THUS
FIGURE PROMINENTLY IN THE SHENANIGANS OF THIS GAME.  SEVENS, EIGHTS AND
NINES (OTHER THAN THE MENEL) HAVE NO SCORING VALUE.

BIDDING TO ESTABLISH TRUMP:
ELDER (NON-DEALER) BIDS FIRST, AND MAY EITHER 'TAKE IT', 'PASS', OR 'SCHMEISS'
(RHYMES WITH MICE):

. TAKE IT -- ACCEPT THE TURNED CARD AS ESTABLISHING TRUMPS
. PASS -- GIVE OPPONENT THE SAME OPTIONS OF TAKE IT, PASS, OR SCHMEISS
. SCHMEISS - GIVE THE OPPONENT THE OPTION OF ENDING THE DEAL IMMEDIATELY OR
             FORCING THE SCHMEISSER TO TAKE IT ("SCHMEISS" MEANS "THROW THEM
             IN")

IF BOTH PASS, THERE IS A SECOND ROUND OF BIDDING, ONLY ELDER MAY NOW NAME A
TRUMP (OTHER THAN THE TURNED UP CARD), OR PASS, OR SCHMEISS; AND IF ELDER
PASSES, THE DEALER HAS THE SAME OPTIONS.

WHEN A TRUMP SUIT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED THE PERSON WHO TOOK OR NAMED IT OR
OFFERED THE SCHMEISS BECOMES THE 'MAKER' AND THE MONKEY IS ON HIS BACK TO
WIN MORE POINTS THAN THE OPPPONENT OR GET 'BETE' (PRONOUNCED BATE AND MEANING
BEAT!).

REDEALING AND EXCHANGING THE DIX:
DEALER THEN DEALS 3 MORE CARDS TO EACH PLAYER, ONE AT A TIME, GIVING EACH
PLAYER 9 CARDS.  IF THE SUIT OF THE TURNED UP CARD IS THE TRUMP, A
PLAYER HOLDING THE 7 OF TRUMPS (CALLED THE DIX AND PRONOUNCED DEECE) MAY
EXCHANGE IT.  THE BOTTOM CARD OF THE DECK IS THEN TURNED FACE UP TO SHOW THE
DEAL HAS BEEN COMPLETED.

MELDS:
A SEQUENCE OF 3 OR MORE CARDS IN THE SAME SUIT IS A MELD.  FOR THIS PURPOSE
THE SEQUENTIAL ORDER IS 7[LOW],8,9,T,J,Q,K,ACE[HIGH].
A 3-CARD SEQUENCE COUNTS 20 POINTS (THE SAME AS A JASS), A 4-OR-GREATER-CARD
SEQUENCE COUNTS 50 POINTS.  A HAND MAY HAVE MORE THAN ONE MELD, BUT A CARD
CAN NOT BE USED IN TWO DIFFERENT MELDS AT THE SAME TIME.

TOP MELD:
THE PLAYERS THEN DECIDE WHO HAS THE TOP MELD WITHOUT GIVING AWAY THEIR CARDS,
STARTING WITH THE ELDER, WHO ANNOUNCES "NONE", "20", OR "50" AS APPROPRIATE;
THE DEALER THEN SAYS "GOOD" IF HE CAN'T BEAT IT, "NOT GOOD" IF HE CAN; IF HE
CAN ONLY TIE IT, HE ASKS "HOW HIGH?", AND ELDER NAMES THE TOP CARD OF HIS
SEQUENCE.  THE LONGEST VALID MELD (UP TO 4 IN LENGTH) IS THE WINNER, AND, IN
CASE OF TIE, THE TIE-BREAKERS ARE HIGH CARD THEN TRUMP SUIT....A TIE IS
POSSIBLE.
GOOD NEWS: IN TOMMY'S CLOBBY, THE COMPUTER AUTOMATICALLY DECIDES WHO HAS
THE TOP MELD AND ANNOUNCES IT TO SAVE YOU ALL THIS BOTHER (HA HA).

PLAYING THE 9 TRICKS:
ELDER STARTS PLAY BY LEADING ANY CARD.  DEALER MUST THEN FOLLOW SUIT IF
POSSIBLE, AND IF HE CAN'T, HE MUST TRUMP IF POSSIBLE.  IF A TRUMP WAS LED,
THE OPPONENT MUST ALWAYS PLAY A HIGHER ONE IF HE CAN.  THE WINNER IS THE
HIGHEST TRUMP PLAYED, ELSE THE HIGHER CARD OF THE SUIT LED.  THE WINNER OF
EACH TRICK LEADS THE NEXT.

TO PLAY A CARD TO A TRICK:
JUST HIT THE NUMBER OF THE CARD (1..9), OR USE THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS
ON THE NUMERIC KEY PAD TO HILITE THE CARD YOU WANT, THEN HIT EITHER <ENTER>,
THE SPACE BAR, OR THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEY.

