Fritz: All Fritz

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I. INTRODUCTION Hundreds of different forms of solitaire have been developed for ordinary playing cards. Most varieties of solitaire rely heavily on luck to win. Spider, however, is different because good strategy and skillful play are more important than good luck. II. RULES FOR PLAYING SPIDER Spider is played with two complete decks of cards. You begin by dealing ten cards face down next to each other from left to right. You then deal three more rows face down on top of the first. Next, deal one additional face-down card on top of each of the four left hand piles. Now deal one face-up card on each pile. The ten piles make up your "tableau" and the remaining 50 cards are your hand. The object of the game is to manipulate the cards and form complete suits in sequence from king down to ace. When you complete a suit you remove it from the game. You win if you assemble and remove all eight suits. You may play any card on one of the next higher rank regardless of suit. However you may only move more than one card at a time if all of the cards you are moving are in suit/sequence order. For example, if you have the 3-4 combination they may be played on the 5 as a unit or you can move the 3 by itself onto any other 4. However, the 3-4-5 combination cannot then be moved as a unit onto a 6. Turn over any face-down cards which you uncover. If you create a blank space by removing all of the cards from a pile, you may place any card or group of cards in that spot. Kings can only be moved by placing them in blank spot or by removing an entire suit. You should, therefore, be careful in tying up a blank space with a king. When you have exhausted all possible moves, deal another row of face-up cards from the hand. All blank spaces must be filled before you deal a new row of cards. If you have no further moves after dealing all of the cards out, you lose the game. General Strategy: - Always make your "natural" moves first, i.e. play cards of the same suit on each other before making other moves. - Make your highest value non-natural moves first. This will often enable you to create longer strings of cards because you have not tied up lower level cards. - Try to get the face-down cards into play as quickly as possible. - Try to create blank spaces before you try to consolidate your suit sequences. Because any card can be played in a blank space, they will enable you to more easily consolidate your suits. - Carefully consider your alternatives before you tie up a blank space with a king. The only way to remove a king from a blank is to remove an entire suit. Example Game: Assume your initial face-up cards are as follows: ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ │ A │ Q │ 8 │ 7 │ 4 │ 4 │ 2 │ Q │ J │ 3 │ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ First make your natural moves: 3 to 4, turn up 6 6 to 7, turn up 2 A to 2, turn up 4 The tableau now looks like this: ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ │ 4 │ Q │ 8 │ 7 │ 4 │ 4 │ 2 │ Q │ J │ 2 │ └────┴────┴────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┴────┴────┘ │ 6 │ 3 │ │ A │ └────┴────┘ └────┘ Now you make your other moves beginning with the largest cards first: J to Q, turn up 2 2 to 3, turn up 8 (make natural moves when possible) 6-7 to 8, turn up 7 7 to 8, turn up 8 The tableau now looks like this: ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ │ 4 │ Q │ 8 │ 8 │ 4 │ 4 │ 2 │ Q │ 8 │ 2 │ └────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┼────┘ │ J │ 7 │ │ 3 │ │ A │ │ 7 │ └────┴────┘ ├────┤ └────┘ ├────┤ │ 2 │ │ 6 │ └────┘ └────┘ You now have no more moves so you deal a new row of cards from the hand. III. HOW TO PLAY SPIDER When you first start Spider you are asked the following question: Do you want error messages displayed automatically (Y/N)? If you press "Y" then an error message will appear on the screen whenever you make a mistake, otherwise error messages are available on request. Next, you will be asked: Do you want to confirm each new deal and new game (Y/N)? If you answer yes you will have to confirm each request for a new deal or a new game with a second keystroke. Finally, you will be asked: What difficulty level do you want (1/2)? Press 1-Easy or 2-Hard. The game is played the same under both levels of difficulty except when you want to make an "exception". An exception is the movement of cards that would not be allowed under the rules of the game. In level 2 you must press the "X" key before you make an exception. Next, you will see the following screen: Your current scores are: Game Score Moves Exceptions 1 ### ### # 2 ### ### # 3 ### ### # 4 ### ### # 5 ### ### # 6 ### ### # Totals #### #### ## Which game do you want to play? Select the game you want to play by pressing the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 key. The computer will now deal an initial layout that looks like this: ╒════╤════╤════╤════╤════╤════╤════╤════╤════╤════╕ │ 2 │ 4 │ J │ 6 │ K │ 7 │ 8 │ A │ Q │ 9 │ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ The small rectangular boxes above the cards indicate how many face-down cards there are in each pile. The cursor is around the left most card. When you begin you will have one face-up card in each column. As you play the game the columns will grow in