Steel Wheels Help Contents

The following lists all of the Steel Wheels Solitaire Help topics.

How to Play

   Overview

   Playing the Game

   Rules of the Game

Commands

   Game Menu Commands

   Game Options

   Rules Options


How to Play

This section contains information on how to play Steel Wheels Solitaire.

   Overview

   Playing the Game

   Rules of the Game


Overview

Steel Wheels is a solitaire game of skill and chance in which cards in the tableau are discarded by matching up a single face card with three other cards in the tableau that total 18.  Aces are discarded singly. The game is won if all cards are matched up and discarded.

Quite a bit of luck is required to win the game, and the chances of winning are not very high.  Nevertheless, the game can be won.  Don't be frustrated... you'll win one sooner or later.  The fun is in trying!

Please note that a mouse or other pointing device is required to play Steel Wheels.

Related Topics:

   Playing the Game

   Rules of the Game


Playing the Game

The object of Steel Wheels is to discard the entire stock (which consists of two decks) in groups of four cards from the 3 X 4 tableau.

To Start a New Game:

From the Game menu, choose Deal or press F2.

To Replay the Same Game:

From the Game menu, choose Redeal Same Game or press F3.

To Discard Cards from the Tableau:

Move the cursor over the cards in the tableau.  Click the desired card, and it will be highlighted. Then click on three other cards in the same manner.  If one of the cards selected is a face card and the total value of the other three cards added together is equal to 18, they will move to the discard pile in the upper right corner.  Otherwise, you will be warned that your selection was invalid.  You must then choose four new cards.  If you click on an Ace, it will be discarded immediately.

To Fill Spaces in the Tableau:

Click the down-turned deck.  The cards will be dealt to fill the spaces in the tableau left by the cards just discarded.

Related Topics:

   Rules of the Game

   Game Menu Commands

   Game Options


Rules of the Game

Steel Wheels Solitaire Rules:

1.	The game begins with two standard decks shuffled together (no jokers) and three rows of four cards each are dealt to form the tableau.

2.	Four cards at a time are discarded from the tableau, whereby one card must be a face card and the ranks of the other three cards added together total 18.  Aces are discarded individually, i.e. they need not be matched up with any other cards in the tableau.

3.	None of the three cards in the group that total 18 may be of the same rank.  For example, along with the face card, you may not select two Fives and an Eight, or three Sixes.  You can, however, remove this limitation to increase the odds of winning.  Refer to the topic Rules Options.

4.	As soon as a set of four cards has been discarded from the tableau, the empty spaces must be filled immediately from the stock, unless the stock has been exhausted.  Aces are the exception.  Multiple Aces in the tableau may be discarded before filling the spaces from the stock.

Winning the Game

You win the game by getting the entire stock into the discard pile.

Related Topics:

   Playing the Game

   Rules Options


Commands

This section contains information about the commands in Steel Wheels Solitaire.

   Game Menu Commands

   Game Options

   Rules Options


Game Menu Commands

This section contains information about the Game menu commands in Steel Wheels Solitaire.

Deal

Deals a new game of Steel Wheels.

Shortcut: F2

Redeal Same Game

Redeals the previously dealt game.  If you think you could have won the last game if you had done something differently, this is a good way to find out.

Shortcut: F3

Deck...

Displays a dialog in which you can select from one of six card back designs.

Shortcut: Ctrl+D

Options...

Displays the Options dialog. For a description of the various options, refer to the topic Game Options.

Shortcut: Ctrl+O

Rules...

Displays the Rules dialog.  Here, you can change between the "Standard" or "Modified" versions of the game rules.  Playing with the "Modified" rules increases your chances of winning considerably.  For more information, refer to the topic Rules Options.

Shortcut: Ctrl+R

Statistics...

Shows the total number of games played, the number of games won, and your winning percentage.

Shortcut: Ctrl+S

Exit

Exits Steel Wheels Solitaire.  You can exit at any time, even in the middle of a game.

Shortcut: Alt+F4

Related Topics:

   Overview

   Game Options

   Rules Options


Game Options

To select the game options, choose Options... from the Game menu.  In the Options dialog, you can select the following options:

Card Animation

If you wish to have the cards animated on the screen, choose On.  Choose Off to have the cards simply appear at their destination when clicked.

Warnings

If you have attempted an illegal move, the game will warn you.  If you wish to have a message box appear to explain what you did wrong, choose Display Message.  If you just want a warning tone to sound without displaying a message, choose Beep.

3D Dialog Boxes

If you wish to have the dialog boxes and message boxes in the game displayed with a three dimensional effect, select this check box.  If unchecked, all dialogs and message boxes will be displayed in the standard Windows appearance.

Note: This check box is disabled if you are running Windows 95 or higher, since a three dimensional interface is a standard part of the system.

Related Topics:

   Game Menu Commands


Rules Options

To select the rules options, choose Rules... from the Game menu.  The Rules dialog allows you to change the rules of the game.  You can choose from the following options:

Standard Rules

Sets up the game to play by the standard Steel Wheels rules.

Modified Rules

Selecting this option will allow you to discard cards of equal rank within a group of four.  For example, along with the face card, you can a discard a group of three Sixes or two Fours and a Ten.  This increases your chances for a win, but the game still remains challenging.  If you get a bit frustrated with the standard rules, try playing with this option.

Related Topics:

   Game Menu Commands

   Rules of the Game


Stock

The pile from which the cards are dealt.


Rank

The numerical value of a card.


Tableau

The layout from which the cards are played.  In Steel Wheels, the tableau consists of three rows of four cards each.