SHOWING AND SCORING:
AFTER THE FIRST TRICK IS PLAYED, THE PLAYER WITH THE TOP MELD MAY NOW SHOW
AND SCORE FOR ALL SEQUENCES IN HIS HAND; IF THERE WAS A TIE FOR TOP MELD,
NOBODY MAY SHOW AND SCORE.  THE CARDS ARE LEFT IN HAND FOR FURTHER TRICKS.
A CARD FROM THE SEQUENCE CAN BE PLAYED IN THE FIRST TRICK, NO PROBLEM.
IF A MELD IS NOT BEING SCORED, IT WON'T BE SHOWN TO THE OPPONENT; IF A MELD
HAS MORE THAN 4 CARDS, ONLY THE LOWEST 4 WILL BE SHOWN.

BELLA:
A PLAYER MAY SCORE 20 POINTS FOR A KING AND QUEEN OF TRUMPS, WHEN HE PLAYS THE
SECOND OF THEM TO A TRICK, BY ANNOUNCING "BELLA!".

LAST TRICK:
THE WINNER OF THE LAST TRICK SCORES 10 POINTS.

WINNER:
AFTER THE LAST TRICK, IF THE MAKER HAS MORE POINTS, PLAYERS KEEP THEIR SCORES
AS MADE.  IF THERE WAS A TIE, THE MAKER SCORES NOTHING AND OPPONENT KEEPS HIS
SCORE AS MADE; AND IF THE MAKER SCORES FEWER THAN THE OPPONENT, HE SCORES
NOTHING AND THE OPPONENT SCORES THE TOTAL MADE BY BOTH COMBINED (THE MAKER IS
BETE).

NOTE THAT IF A PLAYER THINKS HE IS GOING TO BE BETE, HE DOESN'T HAVE TO
ANNOUNCE BELLA IF HE COULD.

IF ANY PLAYER HAS REACHED 500 POINTS, THE GAME IS OVER, ELSE THE GAME
CONTINUES.  IF BOTH PLAYERS REACH 500 POINTS, HIGHER SCORE WINS; IF THERE
IS A TIE, THE GAME ALSO CONTINUES.

GAME OPTIONS:
GAME POINT: GAME MAY BE SET AT ANYTHING FROM 100 TO 9999 POINTS.

NO-TIE: IN CASE OF A TIE MELD, NON-DEALER'S ALWAYS BEATS DEALER'S.

CLUBS PREFERRED: ON THE FIRST TURN, THE PREFERRED SUIT IS CLUBS, AND NO CARD
IS TURNED FOR TRUMPS.

TOUT ATOUT OPTION:
IN THE SECOND ROUND OF BIDDING, WHEN NAMING YOUR TRUMP, YOU CAN ALSO CALL
"SANS TOUT" (NO TRUMPS), AND THE OPPONENT CAN OVERCALL THIS BY CALLING "TOUT
ATOUT" (ALL TRUMPS).  THE NO TRUMPS BID WOULD BE FOR WHEN A PLAYER HAS, FOR
EXAMPLE, 4 ACES; AND THE ALL TRUMPS BID WOULD BE WHEN A PLAYER HAS, FOR EXAMPLE,
4 JACKS.  NOTE: IN ALL-TRUMPS PLAY, IF TWO IDENTICAL CARDS ARE PLAYED TO A
TRICK, THE LEADER WINS!  ALL-TRUMPS MEANS ALL SUITS ARE TRUMP, NOT THAT ALL
CARDS REVERT TO A TRUMP SUIT, HENCE SEQUENCES ARE SCORED AS BEFORE.

OPEN HANDS OPTION:
FOR DEMONSTRATION AND LEARNING PURPOSES, ALL HANDS MAY BE PLAYED FACE UP (THE
COMPUTER CAN SEE YOUR CARDS AND VICE VERSA).

REPLAY HAND OPTION:
AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH HAND, YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF REPLAYING THE LAST HAND;
THE DECK IS RESTORED TO WHAT IT WAS AFTER THE SHUFFLE & CUT DURING THE LAST
HAND.  OF COURSE YOU CAN USE THIS TO GAIN AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE ON THE COMPUTER,
BUT THIS IS A TOY AFTER ALL, AND YOU ARE BOSS.

