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1989-07-01
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KLONDIKE
Version 2.2
Copyright 1989 by Eduardo Martins
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
INTRODUCTION
============
Klondike, also known under a variety of local names such as
Fascination and China-Man, is probably the best known solitaire card
game (actually, many people are not aware of the fact that Klondike
is just one of dozens of solitaire games, and use the name
'Solitaire' to refer to it). There are several shareware versions of
Klondike available for MS-DOS machines, but most of them have very
crude graphics (when they do have graphics at all!) and cumbersome
user interfaces. This prompted me to write a version that would take
full advantage of high-resolution EGA graphics. Several months and a
few thousand lines of Turbo Pascal 4.0 source code later, Klondike
1.0 was released. User response was very enthusiastic (although,
unfortunately, this did not translate into a significant number of
registrations...), and several users made suggestions that were
incorporated in version 2.0. The graphics were greatly enhanced,
and compare favorably with commercial card games; new rules were
added, making the game more flexible and easier to win; and full
mouse support was added, making the user interface very fluid and
intuitive. This version (2.2) includes a few bug fixes, a configu-
ration command that saves customized settings such as rules, card back,
and mouse usage, and a slightly improved user interface. I hope
you'll enjoy Klondike 2.2, and encourage the development of
high-quality shareware programs by filling out and sending the
enclosed registration form.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
===================
Klondike 2.2 runs on an IBM-PC or compatible running under MS-DOS
2.0 or greater, with an EGA/VGA monitor and display adapter (it
should run on an 8514 display adapter, but this was not tested).
256K of available memory are required. A Microsoft-compatible mouse
is strongly recommended, but the game can be played from the
keyboard. If you want to use the mouse, the mouse driver must be
installed before you load Klondike; please refer to your mouse
documentation for instructions. If you are running Klondike from a
hard disk, make sure that klondike.exe and the *.scr files are on
the current directory.
A note on compatibility: Unfortunately, not all mouse drivers and
VGA systems were created equal. Klondike 2.2 runs without problems
using the Microsoft mouse driver version 6.00 or greater; if you are
using an older version you should get an upgrade, or use the -nomouse
option and play using the keyboard. A few users with VGA systems
reported some problems, but so far I haven't been able to duplicate
them. Klondike 2.2 was tested on an IBM PS/2 with the 8513 VGA
monitor, and no problems were found. Finally, Klondike 2.2 is NOT
DesqView aware. Later versions should have this feature, but, for
now, avoid running Klondike on a DesqView window.
KLONDIKE RULES
==============
One regular pack of 52 cards is used. Deal 28 cards into 7 piles. The
first pile at the left has one card, the second two, and so on, up to
seven in the last pile. The top card of each pile is face up; all the
rest are face down. On the piles you may build in descending
sequence, red on black or black on red. For example, on the 8 of
spades you can place either the 7 of hearts or the 7 of diamonds. All
the face up cards on a pile may be moved as a unit, and matched
according to the bottom card. When you uncover a face down card on a
pile, turn it face up. If one pile is entirely removed, you may put a
king in the space. Each time you free an ace, move it to the
Foundation, a row above the piles. On the Foundation you build up in
suit and sequence. For example, the 2 of hearts may be placed on the
Ace of hearts, the 3 of hearts may be placed over the 2 of hearts, and
so on. To win the game, you have to build each Foundation up to the
king. Once placed on the Foundation, a card cannot be moved anywhere
else. From the rest of the pack, turn up cards one by one. Put cards
that you cannot use into a waste pile. You can always use the top
card of the waste pile. You may go through the pack only once. The
game ends either when you win by building each Foundation up to the
king, or when your moves reach a standstill.
Alternate Rules
Klondike, as played by its original rules, is very hard to win (it
has been estimated that the chances of winning are one in every
thirty games!) and thus can be a bit frustrating. Two popular
variations greatly increase the odds of winning. Under the first
variation, cards are moved from the Pack to the Waste Pile in groups
of three, and you can go through the Pack as many times as you wish,
i.e., once the Pack is exhausted, you move all the cards from the
Waste Pile back to the Pack. Under the second variation, cards are
turned up from the Pack one by one, as in the original rules, but you
can go through the Pack an unlimited number of times, as in the first
variation. This is the easiest of all three playing modes.
