Elimination Whist Help Contents

The Contents lists Help Topics available for Elimination Whist. Use the scroll bar to see entries not currently visible in the Help windows.

To learn how to use Help, press F1 or choose Using Help from the Help menu.

How To Play

File Menu

Options Menu

Players Menu


How To Play

This section describes how to play elimination whist. It starts with an overview of game play and then deals with specific issues in more detail. You can view a specific topic by selecting it, or browse through all these sections using the browse arrows, above, once you have selected a topic..

Overview

The Deal

The Play

Trump

Scoring

Winning


Overview

Elimination Whist is a rather simple form of whist, but it has very subtle strategies.

Each Game (or Round) consists of a maximum of 7 hands. In the first hand 7 cards are dealt, in the second hand 6 cards are dealt, in the third hand 5 cards are dealt............ and so on.

In order for a player to stay in the game, they must take at least one trick in the hand. If the player fails to do so, he(she) is eliminated from play for the remainder of that game (hence the name elimination whist).

Since the number of cards dealt decreases with each hand, it becomes increasingly difficult to get a trick (similar to musical chairs). The last surviving player is the WINNER of that game.


HAND - A hand begins when all the cards are dealt (in theory, you hold these cards in your hand). As play progresses you take cards from your hand and play them. When all of the players have played their cards the hand is said to be over.


TRICK - After each person has played a card the highest ranking card takes the cards played. This group of cards is called a trick. The person who wins a trick leads by playing a card from his hand. The person who takes the most tricks in a hand declares trump for the next hand.


The Deal

At the start of a series the dealer is chosen at random. The deal then progresses in a clockwise direction (eliminated players DO NOT deal). The winner of the previous game deals first in any subsequent games. The red rectangle on the table indicates who dealt the hand.


The Play

To play a card simply click on the card you wish to play. As in most whist games, you must follow suit and may only trump in if you do not have the suit lead.


FOLLOW SUIT - The suits are Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades. If you have a card that matches the suit lead you must play it. For example if Hearts were lead (played first) and you have a heart in your hand you must play it and may not play any other suit, including trump. If you have more than one card that matches the suit lead you may play the one of your choice.


TRUMP IN - If you have no cards that match the suit lead you may play trump suit. The advantage of this is that cards of trump suit rank higher than other cards. For example, if Clubs are trump then a 2 of Clubs is higher than an Ace of Diamonds (or any card other than a higher Club). If you do not have the suit lead you may play any other card you wish, you do not have to trump in.


SUIT LEAD - Whoever leads, picks a card from his hand and plays it (first card played in a trick). The suit of this card becomes the suit lead.


Trump

At the start of a game, after all the cards have been dealt, the next card is turned up and the suit of this card is declared to be trump suit. In all subsequent rounds the person who takes the most tricks (in the previous hand) gets to look at his cards and declare trump (a great advantage!).

If the player gets to declare trump, a trump selection screen will appear. Simply click the card that represents the suit you wish to declare. If a computer player calls trump they will simply say which suit they have selected. In either case, the trump for that hand will be displayed in the trump indicator located at the top left corner of the screen.

In the case of a tie, a cut of the cards will decide who gets the privilege of declaring trump. If the player is involved in the tie breaking cut, a deck will appear in the bottom left corner of the screen. Simply press and release the mouse button when the cursor is over the deck (the longer you hold the mouse button down the deeper into the deck you will cut)


TRUMP SUIT - Suits are the Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades shown on the cards. At the start of each hand one of these suits is declared as trump suit. A card of trump suit has a higher value than non trump cards regardless of numerical value. For example, if Clubs are trump then a 2 of Clubs is higher than an Ace of Hearts (or any other card except for a higher Club).


Scoring

You have two scoring options in Elimination Whist.

By Game:

The player who wins the game scores 1 for that game.

By Points:

The player who wins the round (or game) scores an amount equal to the cards dealt in the final hand. In other words, if 3 cards were dealt when all but one of the players were eliminated, the survivor would receive 3 points. So, the sooner you eliminate your opposition the more points you score.


Winning

The first player to reach (or exceed) the winning score WINS THE SERIES. Since a game of Elimination Whist is played fairly rapidly you may wish to play a series of games to determine a winner. The winning score can be set by selecting "Winning Score" under the "Options" menu. After the screen appears simply enter the number of games, or points, for a series win and press the OK button.


