‘The Chance’. © 1992 Ralph S. Sutherland
Game #3 from the Card Shell.       v1.0.4

Contents:
Apocryphal background
The Aim
The Deck
The Layout and Deal
Moves
Special moves
Sequences
Endgame
Scoring
Strategies
Cool features of the Card Shell games
ArtWork
Legal Bits
Credits

Apocryphal background
This game is essentially Klondike, perhaps the most popular, if frustrating,
solitaire of all. 

The Aim
The aim is to simply build up the four foundations from Aces to Kings each in
strict suit order.

The Deck
A deck of 52 cards is used, comprising of a normal deck Ace Low. 

The Layout and Deal
•Seven columns are dealt.  The first with one card, the second with two
and so on up to 7 cards in the final column.  The cards are face down except
the top cards which are face up.
•As many cards as possible are layed off before play starts.
•The remaining cards form the 'stock' and are placed in one pile, face down.

Moves
•Entire sequences may be moved at one time.
•Spaces may only be filled by Kings.
•Cards that can be layed of onto foundations are automaticly laid off as soon
as they become available.  This is different to Klondike, and can make the game
a little harder.
•The stock cards are revealed three cards at a time by dragging the top cards
over the talon pile immediatle adjacent to the stock.
•When the stock is exhausted, the talon can be turned over and used to replace the
stock.  This is done by clicking in the empty stock.  The stock may be redealt this 
way as many times as required.

Special moves
•Each move made is recorded by the computer.  Using the Moves menu the player
can step back through previous steps and forward again to the most recent move.
This means that an erroneous move can be undone.  In fact the entire game can be 
replayed.  Since 'The Chance' has hidden cards this has the potential to permit
cheating peeks at hidden cards.   This feature is intended to allow the player
to correct inadvertant moves.

Sequences
•Sequences in columns may be built up according to the rule currently in force.  The
rules may be selected using the Moves menu with the Sequences… item. 
•The standard rule says that sequences are built in descending rank sequences of 
alternating colour.  This may be changed to be simple descending rank, regardless
of suit, or descending sequence in one suit only.

Endgame
•The game is lost if no further foundation layoffs are possible.  Scoring is done
after choosing New Game (âŒ˜N)from the File menu, before the new game is
dealt.

Scoring
The scoring is a points system that depends on the rules in use for a given game
and the number of cards that have been laid off:

       Rule                                       Win 

                        Loss
       Match any suit                         (#cards-20) / 4         (#cards-20) / 4
       Match alternating colour          2*(#cards-10) / 2     (#cards-10) / 2

 Match same suit only               4*(#cards-5)             (#cards-5)

It is possible to score some points with a losing game if enough cards have been 
laid off.

The scores are recorded along with some other statistics such as winning/losing
streaks and game move counts.  Overall points and winning percentages as well
as a breakdown by rule type is given at the end of each game and at any other time
using Scores… from the Special menu.

Strategies
•Keep trying, fortunately this is quite a quick game.

Cool features of the Card Shell games
•Automatic saving means that you can quit at any time and when you restart
the game is restored as it was left off.
•All the games from the card shell can simultaneously share the same 'Cards' file.
This contains the sounds and cards pictures.  This saves duplicating ~400k of
common data for each new game.  The games themselves come out about 50k each.
•The very first time a Card Shell game is started, it looks for the Cards file in the
same folder as the game.  If it cannot find it the user is prompted to find it.  Once 
found its location is recorded along with identification and search info. so that
the 'Cards' file can subsequently be moved anywhere else on the disk and still be
found.
•The card graphics have be optimised to work equally well on B&W monitor settings
as well as 4,16,256,thousands and millions of colours.  The layout will fit (just) on
the small 9" monitor of an SE/30, and on larger screens the window can be moved 
anywhere on a multiple monitor set-up.

Artwork
•The court cards are quite symbolic.  I have included motifs of the original
card suits: Staffs, Cups, Swords and Coins on their modern counterparts:Spades
Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.  This means that I have moved the characteristic
'oops I've just stuck a sword though my head!' from the King of Hearts to the
King of Diamonds, and given the King of Hearts a nice drink (cup) instead.
•The  other common convention in the court cards is the identities of the 
one eyed cards: Jack Hearts, Jack Diamonds and King of Diamonds.  This will 
permit the playing of some obscure Poker variants that actually depend on this.
•The cards are in the form of colour icons in the 'Cards' file.  The cicns 
also contain modified B&W versions that will look better in mono than just letting 
quickdraw do it's stuff.

Legal Bits
©1992 Ralph S. Sutherland.
Written with THINK Pascal,  ResEdit and MPW Pascal & Asm.
Portions © Symantec Corp.

This software is freeware, it may not be sold or resold.

Source code for THINK Pascal 4.0 and MPW Pascal/Asm is available for
US $50 which includes licence to use the code to make and distribute 
freeware and/or shareware applications that depend in essence on this code.

For other commercial usage please contact me for negotiations. 

Please make postal orders and Bank Drafts payable to:

Ralph S. Sutherland
c/o- E. B. Newell
RMB #3 Knox Close
New South Wales 2620
AUSTRALIA

Personal cheques and credit cards NOT accepted.

Email address:
ralph@zwicky.colorado.edu

Credits
Special thanks to Neville Smythe for brave and dedicated Alpha testing. 
Artwork with Colour MacCheese, thanks to Baseline and the MacCheese gang.
Help Text with Imaj from the Data Suite.