You can also use the 'relaxed movement' rule. Under the original
Klondike rules, you must move all face-up cards on a pile as a
unit (with the exception that, when you are moving from the pile to
the Foundation, you move the top card of the pile alone). Under the
'relaxed movement' rule, you can move all face-up cards as a unit;
the top card alone, or any contiguous block of cards beginning at
the top card. Suppose you have a pile with a 4-5-6-7-8 face-up. If
you're using the 'relaxed movement' rule, you can move all five
cards as a unit, or the 4-5-6-7 block, or the 4-5-6, or 4-5, or the 4
alone. Through skillful manipulation of the cards, you can free
cards that would otherwise be unavailable, and win games that would
be unwinnable under the regular rules. This makes the game more
challenging, because it gives you a greater chance of winning against
a bad deal.
COMMANDS
========
Mouse:
To move a card, first place the mouse cursor over the card (or pile)
you want to move and press the left mouse button, then place the
cursor over where you want to put the card (or pile) and press the
left button again. Notice that the cursor changes to a pointing hand
whenever it is over a card or pile that can be moved. After you
select the card (or pile) to move by pressing the left mouse button,
the cursor changes to an hourglass to indicate that it is waiting
for you to enter the destination of the move. Whenever you place it
over a location that could be used as a destination, it will change
from the hourglass back to a pointing hand (note that this does not
check for a valid move. It merely tells you that you could move a
card from pile 1 to pile 5, if the cards match, but that you could
never move a card from pile 1 to the waste pile). If you select a
card to be moved and decide not to move that card, press both mouse
buttons simultaneously to cancel the move command. To move a card
from the Deck to the Waste Pile, press the right mouse button.
If a card is face down, just place the mouse cursor over it and
press the left mouse button to turn the card face up.
To change the rules, click the Rules button. Under rules 2 and 3
the Waste pile can be re-used. When the Pack is exhausted, click the
right mouse button and the Waste Pile will be moved back to the Pack.
Click the Finish button to have the computer move all cards that can
be moved from the Tableau to the Foundation automatically.
Click the Quit button to quit Klondike, Back to change the card
design, Help to display a Help screen, and Info to display version
and Copyright information.
Keyboard:
To Move a card, first press the key corresponding to the Origin, then
press the key corresponding to the Destination. For example, to move
from the Pack to pile 1, press 'P' then '1'. Valid Origins are 1 to
7, P, and W. Valid Destinations are 1 to 7, W, and F. If you select
a card to be moved and decide not to move that card, press the 'Esc'
key to cancel the move command. If a card is face down, press the key
corresponding to that card and it will be turned face up. You can
turn only the first card of the Pack and cards on the Tableau (1 to
7) that are face down.
To change the rules, press 'R'. Under rules 2 and 3, the Waste pile
can be re-used. When the Pack is exhausted, press 'P' and the Waste
pile will be moved back to the Pack.
Press 'F' to have the computer move all cards that can be moved from
the Tableau to the Foundation automatically.
Press 'Q' to quit Klondike, 'B' to change the card design, and 'I'
to display version and Copyright information.
COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS
====================
The following options can be specified when you load Klondike:
-mouse: selects the mouse as the input device, and bypasses the 'Do
you want to use the mouse?' menu. This option is ignored
if a mouse driver is not found
-nomouse: selects the keyboard as the input device, and bypasses the
'Do you want to use the mouse?' menu
-inst: display instructions at the beginning of the game, bypassing
the 'Do you want instructions?' menu
-noinst: do not display instructions at the beginning of the game,
bypassing the 'Do you want instructions?' menu
-nosound: turns sound off (Default is sound on)
-nomenu: suppresses the on-screen menu (this option is ignored when
you are using the mouse; default is menu on)
-back[n]: selects card back [n], where [n] is a number from 1 to 5
(Default is -back1)
-rule[n]: selects rule set [n], where [n] is a number from 1 to 3
(Default is -rule1)
-relaxed: selects 'relaxed movement' rule (Default is Strict)
CONFIGURATION
=============
A new command, 'Config', allows you to save your customized config-
uration. Click the Config button (or press "C" if using the keyboard)
and a dialog box will appear. Select whether or not you want to use
the mouse by choosing 'Yes', 'No', or 'Ask'. If you select 'Ask', a
dialog box will pop-up every time you run Klondike and ask if you
want to use the mouse (assuming you have a mouse driver loaded). If
you select 'Yes' but a mouse driver is not found, the game will go
to keyboard mode. Then, select whether or not you want instructions
displayed when you run Klondike. Choosing 'Yes' will display the
instructions screens every time you load the program, 'No' will skip
the instructions screens, and 'Ask' will pop-up a dialog box asking
if you want instructions displayed. Finally, select Sound on or off.
If you want to configure Klondike to use a rule set other than the
default (Rule set 1), or a particular card design, choose the rule
set and the card design (by using the 'Rules' and 'Back' commands)
BEFORE you use the 'Config' command. When Config saves your config-
uration, it will save the currently selected rule set and card design.
