*p5 Welcome to Excellent Card Games III, a compilation of five new card games from Tower Software.*m
*h001~~~~~~~~~Instructions~~~~~~~~~
*h017~~~~~~~~~~The~~Games~~~~~~~~~~
*h034~~~~~~~Tower~~Software~~~~~~~~
*p5Select the topic you require help with ...*m*e
*tInstructions Menu*
*h000~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Main~~Menu~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*h002~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Using~~~Help~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*h005~~~~~~~~~~~General~~Card~~Play~~~~~~~~~~
*h009~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preferences~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*p5Select the topic you require help with ...*m*e
*tUsing Help*
*p5 These help screens provide information on a wide range of topics, including general instructions on how to play and detailed help for each of the five games.
*p4 The row of help gadgets at the bottom of the screen allow you to move about between the different screens:
*p1
MENU returns you to the main menu screen.
<< moves to the previous screen.
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*p1
>> moves to the next screen.
HELP brings up these help screens.
FINISHED exits help and returns you to
the game you were playing.
*p5 So for help on a specific game, select MENU and then the particular game you are interested in.*e
*p4
Help screens may also contain icons such as the one below which can be used to move directly to a specific topic.
*p5 Most controls are easy to use and intuitive. Everything is mouse controlled for maximum convenience.
*h005~~~Click~here~to~move~to~another~screen~~~
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*tGeneral Instructions*
Excellent Card Games *p1has been carefully designed to be as easy to use as is possible.
*p4 The next few pages provide a clear description of how to use the mouse, pick up cards etc, and also illustrate some of the more subtle features which you may not have noticed.
*p5 When playing a game, the HELP icon at the bottom of the screen provides specific help for that game.*e
*tPicking Up Cards*
*p5Picking up a card, or a sequence of cards, in most games is simply a matter of positioning the mouse pointer over the card, and clicking on the left mouse button.
*p4If the pointer is DIRECTLY over the card, (the top card if its a sequence), the program will try to add that card to a foundation. If you want to pick the card up make sure you position the pointer slightly above or below it.
*p1To pick up a partial sequence, the pointer must be directly above the first card you want to pick up.*e
*tFoundations*
*p5Most of the patience games have four foundations, on which all the cards have to be built to win the game.
*p4Some of the games differ, but most have a foundation for each suit, and have to be built up strictly in the order Ace,2,3 ... King in each suit.
*p1Once placed on a foundation, a card cannot be removed.*e
*tIcons*
*p5 At the bottom of the screen is an icon bar, that provides some extra game features. If you are using an NTSC display these icons are replaced by pull down menus.
*p4
turns card shuffling on and off, allowing you to
*h008~~Shuffle~~ replay a game with exactly the same cards.
brings up the help screens, either general
*h008~~~Help~~~ instructions (from the game selection screen),
*p5 The preferences screen allows you to alter and save many of the game settings, to enter new players, and review high scores
*h011~~~~~Welcome~~~~~
*h012~~~~~Scoring~~~~~
*h014~~~Customising~~~
*h016~~~~~Players~~~~~
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*tPreferences "Welcome"*
*p5 The welcome setting allows you to choose the way this program will start up. The default player is the one who was selected when you last saved Preferences.
*p5Auto log*p4 The default player will be welcomed.
*p5Ask for name*p4 The program will ask you to type in a player's name.*e
*tCustomising*
There are many preferences features that can be combined to customise the game to suit your own taste.
*p5 The graphical style can be changed by choosing one of eight card backs, or selecting wallpaper which will form a permanent backdrop to your games.
*p4To select a wallpaper, click on the filename you require and it will be highlighted. It will not be loaded until you return to the game you were playing. To remove a wallpaper click on it again so that it is no longer highlighted.*e
*tChanging the Screen Type*
This program uses a full height PAL screen, which may not be suitable for all systems, particularly those in North America which have NTSC displays.
*p5 To change to an NTSC screen, click on the "Sceeen" gadget so that it changes from PAL to NTSC. Then save the Preferences settings, exit the program and restart. It will now have an NTSC screen, with the icons that were along the bottom of the screen replaced with pull down menus.
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*tPlayers*
The right hand side of the Preferences screen has four functions. Firstly, it shows the current player's name and a brief summary of his game scores. Click on DELETE to reset the current scores to zero.
*p5For more information on a particular game, double click on the game name and a summary of your scores will appear. This will only appear once you have actually played that game, and is not available for multi-player games such as Poker.*e
*tPlayers*
*p4 Secondly, a new player can be created, or a name can be selected from the player list. Click on PLAYERS to bring up the player list.
