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Text File | 1989-07-29 | 14KB | 282 lines

TOMMY'S GIN RUMMY (C) COPYRIGHT 1987 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #87-067-1A

INSTRUCTIONS:

TOMMY'S GIN RUMMY IMPLEMENTS THE GAME INVENTED IN 1909 BY ELWOOD T. BAKER OF
THE KNICKERBOCKER WHIST CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY, WITH OPTIONAL AUTOMATIC SORTING
(SETTING) OF YOUR HAND TO GIVE THE BEST SCORE.  (THE STORY ABOUT BAKER MAY OR
MAY NOT BE TRUE, BUT IT OUGHT TO BE).

PLAYERS:
YOU PLAY AGAINST THE COMPUTER.  YOUR HAND IS DISPLAYED AT THE TOP OF THE
SCREEN, THE COMPUTER'S UNDER IT.  AT PROGRAM STARTUP YOU ARE GIVEN THE OPTION
OF PLAYING WITH OPEN HANDS, MEANING THAT YOU CAN SEE THE COMPUTER'S HAND BUT
IT CAN'T SEE YOURS.

CARDS:
THE STANDARD DECK OF 52 IS USED.  CARD RANKING IS ACE LOW, KING HIGH.

DEALER:
WITH REAL CARDS THE PLAYERS WOULD CUT AND LOW CARD DEALS.  IN TOMMY'S GIN
RUMMY THE INITIAL DEALER IS CHOSEN BY THE COMPUTER AFTER FLIPPING A COIN IN
ITS INSCRUTABLE CIRCUITS.  AFTER THAT, THE LOSER OF EACH ROUND DEALS THE NEXT.

THE DEAL:
EACH PLAYER RECEIVES 10 CARDS, DEALT TO EACH PLAYER ALTERNATELY STARTING WITH
THE NON-DEALER.  THEN ONE MORE CARD IS DEALT FACE UP ON THE TABLE TO FORM THE
UPCARD PILE, AND THE DECK (STOCK) IS LAID FACE DOWN NEXT TO IT.  DURING PLAY,
ONLY ONE CARD IS FACE UP ON THE TABLE AT ANY ONE TIME.

THE PLAY:
ON THE FIRST PLAY, NON-DEALER EITHER TAKES THE UPCARD OR REFUSES IT; IF HE
REFUSES, DEALER HAS THE SAME OPTION.  IF DEALER ALSO REFUSES, NON-DEALER MUST
DRAW FROM THE TOP OF THE DECK (STOCK), GIVING HIM 11 CARDS, THEN DISCARD ONE
CARD FACE UP ON THE UPCARD PILE.

ON SUBSEQUENT PLAYS, EACH PLAYER MUST DRAW ONE CARD, EITHER THE UPCARD OR THE
TOP OF THE DECK, AND THEN DISCARD ONE CARD FACE UP ON THE UPCARD PILE
(BECOMING THE NEW UPCARD).

KNOCKING:
EACH HAND HAS A POINT VALUE THAT ITS PLAYER TRIES TO MINIMIZE.  AFTER DRAWING,
IF THE POINT VALUE IS 10 OR LESS, A PLAYER MAY DISCARD FACE DOWN AND "KNOCK",
SHOWING HIS CARDS FACE UP AND ENDING THE ROUND.

DEAD HANDS:
IF THE 50TH CARD IS DRAWN FROM THE DECK AND, AFTER THE DISCARD, NEITHER PLAYER
HAS KNOCKED, THE HAND IS DEAD AND A NEW ONE IS STARTED  (THE OPPONENT OF THE
PLAYER WHO DISCARDS THE 50TH CARD MAY PICK IT UP TO KNOCK, HOWEVER).

MATCHED SET:
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME IS TO FORM YOUR HAND INTO "MATCHED SETS":

     1. 3 OR 4 CARDS OF THE SAME RANK ("SPREAD" OR "FLAT")
     2. 3 OR MORE CARDS OF THE SAME SUIT IN SEQUENCE ("RUN" OR "STRAIGHT"),
        WHERE ACE IS LOW AND KING IS HIGH (K-Q-A IS NOT A LEGAL STRAIGHT).

CARDS THAT DO NOT FORM PART OF ANY MATCHED SET ARE CALLED UNMATCHED CARDS (OR
DEADWOOD) AND ARE PENALIZED WITH A POINT VALUE (PV).

