Fish 'n' More 2/fishmore-publicdomainlibraryvol.ii1991xetec.iso/fish/prog_demos/pokerdemo/calculation rules

Text File | 1990-11-17 | 12KB | 238 lines

Calculation is (C) 1989 UnSane Creations. The demo version of
Calculation is freely distributable, provided the demo program,
the icon, and this text file are included, and none are modified.


Introduction

    Last week you bought a forty-thousand dollar drug smuggler's
yacht for five dollars at a government auction.  This week you've
bought a multitasking, graphics workstation for a fraction of
the cost your less informed neighbors are shelling out for
inferior equipment.  Isn't it time you took a break?  Play
Calculation, the mindless game for people with minds.  Solitaire
like you always wished it could be.
    This is a demo of Calculation.  It's a working version of
Calculation 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 $29.95 to UnSane Creations and
we'll rush you Calculation.
    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 Calculation 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 stack the cards into four ordered stacks, one that counts
by one, one by two, one by three, and one by four.  The sequence
for each stack looks like the following:

        Stack 1 = A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
        Stack 2 = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Q, A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J, K
        Stack 3 = 3, 6, 9, Q, 2, 5, 8, J, A, 4, 7, 10, K
        Stack 4 = 4, 8, Q, 3, 7, J, 2, 6, 10, A, 5, 9, K

Cards are dealt one at a time.  A dealt card can either go on one
of the stacks, if it fits, or on the top of one of the four
discard piles.  Only the top card of each of the discard piles
can be moved to the stacks.  For a more detailed explanation,
read on.
    The playing field is divided into four areas.  The four
stacks, the four discard piles, the card-in-play, and the undealt
portion of the deck.  The undealt cards are off to either side.
When a card is newly dealt, it can either go on a stack or a
discard pile.  Once it is moved to a stack or discard pile
another card is automatically dealt from the deck until all the
cards are dealt.  The four stacks are at the top middle of the
screen and the four discard piles are underneath.  The card-in-
play is between the stacks and the discard piles, symbolic of the
choice you must make to its fate.
    As cards are dealt, you must put them either on the stacks
or the discard piles.  Cards can only be put on the stacks if
they are in the proper order.  This means that at any one time
only four different cards can go up to the stacks.  For example,
if the first stack, which counts by one, were to have a three
showing, the only card that could go on that stack would be a
four.  Until you placed a four on that stack no other card could
go there.  And if a card can't fit on any of the four stacks, you
must put it on one of the four discard piles.  Let's say that the
computer deals you a five.  Let's ignore the other stacks for a
moment and concentrate on the first one.  Since you don't have a
four and that's what the first stack needs, you can't put it on a
stack.  You put the five on a discard pile.  The computer deals
you a seven next.  You can either put the seven on the five, in
which case you won't be able to access the five until you moved
the seven, since only the top card of each discard pile can be
moved up to the stacks, or you could put it on another discard
pile.  You have to decide if getting a four is likely.  If you
get a four and you put the seven on another pile, you can put the
four and then the five up to the first stack and be that much
more ahead of the game.  If you put the seven on the five and get
a four, you will only be able to put the four up, but you might
not cover another card you need in another discard pile with the
seven.  To make things simple you put the seven on another pile.
And low and behold the computer deals you a four.  You can now
put the four on the first stack.  The next card the stack needs
is a five, which just happens to be at the top of one of the
discard piles, so you can now put it on the four.
    The strategy of this game is organizing the discard piles so
you can stack the different stacks sequentially.  If the cards
come up in the right order, the game is easy.  If they don't
quite come up in the order you need, then it is all up to how you
organize your discard piles.  Only the top card of each discard
pile can move up to the stacks, so including the newly dealt card
you have a maximum of five cards that can move up to the stacks
at any one time.  As long as there are undealt cards, the next
card you deal can change the game entirely.  But when those cards
are gone, winning is determined entirely by the cards you can
move from the discard piles, in other words whether or not the
cards you need are accessible.  It may sound like an easy game,
but it is one of the most challenging solitaire games around.


