Gamers Delight 2/Gamers Delight 2.iso/Aminet/game/demo/Accordion.lha/Accordion/Accordion Rules

Text File | 1989-10-19 | 10KB | 220 lines

Introduction
    Last week you engineered the takeover of several
multinational conglomerates.  This week you're rounding
out your personal fortune with the purchase of a major
league baseball team.  Isn't it time you took a break?
Play Accordion, the mindless game for people with minds.
Solitaire like you always wished it could be.
    This is a demo of Accordion.  It's a working
version of Accordion that only plays two different games.
Try it out, give it to your friends, this demo is freely
distributable.  If you like it, send your address and $15
to UnSane Creations and we'll rush you Accordion.
    This readme file is provided to supplement the
online help.  It contains a detailed description of the
standard rules and their variations.  Also included is a
section of hints for beginning SeaHaven players called The
Advice Column.  And of course, what readme file wouldn't
be complete without the current UnSane Creations rumors.

 Standard Rules
    For those of you experienced at playing different
solitaire games, here is a quick summary of the rules:
The object of the game is to condense all the cards into
one pile.  The cards are dealt face up from left to right
one at a time.  Piles are built by moving a card or pile
from the left onto a card or pile to the right.  Piles
move as their top card, which can be moved one or two
cards to the left provided one of two conditions is met:
one, the card to the left is of the same suit or two, the
card to the left is the same number.  For a more detailed
explanation, read on.
    The playing field is divided into two areas.  The
top, where the cards are dealt face up from left to right,
and the bottom, where the undealt cards are kept.  The
undealt cards are kept out of the way at the bottom of the
screen so you can concentrate on the cards showing.  You
are free to deal or undeal them as you wish.
    A game begins with four dealt cards.  Let's assume
that those four cards are from left to right, the queen of
spades, the seven of diamonds, the ace of hearts, and the
nine of diamonds.  There are two things we can do at this
point, take the one move possible or deal another card.
    Let's assume that you wanted to take the move.
Since cards can be moved one or two cards to the left onto
a card of the same suit, you place the nine of diamonds
onto the seven of diamonds.  The nine of diamonds and
seven of diamonds form a pile, but you can forget about
the seven of diamonds for the rest of the game since the
pile moves as if it were the top card.  Accordion keeps
track of these piles so you can undo moves, but you need
never worry about them.  You now have three cards showing,
the queen of spades, the nine of diamonds, and the ace of
hearts.  You cannot make a legal move with these three
cards, therefore Accordion will automatically deal you
cards until you can make a legal move.  Let's say
Accordion deals the seven of hearts.  The seven of hearts
can be placed onto the ace of hearts.  Once again you must
decide whether to take the move or to deal another card
yourself.
    Let's go back to the beginning of the game and
assume that you wanted to deal another card instead of
taking the move.  You deal the seven of hearts.  You now
have five cards showing, the queen of spades, the seven of
diamonds, the ace of hearts, the nine of diamonds, and the
seven of hearts.  Because you dealt another card, you now
have two possible moves.  You can place the nine onto the
seven of diamonds as before or you can move the seven of
hearts onto the ace.  Let's move the seven of hearts.  You
now have from left to right, the queen of spades, the
seven of diamonds, the seven of hearts, and the nine of
diamonds.  Accordion won't deal you more cards so you
still have at least one more legal move.  Since cards can
be moved one or two cards to the left onto a card of the
same number as well as onto a card of the same suit, the
seven of hearts can be placed on the seven of diamonds.
Only after you take this move will Accordion automatically
deal more cards.  Once again you must choose whether or
not to take the move possible or to deal another card.
You continue until you've condensed all the cards into one
pile, at which you've won the game and are ready for
another.


Variations
    Accordion allows you to change its rules, giving
you a total of two hundred twenty-eight different playable
variations.  You can change Accordion's rules by selecting
Change Rules under the Edit menu.  When you do, you see
the following options:

        Cards may be moved one place left
        Cards may be moved two places left
        Cards may be moved three places left

        Cards may be moved one place right
        Cards may be moved two places right
        Cards may be moved three places right