HAND POINT VALUE (PV):
THE POINT VALUE (PV) OF A HAND DEPENDS ON THE UNMATCHED CARDS ONLY, BECOMING
AUTOMATICALLY SMALLER EACH TIME YOU FORM A NEW MATCHED SET.  IN THIS COUNT,
EACH FACE CARD COUNTS AS 10 POINTS, AN ACE COUNTS AS 1 POINT, AND EACH SPOT
CARD COUNTS AS ITS FACE VALUE.

A CARD MAY *NOT* BE PART OF 2 MATCHED SETS AT THE SAME TIME.  FOR EXAMPLE,
A HAND OF 2 3 4 OF DIAMONDS, 4 OF CLUBS, & 4 OF SPADES MAY NOT BE SORTED INTO
2 3 4 OF DIAMONDS AND 4 CLUBS+4 DIAMONDS+4 SPADES: EITHER THE MATCHED SET
IS 2-3-4 DIAMONDS, LEAVING A PV OF 4+4=8, OR 4-4-4, LEAVING A PV OF 2+3=5.

GIN:
TO KNOCK, YOUR PV (AFTER DISCARDING) MUST BE 10 OR LESS.  IF ALL YOUR CARDS
ARE MATCHED, YOU HAVE A PV OF 0 (PERFECT) AND YOU "GO GIN".  (YOU SHOULD
ALWAYS KNOCK IF YOU GO GIN!)

OPTIONAL AUTOMATIC SORTING:
IF THIS OPTION IS ENABLED, THE COMPUTER AUTOMATICALLY REARRANGES YOUR HAND FOR
THE LOWEST PV (MATCHED CARDS ARE PUT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR HAND, THE
UNMATCHED CARDS TO THE RIGHT).  THIS TAKES ALL OF THE DRUDGERY OUT OF THE GAME
FOR ALL BUT EXPERTS, WHO OF COURSE CAN EVALUATE A MIXED-UP HAND ON SIGHT, AS
THEY HAVE TO KEEP MOVING THE CARDS AROUND TO FOOL THEIR OPPONENT ANYWAY.
IF AUTO-SORTING IS OFF, YOU CAN ARRANGE THE HAND YOURSELF BY SWITCHING CARDS
2 AT A TIME, TAKING CARE TO KEEP MATCHED SETS TO THE LEFT OF THE HAND, HIGH
CARD IN A SEQUENCE FIRST.

THE COMPUTER TAKES CARE OF ITS OWN HAND, BUT YOU CAN SELECT WHETHER IT PLAYS
HARD BALL (KEEPING HAND IN RANDOM ORDER SO YOU CAN'T GUESS WHAT IT IS DOING)
OR SOFT BALL (KEEPING HAND SORTED SO YOU CAN DRAW YOUR INFERENCES).

OF COURSE AUTO-SORT DOESN'T PREVENT YOU FROM DISCARDING ANY CARD YOU WANT,
EVEN BREAKING MATCHED SETS IF DESIRED.

NOTE:
AS THIS ALGORITHM'S SPEED DEPENDS EXPONENTIALLY ON THE NUMBER OF "INTERSECT"
CARDS (E.G., 2-CLUBS, 3-CLUBS, 4-CLUBS, 3-HEARTS, 3-DIAMONDS HAS ONE
INTERSECT, 3-CLUBS), THERE ARE A FEW PATHOLOGICAL HANDS THAT TAKE A WHILE
TO OPTIMIZE:  TOMMY SUGGESTS YOU USE THE TIME TO STRAIGHTEN YOUR DESK.

LAYING OFF:
THE PLAYER WHO KNOCKS SHOWS HIS HAND WITH THE MATCHED SETS SEGREGATED TO THE
LEFT (SEQUENCES MUST BE HIGH...LOW).  IF HE DIDN'T HAVE GIN, THE OTHER PLAYER
THEN GETS TO "LAY OFF" ANY OF HIS UNMATCHED CARDS THAT FIT INTO THE OPPONENT'S
MATCHED SETS, THEREBY REDUCING HIS HAND'S PV.  NOTE THAT YOU CANNOT LAY OFF A
STRAIGHT ON AN OPPONENT'S FLAT, OR VICE VERSA, HENCE IF THE OPPONENT HAS 3 5'S
AND YOU HAVE A 4-6 OF THE RIGHT SUIT, THAT'S TOUGH.  (NOTE: LAYING OFF IS
AUTOMATICALLY DONE BY THE COMPUTER.)