*p1 To enter a new player, click on the current name and a cursor should appear. Use backspace if you need to erase the existing name, then type in your new name and press ENTER. Your new player will be created, with all scores reset to zero.
*p5 To select an existing player, either type in their name or double click on one of the names in the player list.*e
*tOpponents*
*p4 The opponents section allows you to change the name of your opponents (played by the computer) in multi-player games.
*p5 Click in each name box to bring up a cursor, and type in the new names. These will be stored along with all your other preferences when you have finished playing.*e
*tThe Games*
*h018~~~~~~Poker~~~~~~
*h025~~~~~Czarina~~~~~
*h028~~~~~Colours~~~~~
*h030~~~~Scottish~~~~~
*h032~~~~~~~Nap~~~~~~~
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*tPoker*
Poker is regarded by many as the most skillful card game of them all. This version is particularly difficult - changing quickly between three variations of the game.
*p5 Straight draw poker, in which the highest scoring hand wins, is the most widely played poker game. Lowball is the opposite and which the lowest scoring hand wins. Finally Deuces wild, in which all twos are wild cards and the highest scoring hand becomes five of a kind.
Lowball poker is a completely different game from normal draw poker. In this version, aces are still the highest card and all hands score as normal, but the lowest hand wins.
*p5*c00,60 If you have even a pair you are unlikely to win at lowball, so try to avoid changing more than one or at the most two cards in the draw. Don't bet high unless you have say 9 or ten high. With three other players you are bound to be up against very similar hands.
With twos wild the average score of each players hand is bound to go up. Each two can be any card you require - even the duplicate of other cards in your hand. Thus a new hand is possible: five of a kind. Five aces is now the highest possible hand and beats all others.
*c00,60*p5 With a single 2 in your hand, it is quite easy to score three of a kind or better - bear this in mind when betting!
Each hand of poker starts with the ante. Each player throws in one chip to the centre of the table. Then the cards are dealt and the betting begins. If no-one prior to you has bet you can simply pass. If all four players pass the cards are thrown in and a new hand is dealt.
*p5 If the player to your right has bet, you must "see" that bet by betting an equivalent amount, raise the bet, or you can fold and cut your losses. If all the other players fold you have won without having to show your hand - hence it is possible to bluff by betting high even though you don't hold anything!*e
*tRaising*
A skillful player will always try to conceal the true value of his hand. If you are sure you can win the hand, you should try to have as many people in the pot as possible. If, on the other hand, you are not sure whether you can beat a particular player, a high raise may well scare him off.
*p5 Of course, if your opponent also holds a good hand he will coaxe you into making a high raise and then make an even higher raise back!
*p1 To win you must bust out all other players. As each player is bust the ante will rise, making the stakes for each game get higher and higher.*e
*tCzarina*
This game is a traditional patience in which the objective is to build the cards in suits onto foundations.
*c00,52*p5 At the start of the game five cards are dealt out in the shape of a cross. A final card is dealt to the top left corner. This forms the first foundation with the other three corners being foundations for the other three suits.
*i60,46,03*e
*tCzarina*
The foundations all start from the card that has already been dealt. So if this is a King all foundations are built up in suit from King.. Ace..2.. ..Queen.
*p5 Cards are dealt from the stock, to the left of the cross. Each can be placed on a foundation, or built downwards onto the one of the five cards which form the cross. Cards must descend in order, regardless of suit. If a card cannot be played from the stock, click again to deal the next card.*e
*tCzarina*
Czarina will usually come out if you can keep one or two blank spaces. Be careful not to use these up to quickly.
*p5 At the start of the game your biggest danger is leaving good cards on the discard pile. These will inevitably be lost if you cannot play them.
*p4 A reasonable player should average about 60%, winning every other game. It is quite a challenge to win more than three or four games in a row though!*e
*tColours*
Colours is quite a tricky patience game. Once played, cards cannot be moved around so take care - mistakes are costly.
*p5 To play, cards are taken one at a time from the stock and can be placed on any one of the six pillars. Cards can be placed on top of any other card - the only restriction being that they cannot then be moved, except when they are played onto a foundation.
*p1 Cards cannot be moved from one pillar into an empty space.*e
*tColours - Foundations*
Foundations are built slightly differently. The left-most foundation starts with a red ace, the second with a black two, the third with a red three and the last with a black four.
