Lochness is a quick-thinking, high-scoring Solitaire game. Its instructions are quite simple:
Each hand is fast and easy to win, but the real challenge is beating the highest score -- you'll need a lucky deal, a nimble brain, and a fast mouse!
When the game starts, your tableau has one build pile (face up), one draw pile (face down), and 7 stacks of 5 cards each (face down except for the top card). You can move the top card from a stack to the build pile, or from the draw pile to the build pile, but that is all.
To move a card from one of the stacks onto the build pile, it must be one rank higher or one rank lower than the card that's currently face up on the build pile. So... if the build pile is showing a Jack, you can move a 10 or a Queen from any stack onto the build pile. If you chose the Queen, it will now be on top of the build pile, so your next move can be either a King or Jack. And so on. Note that the suit of each card does not matter (i.e. you can stack Hearts on top of Clubs, no problem). And Aces can be stacked on top of 2's or Kings.
In addition to the stacks, you can also move cards from the draw pile onto the build pile. The draw pile is always face down. No matter what its next card is, it can always be placed on top of the build pile. This is particularly useful when you're unable to move any cards from any of the stacks onto the build pile. However, once the draw pile is empty, it never replenishes.
After the game has progressed, you might reach the two "Free Cards" that are placed among the 7 stacks. When Free Cards are moved, they become extra build piles. Cards always land on the first build pile that matches them.
The scoring system in Lochness Solitaire rewards you for building long runs of cards without resorting to the draw pile. Each card that you bring down from the stacks is worth a certain number of points. The more cards you bring down in a row, the more points each card is worth. This is called a "run," and the number of cards in your run is indicated by the "run counter" which appears just below the build pile:
The Run Counter
At the start of the game, the first card in a run is worth 100 points, the second is worth 400, the third is worth 900, and so on, so that each successive card is worth increasingly more points. The 25th card in a run is worth a whopping 62500 points! However, as soon as you draw a card from the draw pile, the value goes back to 100 points and you have to start all over again. Sort of.
You see, the other aspect of the scoring system is Nessie herself. Each time you add a card to a run, another piece of the Lochness Monster becomes visible, and whenever the entire monster is visible (i.e. from head to tail) you score a special bonus award. For example, shown below is the 4000 point bonus you get for building a 3-card run:
4000
The Lochness Monster for a 3-Card Run
More importantly, once you have built a comlete Lochness Monster, the scoring system will add the length of the monster to the length of your run before computing its value. For example, in the case above, even if you have to draw a card from the draw pile, the first card in your next run is going to be worth 1600 points (instead of the usual 100) because it gets scored as if it's the fourth card in a run (Length_of_Monster + Length_of_Run = 3 + 1 = 4).
If that all seems too confusing, just keep this in mind: the longer the run, the better, and whenever you complete the Lochness Monster, that's a good thing.
Finally, the Lochness scoring system also rewards you for playing fast and conserving cards. At the end of the game, you get additional points for any extra time that's left on the clock and extra cards that are left in the draw pile.
Lochness Solitaire can be played with either the mouse or the keyboard. When using the mouse, click the LEFT mouse button on the draw pile or on any stack to move its top card to the build pile. Click the RIGHT mouse button as a shortcut to move the top card from the draw pile.
To control the game using the keyboard, use the number keys <1> through <7> to move the top card from stacks 1 through 7 onto the build pile. And use the <ENTER> key to flip the top card from the draw pile.
You can also pause the game by pressing <F3>, and start a new game by pressing Ctrl+N. End the game early (e.g. once you've exhausted the draw pile and cannot move any more cards from the stacks) by clicking the "End Game" button that appears between the build pile and the draw pile. This will give you credit for any time remaining on the clock.
Q: When I run Lochness, I get an error message about
CARDS32.DLL. What's up?
A: The file CARDS32.DLL contains the images of all 52 playing
cards. Clearly, Lochness needs this file in order to play a game, but if you're
getting an error message, chances are that Lochness simply cannot find it.
CARDS32.DLL should have been included in your download of Lochness, and should have
been installed when you extracted the rest of the Lochness files from LOCHZIP.EXE.
So the first thing you should do is check to be sure it is located in the same folder as
your LOCHNESS.EXE file. If it's not, try downloading and
installing Lochness again. However, if CARDS32.DLL and LOCHNESS.EXE are
in the same directory, but Lochness still doesn't work, try copying
CARDS32.DLL to your Windows System directory (e.g. C:\Windows\System).
This works for most people. But if it still doesn't, send me email.
Q: Why should I register my copy of Lochness?
A: Because it's the right thing to do!
A: Because it helps to support this site!
A: Because it helps me improve the game and write others like
it!
A: Because it gives you a chance to offer feedback and
suggestions for the game!
A: Because it gets rid of the download timer and removes the
30-game limit!
A: Because it supports the shareware game industry, which
brings you low-cost, high-quality, non-corporate games like this!
A: Because it's so darn cheap!
Copyright � 1999 Susan Brooks. All rights reserved.