FUNCTION KEYS: THESE ARE HOT KEYS, MEANING THEY CAN BE PRESSED AT ANY TIME.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    F1   *   SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE
    F2   *   DEMO MODE TOGGLE.  IN DEMO MODE THE COMPUTER PLAYS BOTH HANDS
             WHILE YOU WATCH.
    F3       HAND-SORT TOGGLE.  WHEN ON, THE COMPUTER SORTS YOUR HAND
             AUTOMATICALLY TO FIND THE BEST MELD.  WHEN OFF, YOU DO IT,
             JUST BE SURE YOUR MELD IS PUT TO THE LEFT OF YOUR HAND, HIGH
             CARD FIRST, IN ORDER DOWN TO LOWEST CARD, FOR THE COMPUTER TO
             COUNT IT.
    F5       DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS
    F6       REPLAY DEAL OPTION: LETS YOU REPLAY EACH DEAL IF YOU WANT.
    F7       QUIT THE PROGRAM
    F8,F9    DECREASE/INCREASE DELAY BETWEEN MOVES.  THIS ALLOWS YOU TO
             CONTROL THE SPEED WITH WHICH THE COMPUTER PLAYS.  THE DELAY,
             IN SECONDS, IS SHOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.
    F10      (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR

*NOTE: THE LEGEND FOR A TOGGLE SWITCH INDICATES THE MODE THAT WILL BE ENTERED
BY PRESSING THE KEY, WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE MODE IN EFFECT AT THE TIME.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
   S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
   M    FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
   C    FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE
   *    SKIP STARTUP SHOW

EXAMPLE: >CLOBBY MS

NOTES ON STRATEGY:
THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 162 POINTS IN EACH DEAL, BUT BECAUSE ONLY 18 OF THE 32
CARDS IN THE DECK ARE IN PLAY, THE GREATEST POSSIBLE POINTS ANY PLAYER CAN
SCORE IS 156; THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF POINTS PER DEAL, COUNTING BOTH PLAYERS, IS
ABOUT 110.

A 6-CARD HAND WITH THE JASS IS USUALLY ENOUGH TO MAKE, AND IT CAN BE ASSUMED
THAT THE MAIN REASON FOR BECOMING THE MAKER IN THE SECOND ROUND IS TO PROMOTE
A JACK TO A JASS.  ONLY REAL GOOD NON-JASS HANDS ARE WORTH MAKING: SINCE AT
LEAST 60 POINTS ARE NEEDED IN THE 9-CARD HAND TO EXPECT TO WIN, 2/3 OF THAT OR
40 POINTS SHOULD BE EXPECTED IN THE FIRST SIX CARDS.  TO COUNT POINTS IN THE
6-CARD HAND TAKE MENEL, ACE, BELLA, AND SEQUENCE AT FULL VALUE, COUNT AN
ACE-TEN COMBO AS 21 ONLY IF THE HAND IS STRONG ENOUGH TO LEAD TRUMPS, ELSE AS
16 SINCE THERE IS ONLY A HALF-CHANCE TO WIN THE TEN; A TEN NOT ACCOMPANIED BY
AN ACE IS TOO IFFY TO COUNT.

DON'T EVER BE TOO BOLD ABOUT MAKING, BECAUSE OF THE THREAT OF BEING BETE,
WHICH IS OFTEN DISASTROUS, A HUNDRED POINT OR GREATER SWING.

THE BID OF SCHMEISS IS A BLUFFING BID THAT CAN MEAN EITHER A STRONG OR WEAK
HAND, BUT THE PLAYER OFFERING THE SCHMEISS IS TAKING THE RISK OF BECOMING THE
MAKER, HENCE NON-DEALER SHOULD NEVER SCHMEISS ON THE FIRST ROUND, BECAUSE THE
DEALER COULD FORCE NON-DEALER TO BECOME THE MAKER WHEN HE, THE DEALER, HAS A
STRONG ENOUGH HAND TO MAKE, AND BETE THE NON-DEALER.  ON THE SECOND ROUND,
THOUGH, NON-DEALER CAN SCHMEISS TO PREVENT DEALER FROM NAMING HIS OWN SUIT.

IN TRICK-TAKING, THE JASS SHOULD USUALLY BE LED AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY,
SINCE IT WILL THEN AT LEAST DRAW AN OPPONENT'S TRUMP.  A TRUMP SUIT OF AT LEAST
LENGTH FOUR MAY BE LED TO PROTECT SIDE CARDS, OTHERWISE TRUMP LEADS ARE USUALLY
USELESS OR DANGEROUS.  NON-DEALER USUALLY DOES BEST TO OPEN HIS LONGEST SUIT.

7S AND 8S, AND NON-TRUMP 9S ARE NON-SCORING CARDS, THEREFORE LEADING THEM IN
SUITS OF WHICH YOUR OPPONENT IS VOID WILL FORCE HIM TO WASTE HIS TRUMPS.
WHEN SHOWING MELDS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO 'SINK' OR HOLD BACK A T-9-8 IN TRUMPS
IN CASE THE OPPONENT HAS THE JASS.

WITH A HAND THAT HAS NO LONG SUITS, IT IS BETTER TO LEAD FROM SEQUENCES OR
NON-SCORING CARDS THAN FROM TENACES, THAT IS, SUITS WITH GAPS SUCH AS AKTQ.

----------------------
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HAVE FUN!
TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.