        Cards go on same number only
        Number may differ by one

        Cards go on same suit
        Cards go on same color

You can vary the game's difficulty by changing these
options, making Accordion challenging for anyone, from the
youngest novice to the oldest master.
    The first set of options governs movement to the
left.  The standard rules only let you move one or two
cards to the left.  By changing these options you can move
one, two, or three cards to the left or any combination
thereof.  You can even insure that no cards will move to
the left.
    The second set of options controls movement to the
right.  Normally you can't move cards to the right, but
with these options you can choose to move cards one, two,
or three cards to the right or any combination thereof.
    The third set affects the number you can put a
card on.  In standard play you can only put cards of the
same number on one another.  For example, you can place
the seven of hearts on the seven of diamonds.  But by
changing this option you can put cards that differ by one
on one another.  In other words, the seven of hearts can
now go on the six or eight of diamonds as well as the
seven.
    The fourth set similarly affects the suit you can
put a card on.  Normally you can only put a card on its
own suit.  But you have the option of putting a card on
another of its same color.  A heart could then go on a
diamond, and a spade on a club.

 The Advice Column
    1.  Don't start with the standard rules.  Start
simply and make Accordion fun as well as challenging.  Two
good rules to add are 'cards may be moved one place to the
right' and 'cards may be moved two places to the right.'
If the game is still too hard, change a few more rules.
The point is to learn to play Accordion without getting
frustrated.  After all, aren't games supposed to be fun?
    2.  Always check the cards two or three places to
the right and the left before making a move.  A good move
or a bad move is determined more by the cards near it than
by the move itself.
    3.  Always deal more than Accordion automatically
deals.  When Accordion deals, it deals until you have at
least one possible move.  But this often means that you
have only one possible move.  If you only take the few
moves Accordion deals, you are going to win very few
games.  Deal at least three or four cards more before you
make a move.
    4.  Whether you've only dealt out a few cards, a
row of cards, or the whole deck, work from the upper left
to the lower right.  There is a strong tendency for people
to work first with the cards they have just dealt in other
words from the lower right to the upper left.  But for
some unknown reason, people tend to do better when they
work from left to right.  It's probably because it forces
them to consider the cards around the ones they want to
move.  Try playing the game both ways.  See which way you
play best.
    5.  Before you cover a card, look for others of
its kind.  If the eight of clubs is just four cards always
from the eight of diamonds, don't cover the eight of
diamonds with another diamond without determining if it is
possible to get to the eight of clubs.  The real key to
condensing cards is not just covering hearts with other
hearts or clubs with other clubs, but hearts with clubs
and diamonds with spades, etc...
    6.  Use your pairs, triplets, and quadruplets
frugally.  Move them as far left as possible before you
condense them.  For example, suppose the two of spades and
the two of diamonds were next to each other.  Try moving
the two of spades onto other spades to the left and the
two of diamonds onto other diamonds.  You might be able to
jump the two of spades two spades to the left and the two
of diamonds one or two diamonds left before you put the
two of diamonds on the two of spades.  If you hadn't first
tried to move the pair to the left you would have a pile
of two cards, but if you did move them individually as far
left as possible you can make that same pile five or six
cards.  The point is that pairs, triplets, and quadruplets
can be incredible useful in solving Accordion;  don't just
throw them away.
    7.  Don't always take all your moves.  Leave a few
moves before dealing more cards or concentrating further
right.  You have more possibilities later in the game if
you leave yourself some leeway.  You can always take these
moves later in the game.
    8.  Use Undo.  Use it when you're in trouble.  Use
it when you make a mistake.  But use it, even if you have
to Undo to the start of a game.  Undoing is not cheating.
You can always Redo an undone move.
    9.  If, in time, Accordion becomes too easy, make
it harder.  The ability to change Accordion's rules not
only provides you with the means to make Accordion easier,
but it also allows you to make it harder.  Accordion can
be made trivially easy or virtually impossible.  It's up
to you.
    10.  Like many other prominent psychologists,
astrologists, and Advice Columnists, I may not have the
slightest idea what I am talking about.  Use your own
judgement.


Rumors
    Steve, Accordion's programmer, is really a native
of Shoriiklaac, the fifth planet of a star in the
Andromeda galaxy.  UFO's stole him from his native planet
and dropped him off on Earth.  In his opinion, UFO
kidnapping is the alien analogue of TPing the yard by the
alien equivalents of drunk teenage high school drop outs.
If you wish to speak to Steve, about Accordion, UFO's, or
anything else for that matter, feel free to contact him at
[phone] or write to him c/o:

                UnSane Creations
                815 Windingpath Lane
                Manchester, MO 63021