SCORING A HAND:
IF THE KNOCKER HAS THE LOWEST PV AFTER THE OPPONENT LAYS OFF HIS UNMATCHED
CARDS, THE KNOCKER WINS GAME POINTS EQUAL TO THE DIFFERENCE IN THE FINAL PVS,
BUT IF THE OPPONENT HAS THE LOWEST, OR EVEN AN EQUAL PV, AFTER THE LAYOFF,
HE "UNDERCUTS" THE KNOCKER AND WINS THE DIFFERENCE IN PVS PLUS A BONUS OF 25
POINTS.  HOWEVER, IF THE KNOCKER HAS GIN, HE WINS UNCONDITIONALLY (THE
OPPONENT CANNOT LAY OFF), SCORING THE OPPONENT'S PV PLUS A BONUS OF 25 POINTS.

BOX SCORE:
IN ADDITION TO GAME POINTS, THE WINNER OF A HAND GETS SEPARATE BOX POINTS: 1
POINT FOR WINNING THE HAND, 2 IF HE WON BY UNDERCUT, AND 3 IF HE WON BY GIN.

GAME POINT:
BEFORE THE MATCH STARTS YOU SELECT ANYTHING BETWEEN 100 AND 500 GAME POINTS
AS GAME (125 IS STANDARD, HIGHER ARE USED BY PROS).

GAME:
THE FIRST PLAYER TO SCORE THE AGREED-ON NUMBER OF GAME POINTS WINS THE GAME,
SCORING MATCH (BREAD AND BUTTER) POINTS AS FOLLOWS:

CALL DG THE DIFFERENCE IN GAME POINTS FOR THE CURRENT GAME, DB THE DIFFERENCE
IN BOX SCORES, AND N THE AGREED-ON GAME POINT ITSELF.  THEN THE WINNER GETS
N+DG+25*DB MATCH POINTS.  AND, IN ADDITION, IF THE OPPONENT HAS WON NO HANDS
(HAS A ZERO BOX SCORE), THIS IS DOUBLED (A SO-CALLED SHUTOUT OR SCHNEIDER OR
SKUNK).  IF BY SOME FREAK CHANCE THE OTHER PLAYER'S BOX SCORES CAUSE YOU TO
GET A NEGATIVE TOTAL SCORE, YOUR MATCH SCORE ACTUALLY IS REDUCED, EVEN IF IT
GOES NEGATIVE TOO.

MATCH:
CUMULATIVE MATCH POINTS ARE USED TO PAY THE WINNER, OFTEN A PENNY, NICKEL, OR
DIME A POINT.  THEY ARE DISPLAYED IN THE LOWER RIGHT SIDE OF THE DISPLAY.

HOLLYWOOD SCORING OPTION:
IN HOLLYWOOD SCORING, 3 GAMES ARE SCORED AT A TIME, BUT THE 2ND AND 3RD "GAME"
IS REALLY A PYRAMID SCORE.  HERE'S HOW IT WORKS: TO SCORE ON THE 3-GAME BOARD
YOU HAVE TO WIN A HAND.  YOUR SCORE DIFFERENTIAL (DG), AND BOXES FOR THE HAND,
ARE THEN POSTED ON 1 OR MORE BOARDS: THE FIRST TIME YOU SCORE, YOU SCORE ON
BOARD 1 ONLY; THE SECOND TIME YOU SCORE, YOU SCORE ON BOTH BOARDS 1 AND 2;
THE THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT TIMES YOU SCORE, YOU SCORE ON BOARDS 1, 2, AND 3.
EACH TIME YOU WIN A BOARD, IT IS TALLIED AS A REGULAR GAME, INACTIVATED, AND
YOUR MATCH POINTS ARE ADDED TO YOUR CUMULATIVE TOTAL.  THERE IS ALSO A SUPER
HOLLYWOOD SCORING OPTION, WHEREIN BOARDS 2 AND 3 BECOME BOARDS 1 AND 2,
RESPECTIVELY, THEN BOARD 3 IS RESET TO ZERO AND SO ON.  NOTE THAT THE HAND
AND BOX VALUES IN THE LOWER LEFT OF THE SCREEN ARE NOT THE GAME SCORES, BUT
THE CUMULATIVE VALUES THAT HAVE BEEN POSTED ON THE GAME BOARDS SINCE THE LAST
GAME WAS WON.

WITH HOLLYWOOD PYRAMID SCORING YOU CAN REALLY TAKE YOUR LOSING OPPONENT TO THE
CLEANERS IF YOU HAVE A GOOD BET ON MATCH POINTS RIDING ON THE SIDE, FOR
EXAMPLE, A DOLLAR A POINT.  (NO WONDER IT IS NAMED AFTER THE LAND OF THE RICH
AND FAMOUS ... THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN AFFORD TO PLAY THIS WAY).