*U42,54,00*U51,54,27*U60,54,15*U69,54,42
*c00,40*p5 Subsequent foundation cards must build upwards in colour but not necessarily in suit. So the two of diamonds can be placed on the ace of hearts.*e
*tScottish*
Scottish patience is a straightforward style of patience game with most of the cards on view. As usual the object is to build up on the foundations from Ace to King in each suit.
*p5 The cards are dealt into eighteen piles of three, except for the bottom right pile, which contains only a single card. Cards can be move one at a time onto another pile, providing they descend in sequence and match in suit.
*p4 An empty space can be filled by a King but nothing else.
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*tScottish*
In order to score well at this game you need to avoid making mistakes. Inevitably you will have to build on top of cards which are hidden. At the start of the game, try to build sequences which are as long as possible but can easily be removed. For example, if you build the 6,5,4,3 and 2 of spades onto top of the seven, these can all be removed when the ace of spades comes into play.
*p5 Building large sequences helps reveal as many hidden cards as possible.
*p4 A final tip - watch out for the aces when dealing!*e
*tNap*
Nap is the classic English trick taking game, combining the bidding and trick taking features of whist games with gambling.
*p5 At the start of each hand, players ante up one chip apiece. Each player takes it in turn to bid how many tricks he can win. The highest bidder also selects the trump suit - this is the suit of the first card he leads.
*p1 Each player in turn must follow suit where possible. If he has no cards of that suit he can play a trump or simply discard any card. A trump suit automatically beats all other cards except of course a higher trump.*e
*tNap*
At the end of the five tricks the hand will be settled. If the bidder has made his contract i.e. won the number of tricks he bid, he wins the pot. If not, he pays a penalty to each other player, and the pot remains on the table - leaving a bigger reward for the next hand.
*p5 As each player is busted out, the ante is increased. With fewer players the game gets faster and the bids higher, until only one winner remains.*e
*tTower Software*
Tower Software produces a range of high quality games for all Amigas. If you have enjoyed this game, we hope you'll be tempted by some of the other products in our range.
*p5P.O. Box 9, Gosforth
Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 1QW
Phone/fax: 0191 285 5748
U.S. sales 1-800-699-6395 (VISA/MasterCard)
*p4e-mail: 100630.241@compuserve.com*e
*tOrdering*
Excellent Card Games 3 costs £12.99, or £14.99 for the AGA version. Both come with full colour packaging.
*p5To order send a cheque or postal order payable to Tower Software. You should receive the full game within 7 days.
*p4If you subscribe to Compuserve, you can register the game using SWREG. The cost is $24.95, charged to your account. The game will be despatched the same working day.*e
*tU.S. Ordering*
*p5 There are several ways to order Excellent Card Games 3 in the U.S.
The game costs $24.95 including shipping. State AGA or non-AGA.
*p1 From NorthStar Solutions: 1-800-699-6395 (VISA/MasterCard)
*p4 Register using CompuServe's SWREG facility: ID number xxx
*p5 World Wide Web: http://www.xmission.com/~wintrnx/regnet/regnet.htm
*p4You will receive an e-mail acknowledgement with 24hrs (where applicable) and should receive your game within 10 days.*e
*tThis Program Is Restricted*
*p1 Sorry, this is only a restricted version of Excellent Card Games 3.
*p4Every so often this annoying screen is going to pop up whilst you're playing just to remind you to buy the full version. I don't want to annoy you too much of course, and you can spend as much time as you like reading the help pages, or playing with Preferences.
*p5The full version also allows you to save all your high scores to disk, along with all your game settings configured in Preferences.*e
*tImportant Information!*
Hey, why not pause for a minute and consider whether you'd like to buy the full version of this program!
*p1 Your measly *#12.99 buys you the complete, unrestricted game together with another sample disk crammed full of quality programs.
*p5 Help support a small software house and at the same time have a real say in which programs we'll develop next!
*e
*tThis Program Is Restricted*
Lets face it - you must like this program if you're still playing it now. I know you're going to want to do the sensible thing and shell out for the full version of Excellent Card Games III!
*p5When you do place your order, why not tell us which new games you would most like to see on the Amiga. We're always looking for new ideas, particularly from our existing customers. Or, if you can think of any way this program can be improved we'd like to know.
*p4
Just click on FINISHED to return to your game...*m
*e
*tImportant Information!*
Still playing huh - I guess you just can't get enough of Excellent Card Games III. I can't fault your judgement, but don't you really think you should dip your hand into your pocket and help support the poor starving orphans who created this wonderful program.
*p5 And don't forget, the full version lets you save all your high scores, for any number of different players, as well as all your custom Preferences settings. Not only that, but you'll never be troubled by irritating messages like this again!*e
