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1991-03-23
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Idiot's Delight
Version 1.03
Copyright 1991 By
Randy Rasa
18215 Troost
Olathe, KS 66062
What Is It? ___________
Idiot's Delight, also known as "Aces Up", is a solitaire card game
that is extremely simple to play, quite addictive, but terribly
difficult to win. Success depends on skill and strategy, but even
more on the luck of the cards.
Program Requirements ____________________
Idiot's Delight requires 256K of memory, EGA or higher graphics
capability, and a Microsoft-compatible mouse. If you are not sure
you have the right hardware, just run the program. If there's a
problem, the program will let you know.
In addition to the program file (ID.EXE), the game requires that
the card definition files (ID.CD1 and ID.CD2) be in the current
directory. These files contain the bit-maps for each cardface in
the deck.
Using The Mouse _______________
The mouse pointer will appear as a white arrow with black edges.
In general, the left button is used to select the object being
pointed to (a card or an on-screen button).
If you have a three-button mouse, the middle button will blank the
screen. This can also be accomplished by pressing the left and
right buttons simultaneously.
Osmosis Documentation Page 2
How To Play ___________
Idiot's Delight uses a standard 52-card deck (no jokers), with aces
ranked high, above kings. The game is begun by dealing four cards
in a row. You may discard any card that is lower than another card
of the same suit. When no more cards can be removed, deal four
more cards onto the remainder of the previous deal and remove all
possible cards. If a pile is completely depleted, you can move a
card from the top of another pile into the space.
The game continues in this way, dealing four cards at a time, then
removing all possible cards. The game is won if only the four aces
are left at the end of the game.
Be very careful of which card you move into spaces. The natural
inclination is to move aces into spaces as soon as possible, but
often it is advisable to consider other possibilities, depending on
what cards can be freed up with each move.
Note: The four card can be dealt from the deck by clicking on the
card back (there is no "Deal" button).
Osmosis Documentation Page 3
Buttons _______
Along the right side of the screen are a number of "buttons", which
may be selected by pointing and clicking with the mouse. The
buttons are:
Options: This button brings up the options menu, which you can
use to set your preferences for the following:
Sound: Select "Off" to disable the beeps, clicks, and various
other noises the program makes. Select "On" to enable the
sounds.
Session Statistics: When this option is set to "On", the
program will keep track of your statistics (games played,
games won, change in average score) throughout the game
and then display them when you quit. (Note: During play,
you can also display the session statistics by clicking on
the score box.)
Background Color: Click on the up-arrow and down-arrow to
step through the available background colors, until you
find one that suits your tastes.
Card Back: Click on the up-arrow and down-arrow to cycle
through the available card designs until you find one you
like.
Once you've set things to your liking, you may click on the
"OK" button to save your preferences to disk, or on the
"Cancel" button to exit the Options menu without changing
anything.
Help: This button will bring up several pages of help screens,
which you can view by clicking on the "Next" or "Prev"
buttons to move from page to page. When you are finished
reading the help, click on the "Done" button to exit.
New Game: This button will end the current game, update your
statistics, and start a new game.
Quit: Click on this button to exit the program. If you have
started a game, the score will be recorded and the statistic
file updated.
Osmosis Documentation Page 4
Statistics __________
Idiot's Delight keeps track of the score (the number of cards
you've discarded), the total number of games you've played, the
number of games you've won (expressed as both a number and a
percentage), and your average score. At the end of each game, the
statistics are written to disk, either in the default ID.DAT or in
the data file specified on the command line. The data file also
contains the preferences you set in the options menu.
To specify a data file on the command line, start up Idiot's
Delight with the following syntax:
ID filename.ext
This allows several different people to use the same copy of
Idiot's Delight on the same machine, yet keep separate statistics
for each person. For example, suppose three people (Tom, Dick, and
Harry) played the game at various times on the same machine. They
could each easily keep personalized data files, containing their
scores and preferences. Tom would use his data file by typing:
ID TOM.DAT
Likewise, Dick and Harry could have data files called DICK.DAT and
HARRY.DAT. Note that the "DAT" extension could be "SCR" or "HGH",
or whatever, as long as it is three letters or less.
Osmosis Documentation Page 5
Legalese ________
Idiot's Delight is shareware. As such, you can play it, copy it,
and give it away as you wish. In fact, you are encouraged to
distribute the shareware version of the program to friends, family,
and strangers alike. This includes distribution via electronic
bulletin board systems (BBS), user's groups, and disk-distribution
services. All that I ask is that the program remain in an archive
consisting of:
ID.EXE ............. the program
ID.CD1 ............. card definition file #1
ID.CD2 ............. card definition file #2
ID.DOC ............. documentation
ID.FRM ............. registration form
Registration ____________
Idiot's Delight is shareware. If you enjoy the game, please
support it. There are three registration packages available:
1. Basic Registration ................................... $5.00
This minimum registration will get you the latest registered
(no shareware "beg" message) version of Idiot's Delight on a
diskette of your choice, along with a registration code good
for all future updates.