length. Because of the limited screen size, only 13 face-up cards can be shown. When you have more than 13 cards in a column the computer will fold groups of cards (cards of the same suit which are in consecutive order) so that only the top and bottom cards in the group are visible. For example, the 3-4-5-6 group will be shown only as the 3-6. You will know that this is a group and not two cards because there will be no horizontal line between the cards. If, after consolidating all of the groups, there are still more than 13 face-up cards that need to be shown, the computer will fold as many non-consecutive cards as is necessary to bring the total number of cards on the screen down to 13. Only non-consecutive cards at the top of a column will be folded. There will be a red rectangle at the bottom of a column when there are folded non-consecutive cards in that column. After you complete a game you will see the following screen: Game Played: # Your Score: #### Number of Moves: ### Number of Exceptions: # Press 1 to play again at level 1. Press 2 to play again at level 2. Press Q to Quit. Make your selection and press the appropriate key. Below is an explanation of how to use the keyboard to manipulate the cards and control the appearance of the screen. Cursor Keys: Cursor Left (4) and Cursor Right (6) Keys: Use these keys to move the cursor back and forth across the screen. If you move past the edge of the screen the cursor will move to the other side. As you move the cursor from column to column it will surround the maximum number of cards that you may legally move. Cursor Up (8) and Cursor Down (2) Keys: Use these keys to make the cursor surround more or fewer cards. If you try to make the cursor surround more cards than it is legal to move, you will hear a BEEP and the cursor will remain unchanged (see the eXception key below for an explanation on how to move additional cards). The column will automatically reformat if you try to change the size of the cursor when the bottom group of cards is folded. You will then be able to select the exact cards you wish to move. For more information on reformatting a column, see the F4 function key below. Function Keys: (The number keys across the top of the keyboard will perform the same functions as the function keys. F1 - Pile to Pile Move: Use this key to transfer cards from one pile to another. First, use the cursor keys to surround the cards which you want to move. Second, press the F1 key and a red box will appear around the cards you have indicated with the cursor. Third, move the cursor to the to the column on which you wish to play the cards from the first column. Finally, press the F1 key again and the cards will be moved from the first column to the second unless you have indicated an illegal move in which case no cards will be moved. You can select your 'to' and 'from' piles in reverse order and the computer will automatically move the cards in the correct direction. Press the ESCape key if you want to cancel your column selection and erase the red box selection marker. F2 - Help and Status: This key will print the following help and status screen: ╔══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Deals Remaining: # Level: # ║ ║ ║ ║ Suits Removed: - - - - - - - - ║ ║ ║ ║ F1 - Pile to Pile Move ║ ║ F2 - Help and Status ║ ║ F3 - Remove a Suit From Game ║ ║ F4 - Reformat a Column ║ ║ F5 - Print an Error Message ║ ║ F6 - Change Difficulty Level ║ ║ F7 - Play a New Game ║ ║ F9 - Deal a New Row of Cards ║ ║ C - Change Color S - Score ║ ║ X - eXception Q - Quit ║ ║ ESC- Continue/Cancel Selection ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════╝ The number after "Deals Remaining:" tells you how many of your original five deals you have left. The number after "Level:" tells you the difficulty level at which you are currently playing. After "Suits Removed:" a graphic representation of each suit you have removed from the game will appear. If no suits have been removed, the word NONE is shown. Press the ESCape key to remove the help message and return to the game. F3 - Remove a Suit From Game: Use this key to remove a completely assembled suit, Ace through King, from the game. First indicate the completed suit with the cursor keys and then press the F3 key to remove the suit. F4 - Reformat a Column: Occasionally during the game you may need to move less than a complete group of cards. Press the F4 key and the column will be reformatted so that only the bottom 13 cards are shown. A black rectangle with a red border will appear at the bottom of a column that has been reformatted. A column which is in the reformatted mode will be returned to a folded format when you do any of the following: - Press the F4 key a second time - Move cards to or from the column - Deal a new row of cards F5 - Print an Error Message: Any time you hear a BEEP during the game you have attempted to make an illegal move. If you are not sure what you did wrong press the F5 key and the error message will be shown at the bottom of the screen. You can press any key to continue playing the game. F6 - Change Difficulty Level: You can change the difficulty level at which you are playing at any time. Press the F6 key and the following message will appear at the bottom of the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ You are currently at level # ║ ║ Press 