500 Game Surplus/XSurplus.iso/115/SIXBID.DOC

Text File | 1994-06-01 | 9KB | 189 lines

TOMMY'S SIX-BID SOLO (C) COPYRIGHT 1994 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #TM-148-1A

INSTRUCTIONS:

SIX-BID SOLO, A.K.A. SLOUGH OR SLUFF, IS A FUN BETTING CARD GAME ONCE POPULAR
IN THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, BROUGHT OVER BY GERMAN IMMIGRANTS AS A SIMPLIFIED
DESCENDANT OF THE POPULAR-BUT-COMPLEX GERMAN CARD GAME SKAT (PRONOUNCED
"SKART"), ITSELF ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED IN THE EARLY 1800S.

THE BASIC IDEA IS THAT THERE ARE 6 DIFFERENT WAYS TO PLAY YOUR HAND, EACH
SUCCESSIVELY HARDER TO SUCCEED AT, AND THE PLAYER WHO BETS ON HIS HAND CAN
WIN BIG CHIPS IF HE SUCCEEDS, OR LOSE BIG CHIPS IF HE DOESN'T. THE OTHER TWO
PLAYERS, HOWEVER, COMBINE AGAINST HIM IN A TEMPORARY PARTNERSHIP TO MAKE SURE
HE DOESN'T.  BACK IN OLD DENVER CITY, ON GROUND NOW OCCUPIED BY THE COLORADO
ROCKIES STADIUM, MANY A GAME OF SIX-BID ENDED IN A SHOOTOUT, FISTFIGHT, SUICIDE,
TARRING & FEATHERING, OR OCCASIONAL TRIP TO A BANK IN A FANCY CARRIAGE (HA HA).

PLAYERS:
3 PLAYERS.  IN TOMMY'S SIX-BID SOLO YOU PLAY NORTH AND THE COMPUTER PLAYS THE
OTHER HANDS.

THE DECK:
THE STANDARD 52-CARD (FRENCH) DECK IS USED, WITH DEUCES THROUGH FIVES REMOVED,
LEAVING 36 CARDS.  CARDS RANK, FROM HIGH TO LOW, AS A,10,K,Q,J,9,8,7,6.

THE POTS:
SIX-BID SOLO IS A BETTING GAME, PLAYED FOR CHIPS.

EACH PLAYER STARTS OUT WITH 1000 CHIPS IN HIS POT.  WHEN ANY PLAYER RUNS OUT OF
CHIPS, THE MATCH ENDS.  COMPUTER SAVES THE MATCH SCORES & POTS ON DISK.  TO
RESTART A MATCH JUST ERASE THE FILE SIXBID.SCR.

DEALER:
THE FIRST DEALER IS CHOSEN RANDOMLY BY THE COMPUTER.  AFTER THAT, DEAL ALWAYS
PASSES TO THE LEFT (CLOCKWISE).

DEALING:
DEALER DEALS 11 CARDS TO EACH PLAYER, IN BATCHES OF 4, 3, 4. IMMEDIATELY BEFORE
DEALING THE BATCH OF 4, DEALER DEALS 3 CARDS FACE DOWN TO THE TABLE IN A PILE
TO FORM THE BLIND OR WIDOW.  THIS ACCOUNTS FOR ALL 36 CARDS IN THE DECK.  THE
BLIND IS NOT USED IN PLAY BUT ITS PIP CONTENTS ARE USED TO HELP THE SOLOIST
MAKE HIS BID WHEN THERE IS A TRUMP SUIT.

THE OBJECT OF PLAY:
PLAYERS BID TO SEE WHO GETS THE GAME CONTRACT, THEN 11 TRICKS ARE PLAYED WHERE
THE HIGH-BIDDER (SOLOIST) TRIES TO MAKE HIS CONTRACT, WHILE THE OTHER TWO
TRY TO PREVENT HIM FROM MAKING IT.  THE SOLOIST USUALLY GETS TO NAME THE TRUMP
SUIT.  IF AFTER THE HAND IS PLAYED, HE WAS SUCCESSFUL IN MAKING HIS CONTRACT,
HE COLLECTS CHIPS FROM THE OPPONENTS, ELSE HE MUST PAY THEM CHIPS.

TRICKS:
IN TRICKS, ACE RANKS HIGH AND SIX LOW.