Note that the mouse, instructions and sound options only become
effective the next time you load Klondike. Since the configuration
information is written on the EXE file itself, do not put a write
protect tab on the disk if you're using a floppy, or set the
Klondike.exe read-only attribute. Finally, note that the command
line switches take precedence over the saved configuration. So, if
you have Klondike configured to use the mouse, and you want to play
using the keyboard, you can load it by typing the command
'klondike -nomouse' and the mouse option will be overridden.
NOTES FOR USERS OF PREVIOUS VERSIONS
====================================
A few small but significant changes were made in the user interface,
making it more intuitive and easier to use.
* When using the mouse, you no longer have to press the right button to
finish moving a card. Simply press the left button again and the move
will be made. Press the right button to move a card from the Pack to
the Waste Pile. You can still place the cursor over the Pack, click
the left button, then place the cursor over the Waste Pile, and click
the left button again, but it is obviously a lot easier just to click
the right button (the cursor doesn't even have to be over the Pack).
* The 'Re-Use' command is gone. After the Pack is exhausted, simply
press the right mouse button (as if you were moving one more card from
the Pack to the Waste) and the Waste will be moved back to the
Pack (assuming, of course, that you are using either rule set 2 or 3).
If you're playing from the keyboard, press "P" (for Pack) instead.
* The Tutorial is gone. Klondike is getting bigger with every new
release, and I suspect that very few (if any) people ever used
the Tutorial, so it was deleted to save space.
A new Registration procedure has been added. After you register,
you will receive a registration number and instructions on how to
'burn it' into your Klondike copy. This number will then be displayed
when you issue the 'Info' command, and the Shareware screen that is
displayed on unregistered copies will be suppressed. Note that these
are the ONLY differences between registered and unregistered copies;
the 'evaluation copy' is fully functional, and is not crippled in
ANY way. If you are a registered user of version 2.1 or earlier,
send me a note and I'll send you your registration number.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
================
Klondike was written using Turbo Pascal 4.0 (and later converted to
TP 5.0). I wish to thank Borland International for their outstanding
compiler. Special thanks go to everybody at CompuServe's Borland Forum
(especially Brian Foley). Their help and support has been invaluable.
I'd also like to thank the following individuals:
- Neil Rubenking, author of PianoMan, used to add the title and
congratulation screen songs;
- Michael Day, author of the Mouse unit, used to add mouse support;
- Scott Bussinger, author of the Backplay unit, used to play the
congratulation screen song on the background;
- Tim Godfrey, author of the GrafText unit, used for the extremely
fast graphics-mode screen writes;
- [unknown] author of the DrawPics unit, used to display the
high-resolution card images; and
- Mael Martins, John Middleton, and David Blair, who made invaluable
suggestions and beta-tested the program.
ABOUT SHAREWARE
===============
(Definition supplied by the Association of Shareware Professionals)
Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before
buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you
are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details --
some request registration while others require it, some specify a
maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the
simple right to continue using the software to an updated program
with a printed manual.
Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and
the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific
exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished
programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of
comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad
ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The
author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the
software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For
example, some authors require written permission before a commercial
disk vendor may copy their Shareware.
So, Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You
should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether
it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your
needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the
overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-
back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.
This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a
dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical
support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at
P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via
easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
You are granted a license to try this program for a period of 21
days. If you continue to use this program after the trial period is
over, you must register by sending the registration form and $15 to
Eduardo Martins
Station A P.O. Box 2052
Champaign, IL 61825-2052
If you have any comments or suggestions, please write to the above
address, or leave electronic mail on CompuServe to Eduardo Martins
[73300,267] or on GEnie to e.martins.
This program may not be sold in any form without the express written
consent from the author. If you distribute Klondike to friends or to
Bulletin Board systems, PLEASE distribute it under the name
KLONDK22.EXE, and use the unmodified, self-extracting LHARC archive
as the distribution copy.
REGISTRATION FORM KLONDK22
=================
To register Klondike, please send this form and a $15 check to
Eduardo Martins
Station A P.O. Box 2052
Champaign, IL 61825-2052
NAME: _________________________________________________
ADDRESS: ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Where did you get your copy of Klondike?
_
|_| CompuServe CIS User ID: ___________________
_
|_| GEnie GEnie address: _________________
_
|_| BBS (please give name and number): _____________________________
_
|_| Public (software) Library
_
|_| Other (please specify): ________________________________________
Comments/Suggestions
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Thank you for registering Klondike!