STRATEGY:
BEGINNERS USUALLY JUST PLAY THEIR HANDS OUT WITHOUT REGARD TO THE OPPONENT'S.
THEY RARELY BREAK UP A MATCHED SET WHEN FORMED, AND JUST TRY TO MINIMIZE THEIR
PV, KNOCKING AS SOON AS THEY CAN.  NOT THAT THIS IS SO BAD: THIS IS HOW THE
VAST MAJORITY OF THE TENS OF MILLIONS OF PLAYERS PLAY.

EXPERTS PLAY THE OPPONENT'S HAND AS WELL AS THEIR OWN, FIXING THEIR DEADLY
CONCENTRATION ON ALL INFORMATION, MEMORIZING WHAT CARDS HAVE BEEN PUT ON THE
UPCARD PILE, AND PLAYING A SWORDFIGHTING GAME WHERE THEY WORRY MORE ABOUT
BLOCKING THE OPPONENT FROM GETTING MATCHED SETS, OR FROM LAYING OFF ON THEIR
MATCHED SETS, THAN ABOUT MERELY REDUCING THEIR HAND PV BLINDLY.

MOST HANDS ARE WON WITH 6 OR 7 MATCHED CARDS.  UNLESS ONE IS SURE OF WHAT ONE
IS DOING, IT IS WISE TO TEND TO KEEP 2 OR 3 LOW CARDS (ACES, DEUCES, TREYS) IN
THE HAND AT ALL TIMES TO KEEP THE PV LOW AND MINIMIZE THE RISK SHOULD THE
OPPONENT KNOCK.  IT IS ALSO UNWISE TO KEEP HIGH PAIRS AND TWO-CARD SEQUENCES
AFTER THE FIRST FEW ROUNDS, UNLESS YOU ARE PRETTY SURE EITHER THAT YOU CAN USE
THEM IN LAYOFFS, OR THAT THEY WOULD BE USED BY THE OPPONENT TO BEAT YOU, OR
THAT THEY HAVE A GOOD (NOT JUST ANY) CHANCE TO HELP YOU.

AS FOR KNOCKING, MOST PLAYERS KNOCK IMMEDIATELY IF THEIR PV GOES TO 10 OR LESS
ANYTIME IN THE FIRST 4 OR 5 TURNS; AFTER THAT, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 8TH TURN,
YOU PROBABLY SHOULD NOT KNOCK UNLESS YOUR COUNT IS LESS THAN 6.  OF COURSE, IF
YOU SEE THE OPPONENT DRAWING MORE THAN ONCE FROM THE UPCARD PILE, YOU MIGHT
NOT WANT TO KNOCK AT ALL, FEARING HE IS TRYING TO TRICK YOU INTO AN UNDERCUT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, BLINDLY WAITING FOR A DEAD HAND, OR WAITING TO GO GIN, MAY
GIVE THE OTHER PLAYER TIME TO GO GIN AND GIVE HIM A BIG POINT JUMP ON YOU.

IN REAL CARD PLAY ONE CAN GAIN AN ADVANTAGE ON PLAYERS WHO ALWAYS SORT THEIR
HANDS NEATLY THE SAME WAY, AS THE POSITION IN THE HAND WHERE CARDS ARE PLACED
OR REMOVED OFTEN GIVES THE HAND AWAY.  EXPERTS DEVELOP A FEEL FOR THE
OPPONENT'S HAND BY USING THE PRINCIPLES THAT CARDS HELD IN HAND "PROTECT" IT
FROM POSSIBLE CARDS HELD BY THE OPPONENT (I.E., THEY BLOCK POSSIBLE MATCHED
SETS BY THE OPPONENT OR CAN BE LAID OFF AGAINST THEM), WHILE CARDS KNOWN TO
BE BURIED ON THE UPCARD PILE LIMIT THE CHANCES THAT DISCARDING "WILD"
(UNMATCHED AND UNPROTECTED) CARDS WILL HURT.  MOREOVER, THE PLAYING STYLE CAN
GO FROM CONSERVATIVE TO CHANCEY WHEN THE OPPONENT IS WAY OUT AHEAD AND
THREATENING GAME.  THE REAL CHAMPS ALWAYS PLAY THE ODDS AND NEVER RELY ON
WILD HUNCHES, EVEN IF THIS CAUSES THEM TO LOOK BAD IN A FEW HANDS.

A MATHEMATICAL NOTE.  THERE ARE 96 3-CARD MELDS POSSIBLE IN ANY GAME: 52
THREE-OF-A-KIND MELDS AND 44 SEQUENCE-OF-THREE MELDS.  BUT IT IS TWICE AS HARD
TO EXTEND A FLAT AS A STRAIGHT BECAUSE THE MAXIMUM FLAT LENGTH IS ONLY 4
WHEREAS A STRAIGHT MAY BE EXTENDED TO A LENGTH OF 13, FROM ONE OR BOTH SIDES
AT ONCE.

