Software Vault: The Diamond Collection/The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO/cdr18/tomcgs02.zip/HEARTS.DOC

Text File | 1994-04-19 | 10KB | 225 lines

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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