PIP VALUES:
WHEN CAPTURED IN TRICKS, CERTAIN CARDS HAVE PIP VALUES, AS FOLLOWS.  THE TOTAL
PIP VALUE OF A DEAL IS ALWAYS 120, THAT IS, 30 POINTS PER SUIT:

      A    T    K    Q    J
     11   10    4    3    2

NOTE THAT IN SIX-BID SOLO, PIP CARDS (6-9) NEVER HAVE PIP VALUES (HA HA) --
WELL, ALMOST NEVER, DON'T FORGET THE TEN!

PLAY:
ELDER (FIRST PLAYER TO DEALER'S LEFT) LEADS TO THE FIRST TRICK.  EACH PLAYER
IN TURN MUST FOLLOW SUIT IF ABLE.  EACH TRICK IS WON BY THE HIGHEST TRUMP IF
ANY, ELSE BY THE HIGHEST CARD OF THE SUIT LED.  THE WINNER OF EACH TRICK LEADS
TO THE NEXT.

NOTE: TO ENTER YOUR CARD, USE THE ARROW KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEY PAD TO POINT
TO IT, THEN HIT THE <ENTER> KEY.  ALTERNATIVELY, JUST HIT THE CARD NUMBER,
1-9,A,B; OR HIT THE "." KEY TO LET THE COMPUTER PICK A CARD FOR YOU.

BIDDING:
THERE ARE 6 POSSIBLE BIDS THAT CAN BE MADE IN THIS GAME, EACH HARDER TO SUCCEED
AT THAN THE ONE BEFORE.  BIDDING STARTS WITH ELDER VS. NEXT PLAYER TO ELDER'S
LEFT.  WHOEVER DOESN'T DROP-OUT THEN BIDS AGAINST DEALER UNTIL ONE PREVAILS.

HERE ARE THE 6 BIDS AND WHAT THEY MEAN:
1. SOLO.  BIDS TO WIN AT LEAST 60 PIPS.  TRUMP SUIT CANNOT BE HEARTS.
2. HEART.  SAME AS #1, BUT WITH HEARTS AS TRUMPS.
3. MISERE.  PLAY AT NO-TRUMP, BUT PLAY TO LOSE EVERY TRICK (WIN 0 PIPS).
   (THIS IS A LOT EASIER IF BIDDER DOESN'T HAVE TO LEAD.)
4. GUARANTEE.  BIDS TO WIN AT LEAST 74 PIPS IF HEARTS ARE ENTRUMPED, ELSE 80.
5. SPREAD MISERE.  MISERE PLAYED WITH SOLOIST'S HAND EXPOSED ON THE TABLE.
   THE LEAD IS MADE BY PLAYER ON SOLOIST'S LEFT RATHER THAN ELDER.
6. CALL.  BIDS TO WIN ALL 120 PIPS.
   BEFORE PLAY SOLOIST MAY CALL FOR ANY DESIRED CARD AND ANY PLAYER HAVING IT
   MUST TRADE IT FOR ANY CARD THE SOLOIST DOES NOT WANT; IF THE CALLED-FOR
   CARD IS IN THE WIDOW HE LOSES OUT AND CANNOT MAKE ANOTHER CALL.
   NOTE: ENTER THE DESIRED CARD AS "AD" FOR ACE OF DIAMONDS, "2S" FOR 2 OF
   SPADES, "TH" FOR TEN OF HEARTS, "KC" FOR KING OF CLUBS, ETC.

NOTE THAT WHEN THERE IS A TRUMP SUIT, THE WIDOW'S PIPS ARE ADDED TO THE BIDDER'S
TOTAL TO HELP HIM SUCCEED WITH HIS BID.

SCORING:
IF SOLOIST IS SUCCESSFUL HE COLLECTS CHIPS FROM EACH OPPONENT, ELSE HE PAYS
OUT CHIPS TO EACH OPPONENT, VIA THE FOLLOWING PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

    SOLO         2 PER PIP CAPTURED OVER/UNDER 60 (0 IF EXACTLY 60) [0-120]
    HEART        3 (DITTO ABOVE) [0-180]
    MISERE      30
    GUARANTEE   40
    SPREAD      60
    CALL       100 FOR NON-HEART TRUMP, 150 FOR HEART TRUMP

***GAME OPTIONS****
OPEN HANDS OPTION:
FOR DEMONSTRATION AND LEARNING PURPOSES, ALL HANDS CAN BE PLAYED FACE UP.

REPLAY HAND OPTION:
AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH HAND, YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF REPLAYING THE LAST HAND;
THE DECK IS RESTORED TO WHAT IT WAS AFTER THE SHUFFLE & CUT DURING THE LAST
HAND.  OF COURSE YOU CAN USE THIS TO GAIN AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE ON THE COMPUTER,
BUT THIS IS A TOY AFTER ALL, AND YOU ARE BOSS.