2. Package Deal #1 ..................................... $10.00
This package consists of the latest registered version of
Idiot's Delight, plus shareware versions of as many of the
programs listed below that will fit on the disk, with a menu
program to tie them all together. Note that all of the
additional programs are unregistered versions (with shareware
"beg" screens). You will also receive a registration code
good for all future updates of Idiot's Delight.
3. Package Deal #2 ..................................... $15.00
This package consists of the latest registered versions of
Idiot's Delight, plus registered versions of as many of the
programs listed below that will fit on the disk, with a menu
program to tie them all together. Note that all of the
additional programs are fully registered versions (no
shareware "beg" screens). You will also receive registration
codes good for all future updates of Idiot's Delight and the
programs included with your registration.
No matter what option you choose, you'll be getting a lot of
quality software for just a little dough. Please consider
registering.
Osmosis Documentation Page 6
The programs that you will get with the package deals will be
selected from the following:
Midnight Oil: An EGA solitaire card game, otherwise known as La
Belle Lucie and Three Shuffles and a Draw. In this game the
deck is dealt into seventeen fans of three cards each. Cards
are moved from the fans to four foundations, which are then
built up in suit from Ace to King. Midnight Oil is one of
the best solitaires, affording great opportunity for skillful
play. The game keeps statistics in a disk file, and has a
special auto mode that makes the game especially easy to
play.
Monte Carlo: An EGA-based solitaire card game in which you try
to remove pairs of cards from a 5 x 5 matrix. This easy-to-
play game offers hours of relaxing fun. It keeps statistics
in much the same way as Idiot's Delight, has selectable card
designs, and a "hint" button that makes the game especially
easy to learn.
Calculation: This EGA-based solitaire card game is a real brain-
teaser in which you build up four foundations, each in a
different sequence. It requires skill and logical thinking
to win, but on-screen assistance makes learning and playing
the game a snap. It keeps a statistic file like Idiot's
Delight and has selectable card designs.
Osmosis: In this EGA solitaire card game you have four
foundations to build, but a card can only be played to a
lower foundation if it has also been played to an upper
foundation. This addictive game is simple to play but
difficult to win, with success often depending as much on
luck as skill. It keeps statistics on-disk, offers
selectable card backs and has a "peek" option to give you an
extra edge.
Royal Cotillion: This is a two-deck EGA solitaire in which you
must build up eight foundations in suit by twos. It offers
good opportunity for skillful play, a pleasing layout, and
hours of engrossing fun. It keeps a statistics file, has
selectable card backs, and a time-saving auto mode.
Poker Squares: A text-mode card game that is also known as Poker
Solitaire. In this game you pull cards one at a time from
the deck, placing them on a 5 x 5 matrix, trying to form the
best poker hands in the five rows and five columns. The game
can be played on color or monochrome systems, and will use a
mouse if one is available. The top ten scores are kept on
disk.
Strategy: This is a solitaire card game that requires skill,
luck, and concentration. It runs in color or monochrome, and
requires a mouse.
Osmosis Documentation Page 7
Concentration: A text-mode version of the classic memory-
stretching solitaire. It features 8 selectable card backs,
mouse support, runs on any monitor, and keeps the top ten
scores on disk.
I am adding new programs all the time, so I'll probably send along
whatever I can fit on one disk, using the newest programs first.
As you can see, you get a lot of fun and useful software for just a
little dough. Please consider registering.
You may print out the registration form by entering the following
command from the DOS prompt (with your printer connected and
ready):
COPY ID.FRM PRN
Then just fill out the form and send it, along with cash, check or
money order, to:
Randy Rasa
18215 Troost
Olathe, KS 66062
Revision History ________________
1.00 01-29-91 First Public Release.
1.01 02-15-91 Cosmetic changes.
1.02 03-12-91 Added registration procedure.
1.03 03-23-91 Modified registration procedure.
Osmosis Documentation Page 8
A Note To Registered Users __________________________
The registration procedure allows previously-registered users to
update to the new registered version of the program by entering a
special 'registration code' that was included as part of your
order. Run the shareware version of the program with the "/R"
command-line switch, followed by the registration code, like this:
ID /Rxxxxxx
You would, of course use the proper registration code in place of
the "xxxxxx". Note also that there should be no space between the
"R" and the registration code. After running the program with /R
switch and the proper code, you'll have a brand-spanking new
registered version of the program. What this essentially amounts
to is unlimited, free updates with each registration.
The registration procedure comes with the following limitations:
1. The name your EXE file must be ID.EXE.
2. You cannot perform the registration procedure on a compressed
version (ie: an EXE file processed with PKLite, Diet, or
LZEXE). The EXE file may be compressed after the
registration procedure, but not before.
3. Please do not distribute registered versions of the program.
4. Since the registration procedure is a new feature, there are
a number of people who have registered earlier versions that
won't be able to take advantage of it just yet. But if you
send me a self-addressed stamped envelope, I'll be happy to
send you the registration code.
Note: You can also change the program back to the shareware version
by using the "/SW" command-line switch. This function is
subject to the same limitations as with the registration
procedure (ie: the program must be properly named and
uncompressed). Please use this option to "un-register" the
program if you wish to pass it along to anyone. Also, please
include all of the files listed under the "Legalese" section
of this document. Thanks.