THE GAME IS NOT SCIENCE BUT ART, THOUGH, AND IN SOME SITUATIONS YOU CAN FAKE
YOUR OPPONENT BY DRAWING A HIGH UPCARD THAT YOU CAN'T USE, OR YOU CAN UNJAM A
STUCK HAND BY DISCARDING FROM ONE OF YOUR MATCHED SETS.  ONLY BEGINNERS
BLINDLY HOLD ALL MATCHED SETS THROUGHOUT THE HAND WHEN IT MIGHT MAKE MORE
SENSE TO DISCARD FROM ONE BECAUSE THE OTHER PLAYER CAN'T POSSIBLY MAKE USE OF
IT: AFTER AWHILE YOU WILL FIND THAT NEW MATCHED SETS HAVE A WAY OF COMING
ALONG AND REFORMING THE HAND ANYWAY.  IN OKLAHOMA STYLE GIN (SEE BELOW) IT IS
USUALLY WISEST TO KNOCK AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN KNOCK POINT
IS HIGH, UNLESS THE STRATEGY OF THE OPPONENT (WHETHER HE IS PLAYING FOR GIN OR
JUST TO KNOCK) CAN BE INFERRED.

A GOOD MANUAL ON THE GAME IS "WINNING AT GIN", BY WORLD CHAMP CHESTER WANDER,
(C) 1965 BY STACKPOLE BOOKS, HARRISBURG, PA 17105.  ANOTHER IS "SCARNE ON
CARDS", (C) 1949 BY JOHN SCARNE, PUBLISHED IN PAPERBACK BY SIGNET.

OKLAHOMA GIN:
IN OKLAHOMA GIN, ALSO KNOWN AS CEDARHURST, WHICH IS OFTEN PREFERRED BY PROS,
THE RANK OF THE FIRST UPCARD DETERMINES THE MINIMUM POINTS NEEDED TO KNOCK:
FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE UPCARD IS A 3, THEN 3 OR LESS POINTS ARE NEEDED TO KNOCK,
IF THE UPCARD IS A FACE CARD, THEN 10 POINTS OR LESS ARE NEEDED TO KNOCK.
HOWEVER, IF THE UPCARD IS AN ACE, THEN GIN IS NEEDED.

TOMMY'S SPACE COWBOY GIN:
THIS IS PLAYED LIKE OKLAHOMA, EXCEPT THE RANK OF THE >>>CURRENT<<< UPCARD
(BEFORE YOU DISCARD) DETERMINES THE POINTS NEEDED TO KNOCK.  YES, IF THE
UPCARD IS AN ACE THEN GIN IS NEEDED TO GO OUT.

SPADE DOUBLE OPTION:
IN EITHER OKLAHOMA OR SPACE COWBOY GIN, THERE IS AN OPTION TO DOUBLE THE
SCORE OF THE WINNER IF THE DETERMINING UPCARD WAS A SPADE.

REPLAY HAND OPTION:
BEFORE SHUFFLING THE CARDS FOR A NEW HAND YOU CAN TELL THE COMPUTER TO RESET
THE DECK LIKE IT WAS IN THE LAST HAND, WITH THE DEALERSHIP OPTIONALLY CHANGING
HANDS ALSO.  NOTE THAT IN ANY CASE THE DEALERSHIP IS DETERMINED BY YOU, NOT BY
THE NATURAL RULES OF PLAY.

----------------------
FUNCTION KEY COMMANDS:
SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F1 TOGGLES THE SOUND EFFECTS ON AND OFF.

DEMO MODE TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F2 TOGGLES THE DEMO MODE.  IN DEMO MODE, THE
COMPUTER PLAYS BOTH HANDS.

AUTOSORT TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F3 TOGGLES THE AUTOSORT MODE.

NOTE THAT FOR ALL THE ABOVE "TOGGLE" KEYS THE LEGEND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE
SCREEN INDICATES THE MODE THAT WILL BE ENTERED BY PRESSING THE KEY, WHICH IS
THE OPPOSITE OF THE MODE IN EFFECT AT THE TIME.

TO QUIT: HIT FUNCTION KEY F7.

TO DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS: HIT FUNCTION KEY F5.

TO CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR (COLOR MONITORS ONLY): HIT FUNCTION KEY F10.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
    S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
    M    FORCE MONO MODE
    C    FORCE COLOR MODE

EXAMPLE: >GINRUMMY MS

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HAVE FUN!