1 to continue at level 1║ ║ Press 2 to continue at level 2║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ Press the appropriate key and you will be able to continue with the game at that level. F7 - Play a New Game and F8 - Verify a New Game: When you press the F7 key the following message will appear at the bottom of the screen if you have decided to confirm a new game when you started the program: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ F8 - Set Up a New Game ║ ║ ESC - Continue with the Game ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ Press the F8 key to start a new game or, if you hit the F7 key by mistake, press the ESCape to continue the current game. F9 - Deal a New Row of Cards and F10 - Verify a New Row of Cards: When you press the F9 key the following message will appear at the bottom of the screen if you have selected the confirm option: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ F10 - Deal a New Row of Cards ║ ║ ESC - Continue with the Game ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ Press the F10 key to deal a new row of cards or, if you pressed the F9 key by mistake, press the ESCape key to return to the game without dealing any new cards. If all of the hand cards have been dealt you will receive the following message: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ ALL 50 CARDS HAVE BEEN DEALT ║ ║ ESC - Continue with the Game ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ All of the other keys are disabled until you press the ESCape key. If you have not selected the confirm option, then a new row of cards will be dealt immediately after pressing F9. OTHER KEYS: ESCape Key: The ESCape key will perform different functions during the game. They are: 1. Cancel a pile selection made for a pile to pile move. 2. If you have chosen the confirm option, then you can return to the game after pressing the F7 or F9 keys by pressing the ESCape key. 3. The ESCape key will return you to the game after you press the "C" or "Q" keys. "C" Key - Change Color: Press the "C" key and the following message will appear at the bottom of the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ B - Change background color ║ ║ F - Change foreground color ║ ║ ESC - Return to the game ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ At this point you can select from a total of 48 different color combinations. Press the "B" key to cycle through a total of 16 different background colors or press the "F" key to cycle through 3 different sets of foreground colors. After you have selected the color combination you want, press the ESCape key to return to the game. "Q" Key - Quit - Return to DOS: When you press this key the following message will appear at the bottom of the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ Q - Quit and return to DOS ║ ║ ESC - Continue with the Game ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ Press "Q" again to quit or the ESCape key to continue playing. "S" Key - Score: Any time you want to know your current score, press the "S" key and the following message will appear at the bottom of the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ Your current score is ####. ║ ║ Press any key to continue. ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ See section IV for an explanation of the scoring system. "X" Key - eXception: The rules of Spider only allow you to move a group of consecutive cards which are the same suit. If you want to move additional consecutive cards first move the cursor to the column that has the cards you want to move. Second press the "X" key to indicate you want to make an exception. You will hear a low buzz when you press the "X" key. Finally, use the cursor to indicate all of the cards you want to move. You will only be able to surround a consecutive group of cards. You will only need to use the eXception key in level 2. The number of exceptions you make will have a direct bearing on the score you achieve. IV. SCORING Your score in Spider depends on four things: 1. The number of suits you have removed from the game (120 pts ea). 2. The number of matched pairs (two consecutive cards of the same suit) you have assembled. Each matched pair is worth 10 points. 3. The number of exceptions you have made. Each exception decreases the value of removed suits, the value of matched pairs, and the maximum number of points you can score for a winning game. 4. The number of moves you make after your first exception. A winning game is normally worth 1000 points. It is possible to score 10,000 points for a Grand Spider by assembling all 8 suits completely before removing any of them from the game. You must remove the suits from the game without moving any cards from one column to another after you have removed the first suit. SPIDER SCORING TABLE PARTIAL SCORES NUMBER OF EA SUIT EA MATCHED EXCEPTIONS WIN - ALL 8 SUITS REMOVED REMOVED PAIR ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── None 10,000 For a Grand Spider None 1,000 120 10 1 900 less 1 pt/move after 1st exception 108 9 2 800 less 1 " " " " 96 8 3 700 less 1 " " " " 84 7 4 600 less 1 " " " " 72 6 5 500 less 1 " " " " 60 5 6 400 less 1 " " " " 50 4 7 400 less 1 " " " " 50 3 * 8 400 less 1 " " " " 50 2 * 9 & MORE 400 less 1 " " " " 50 1 * * 10 additional points are subtracted for each exception over 6.