Variations

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

        Number of discard piles:  3  4  5  6

        Only top discard visible
        All discards visible

        Cards cannot be moved among discards
        Cards may be moved to empty discards

        Cards go on same color
        Cards go on any suit

        Undealt cards not visible
        Undealt cards visible

        Discard piles start empty
        Kings start on discard piles

        Stacks start empty
        Stacks start with A, 2, 3, 4

You can vary the game's difficulty by changing these options,
making Calculation challenging for anyone, from the youngest
novice to the oldest master.
    The first set of options determines the number of discard
piles.  It is possible to have three, four, five, or six discard
piles, although in standard play there are only four.
    The second set of options affects the discard piles
themselves.  In a standard Calculation game you can only see the
top card of the discard piles.  But for those of us with poor
memories who are too lazy to keep track of the discard piles on a
separate piece of paper, there is this option.  It makes every
card on the discard piles visible.  It is still only possible to
move the top card of a discard pile, but now you can see what
lies underneath.
    The third set controls movement among discard piles.
Normally once you place a card on a discard pile, it stays on
that discard pile until you move it up to a stack or lose the
game.  But by changing this option, you can move a card from one
discard pile onto another empty discard pile.
    The fourth set restricts what cards can be placed on the
stacks.  Normally the only restriction on what cards can go to
the stacks is numerical.  In other words, if the card is a four
and stack two needs a four, it fits.  But there can be a further
restriction.  You can force it so that cards must also be the
same color.  In other words, two stacks would accept only hearts
and diamonds and the other two only clubs and spades.
    The fifth set affects undealt cards.  Normally, the undealt
cards are off to the side out of the way, effectively decoration.
But this option allows you to see the undealt cards.  You can
know what card will be dealt before it's dealt.
    The six set determines how the discard piles start in the
beginning of a game.  Usually they start empty, but they can
start with the Kings on them.
    And finally, the seventh set of options similarly determine
how the stacks start in the beginning of the game.  Normally they
start with the first card already on them, i.e. from left to
right, the ace, two, three, and four respectively.  But this
option allows you to begin the game with empty stacks.


The Advice Column

    1.  Don't start with the standard rules.  Start simply and
make Calculation fun as well as challenging.  Some good rules to
change are 'number of discard piles:  6', 'all discards visible',
and 'kings start on discard piles.'  If the game is still too
hard, change a few more rules.  The point is to learn to play
Calculation without getting frustrated.  After all, aren't games
supposed to be fun?
    2.  Keep a card by your side of the following:
   A  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10 | J  | Q  | K
   2  | 4  | 6  | 8  | 10 | Q  | A  | 3  | 5  | 7  | 9  | J  | K
   3  | 6  | 9  | Q  | 2  | 5  | 8  | J  | A  | 4  | 7  | 10 | K
   4  | 8  | Q  | 3  | 7  | J  | 2  | 6  | 10 | A  | 5  | 9  | K
If you are too lazy to make a card, hit the help key.
    3.  Leave one discard pile free to accept kings.  Don't put
any other cards on this pile until you have all four kings there.
Kings are the last card to be put on each of the stacks, which
means that any cards under a king are effectively useless until
the end of the game.  If you happen to need those cards to win
you're out of luck.  The quickest way to insure you'll never win
a game is to put a king or two on a card that you need.
    4.  Always work first from the discard piles.  If the
computer deals you a card you need, first check the discard
piles.  If the card you need is also on a discard pile use it.
This way you free the card underneath.  You might find that you
need that one also.  If you don't need it you can always place
the newly dealt card on top and return things to way they were
before.
    5.  Try to build sequences in the discard piles.  For
example, place the four on the five and the three on the four.
Then when you need the three for the first stack, you also get
the four and the five.  But remember, don't build sequences you
will never use.  Don't put the three and four on the five if the
first stack is already up to the seven.
    6.  Try not to cover cards you will be using soon.  If you
will be using the queen soon, try to keep it at the top of a
discard pile.  If you cover it, you won't be able to get to it,
and getting to it quickly may force you to cover other cards you
need.
    7.  Don't make impossible sequences.  Don't put a queen on
the only remaining jack in the game or all the kings on a four.
It only takes one impossible sequence will lose 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, Calculation becomes too easy, make it
harder.  The ability to change Calculation's rules not only
provides you with the means to make Calculation easier, but it
also allows you to make it harder.  Calculation can be made
trivially easy or virtually impossible.  It's up to you.
    10.  And finally, 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, Calculation's programmer, unlike the rest of the
human race which has descended from the ape, has descended from a
rabbit-like creature.  Proof of this fact comes from his cats,
Jekyll and Clyde, which have often been known to eye him like the
main course of a succulent dinner, and all the hair balls he
leaves about the place.  If you wish to speak to Steve, about
Calculation, his ancestry, 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
                USA