File Menu

This section deals with the options available under the file menu.

New Game

When this item is selected a new game with the current settings is started. You may select this option through the menus or you may use the F2 shortcut key.

Save Game

This option allows you to save a game (and its settings) in progress to resume at a later date. When this item is selected a screen will appear prompting you to enter a file name. After entering the name of the saved game (no more than 8 characters) simply press the Save button. If you do not wish to save the game select Cancel.

Load Game

This option allows you to load (resume) a previously saved game. When this item is selected a screen will appear that lists the previously saved games. To select the game you wish to load click on the name. If selected properly the name of the saved game will appear in the box below the list. Then press the load button and your game will be restored. You may also delete saved games you do not wish to continue by selecting the file in the same manner as above and pressing the delete key. If you do not wish to load or delete a file you can press the cancel button to exit the screen.

Quit Game

Selecting this option aborts the game in progress and clears the screen. Note however, this option can only be selected when it is your turn to play a card.

Save Settings

Selecting this option saves the current settings such as table & background color, deck, number of players, scoring, players etc. to a file. The next time you run Elimination Whist it will be loaded with the settings you selected.

Exit

Selecting this option will end Elimination Whist.


Options Menu

This section describes the functions performed by the various selections in the options menu.

# Of Players

You may play either a 2-Player or 4-Player version of Elimination Whist. When this option is selected a sub menu will appear displaying the numbers 2 and 4 with a check mark beside one of them. The check mark represents the version currently selected. To change the version being played simply select the version you wish to play. Note this option can not be changed during a game.

Scoring

The game may be scored using one of two systems By Game or By Points. When selected this option displays a sub menu showing the two scoring systems with a check mark beside the currently selected option. To change the scoring system simply select the system you wish to use. Note this option may not be changed during a game.

For further information on the scoring systems refer to "Scoring" in the "How To Play" section of help:

Scoring

Winning Score

This option allows you to set the number of games or the number of points a player must attain to win the series. Selecting this option displays a screen that prompts you for a winning score. Simply enter the number you wish and select the OK button. If no number is entered the Default used is 1. Note this option can not be changed during a game.

For further information refer to "Winning" in the "How To Play" section of help.

Winning

Deck

When selected, this option displays a screen showing the decks available. Simply click on the deck you wish to use and press the OK button.

Table Color

When this option is selected, a color selection screen will appear. You may select a previously designed color or design one of your own. After selecting the new color of the table select the OK button. You may cancel this procedure at any time by selecting Cancel.

Background Color

When this option is selected, a color selection screen will appear. You may select a previously designed color or design one of your own. After selecting the new color of the background select the OK button. You may cancel this procedure at any time by selecting Cancel.

Sound Off

This turns the sound on and off. When the check mark is displayed the sound is off

Play Speed

This option adjusts the speed at which the computer players play. When selected this option displays a screen with a gauge on it. Below the gauge is a scroll bar. When you move the scroll bar back and forth you will notice that the needle on the gauge moves back and forth. Moving the needle to the left speeds play, to the right slows play.

Animation Speed

This option adjusts the speed at which the computer players are animated. On faster machines you may notice that at times a computer player's sentence will be cut off. This is because the computer player will stop speaking when the animation stops. Slowing down the animation speed should solve that problem. When selected this option displays a screen with a gauge on it. Below the gauge is a scroll bar. When you move the scroll bar back and forth you will notice that the needle on the gauge moves back and forth. Moving the needle to the left speeds animation, to the right slows animation.


Players Menu

This section deals with the options available in the players menu. Such as adding your own name and selecting the computer opponents. Note that none of the following options can be changed during game play.

Human

Selecting this option displays a screen prompting you to enter your name. After entering your name press the OK button. The Default player name is "Human".

Computer1

This option allows you to select the computer player to occupy the spot to the left of the player. When selected, a sub menu will appear with a list of the names of the computer players. To select a player simply click on his name.

Computer2

This option allows you to select the computer player to occupy the spot across from the player. When selected, a sub menu will appear with a list of the names of the computer players. To select a player simply click on his name.

Computer3

This option allows you to select the computer player to occupy the spot to the right of the player. When selected, a sub menu will appear with a list of the names of the computer players. To select a player simply click on his name.

NOTE: You may have the same computer player occupy as many spots as you wish.