FUNCTION KEYS: THESE ARE HOT KEYS, MEANING THEY CAN BE PRESSED AT ANY TIME.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    F1   *   SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE
    F2   *   DEMO MODE TOGGLE.  IN DEMO MODE THE COMPUTER PLAYS BOTH HANDS
             WHILE YOU WATCH.
    F3       POP-UP THE OPTIONS MENU
    F4       REPLAY MODE TOGGLE.  IN REPLAY MODE YOU ASKED IF YOU WANT TO
             REPLAY THE LAST DEAL.
    F5       DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS
    F7       QUIT THE PROGRAM
    F9       (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE SCREEN BACKGROUND COLOR
    F10      (COLOR MONITORS ONLY) CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR

*NOTE: THE LEGEND FOR A TOGGLE SWITCH INDICATES THE MODE THAT WILL BE ENTERED
BY PRESSING THE KEY, WHICH IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE MODE IN EFFECT AT THE TIME.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
   S    START UP WITH SOUND OFF
   M    FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
   C    FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE
   *    SKIP STARTUP SHOW

EXAMPLE: >SIXBID MS

TERMS TO KNOW:
-------------
VOID SUIT: A SUIT IN WHICH ONE HAS NO CARDS.
SINGLETON: A SUIT IN WHICH ONE HAS ONLY 1 CARD.
DOUBLETON: A SUIT IN WHICH ONE HAS ONLY 2 CARDS.
RUFFING: PLAYING A TRUMP TO A NON-TRUMP TRICK (PLAYER MUST BE VOID IN TRICK
 SUIT).
RENOUNCING: PLAYING A NON-TRUMP INSTEAD OF RUFFING TO A TRICK.
FINESSE: WINNING A TRICK WITH A CARD THAT IS NOT HIGHEST IN-HAND IN THAT
 SUIT, SAVING THE HIGHER CARD(S) FOR WINNING YET MORE.

NOTES ON STRATEGY:
EVERY SUIT HAS 9 CARDS, AND 30 PIPS.  IF ONE HAD A,T,K IN THE SAME SUIT,
AND BID THAT AS TRUMP, THEY WOULD AUTOMATICALLY WIN THE Q AND J, FOR 30 PIPS.
SO IN GENERAL FOR A TRUMP BID ONE HAS TO HAVE 4 CARDS, WITH 2 OF THE TOP
3 TRUMPS, OR MORE THAN 4 CARDS WITH WEAKER TOP STRENGTH.  IN THIS GAME
PLAY IS RULED BY ACES AND TENS, WITH FACE CARDS BEING MORE LIKE CHANCE
FACTORS THROWN IN FOR SPICE THAN GAME DETERMINERS...ALL THE FACE CARDS
TOGETHER ONLY ADD UP TO 9, VERSUS 10 FOR THE TEN AND 11 FOR ACE:

      A    T    K    Q    J
     11   10    4    3    2

THE WIDOW HAS 3 OF 36 OR 1/12 THE TOTAL CARDS, SO ON AVERAGE IT HAS 1/12 OF
THE TOTAL PIPS, OR 10.  THUS, 50 PIPS IN ACES & TENS IS A PRETTY SURE HAND
FOR BIDDING SOLO.

TO BID HIGHER THAN HEART, ONE'S HAND MUST BE A VIRTUAL SHOE-IN.  74 POINTS,
80 POINTS, 120 POINTS ARE VERY UNUSUAL WINS, BUT THE FUN IS IN THE HANDS
THAT ARE MARGINAL WHERE THE HOLDER TAKES THE RISK OF BIDDING IT.

IF ONE HAS A HAND OF 4 ACES, 4 TENS, AND 3 KINGS, ONE HAS 4*11+4*10+3*4=96
POINTS FOR SURE, BUT HOW DOES ONE KNOW HE CAN CALL?  HE DOESN'T, BUT IF HE'S
DEALT SUCH A HAND HE BETTER TRY! (HA HA)

----------------------
DID YOU LIKE THIS TOY?
DON'T FORGET TO TRY OUR GOBS OF OTHER NEAT LOW-PRICED GAMES AND TOYS FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES.  WE ARE WAITING TO SEND YOU OUR 5.25 INCH (360KB) OR
3.5 INCH (720KB) DEMO DISK, CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC CATALOG PLUS OTHER
GOODIES, FOR ONLY $2 SHIPPING/HANDLING TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE U.S.
(U.S. DOLLARS ONLY).

HAVE FUN!
TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.