Solo Deluxe is a Newton version of three popular Solitaire games. With Solo Deluxe, you can play Klondike, Canfield and Pyramid, each with different playing options. See the end of this file for instructions on how to play.
This is version 1.0 and has been tested for quite a while, but if you find any bugs, please report them to me. If you have any suggestions on anything, I’ll be more than happy to read them and try to implement them as well (when time permits!).
Solo Deluxe is distributed as a stuffit file. If you do not have the decompressor for this file format, you can download it from many ftp sites or on-line services. It should show up on Compuserve, America On Line, eWorld and the Internet (it should be on newton.uiowa.edu). If you can’t find it, let me know! I’ll either send you the decompressor or the uncompressed file. Then again, if you’re reading this, it means you did find it!
Solo is FREEWARE! If you want updates sent to you directly by e-mail, send me mail at arby@apple.com!
Here a couple of things you should know:
Solo Deluxe takes up quite a bit of RAM (about 128K), especially if you have the Help book and the extra Deck designs installed (SoloHelp (19K) and SoloDecks (45K)). If this is too much for you, find a copy of Solo 1.41 (regular version with Klondike only) which takes up less RAM (58K) and which also comes with Solo Lite , a lighter (35K) version that supports all the same rules, but without the gadgets.
Features of Solo Deluxe:
- Three different games (with multiple options)
- Many card designs
- Auto Start in your favorite game
- Iconizable
- Fun animation and ending
- Scoring based on how lucky you are
- Statistics (games played/won)
- and more!
Following you will find some information on many topics, including rules to the games.
Have fun!
Arby
Send comments/suggestions/bug reports to:
Renaud Boisjoly
AppleLink: Renaud1
Internet: arby@apple.com
3421 Aubry, Longueuil, Québec, Canada J4M 2W4
Thanks to Scott Leapman, Matthiew Dixon Cowles and Jeremy Wyld for beta testing! And to Scott Fringer for helping out with DOS compression stuff.
Decompressing Solo Deluxe
If you are using a Mac, simply decompress the enclosed files with a Stuffit compatible decompressor.
If you are using a PC, you might need to de-binhex the file first (depending on where you got it). There is a program called BINHEX that will do that for you. Then you will need UNSTUFF to unstuff the files. Both of these programs are available almost everywhere, but if you can’t find them let me know. Once this is done, you’ll have all the files you need and you can then install them (using the Windows Connection Kit).
Installing Solo Deluxe
When you install Solo Deluxe on your Newton, You have the option of installing the Help File (SoloHelp) and Extra Decks (SoloDecks) as well. These take up a little more RAM, but they’re worth it! The SoloDecks file also contains a couple of sounds that are used by the game if they are there. If you don’t install these, you will get the default Card and Back design, and you will not get the special sounds. You may also install these packages on an external storage card, even if Solo is in your Newton’s internal storage memory.SoloHelp and SoloDecks do not appear in the Extras Drawer, but you can remove them the regular way.
Removing Solo Deluxe
If you ever decide to remove Solo Deluxe (why?) you might want to be aware of two things. Solo creates some preferences in your Newton’s memory, they are small, but they are there. There is no way for a programmer to know when you actually delete an application (there is no difference between removing an app and removing a card which contains the app). Because of this, you can end up with some data you do not need, which is why there is an option in Solo Deluxe’s preferences to clear the preferences when you quit Solo Deluxe. In such a case, the memory is freed from your Newton, and if you remove Solo Deluxe at that point, no preferences will stay in your Newton’s precious memory.
Also, since SoloHelp and SoloDecks do not appear in the Extras Drawer, you might want to remember to remove them as well when you remove Solo.
General rules
You probably know how to play some form of solitaire, and the specific rules for each game follows this topic, but here are a few pointers for general operations.
Tap New Game to select the game you wish to play.
Tap the deck to get more cards.
Tap the Lock icon to enable dragging the Deck, Tap again to lock it and resume play.
Tap Restart to replay the same game, with or without the same deck.
Tap the "i" button for Information and Options
Klondike Rules
There are three components to the game: the Deck, the four Foundations and the seven Columns.
Place cards in descending order and alternating suites ( i.e. 10 of Hearts, 9 of Spades, etc.) down the columns, the King being the highest value and the only card allowed in an empty column.
Aces can go to the Foundations at the top. You then build the Foundations in ascending order of the same suite.
Canfield Rules
Canfield is similar to Klondike, except the Foundation card is not necessarily the Ace. If not, a King follows an Ace when building descending suites and vice-versa!
This game adds a fourth component: the Stock. Only Cards from the Stock go to empty columns until it becomes empty, at which time you can use cards from the Deck to fill these empty columns.
Pyramid Rules
Pyramid is very simple to play, but very hard to finish (the reward is good though). The goal is to combine cards whose values total 13 i.e. 6 & 7, 8 & 5, single King, etc. Simply tap on the cards each in turn to select a pair.
You go through the Deck once, one card at a time. When playing the 2 card game, the previously delt card is fed to a second pile from which you may also combine cards. This option makes the game somewhat easier…
The scoring system
Scoring is based on Luck Points. For every game you play, you lose a little bit of points, but when you win you get a bunch of points. The harder the settings, the more points you get. Win twice in a row and get extra points! Bring your luck to 100% and see what happens!
Cheating
Playing a card from the Deck or Stock to the Columns, then moving it to another column (Klondike & Canfield), moving a card from the Foundations back into play or changing the number of cards flipped half way through the game…
Although these moves are not valid (and illegal!), the game lets you play them anyway, but beware you may feel guilty after cheating this way (and your luck points may decrease slightly in some cases)!
How to improve your luck
Use harder settings and don’t cheat.
Hint: flipping 1 card an unlimited number of times is not very good for your luck.
Using the same deck twice might be fun, but you’ll loose a few luck points!
Winning twice in a row is considered the luckiest thing of all!
Seeing a jocker card is also lucky!
If you win an average number of games, your luck will stay pretty much the same (it might improve a bit), if you win more than the average person, your luck will increase, now this is based on the statistics I (with the help of my beta testers) managed to compile by playing many games, over time, future versions of the game will be more fair, especially if you let me know how many games you’ve played, which settings you used and how many you’ve won. Send me mail!
Changing your Preferences
Tap the “i” button and select “Prefs”.
Card design: Choose your favorite!
Back Design: Many styles to choose from!
Specific options: Choose the number of flips of the Deck, the playing technique (drag or tap), etc.
Auto Startup: Start Solo Deluxe directly into your favorite game!
Displaying the Welcome screen
So you like the Welcome screen eh? But you decided you didn’t want to see it anymore? And now you want to see it again? Well fear no more! You can display it again by choosing “Show Welcome screen” in the Preferences.
ever need to remove Solo Deluxe completely. You might also want to remove the packages named “SoloDecks” and “SoloHelp”.
Using the small icons
Lock: To lock the Deck’s position, otherwise, you can drag it around (or the Flip arrow).
Lightning bolt: To clean up the screen.
Little Spade: Iconize the game. Tap the button which appears in your Notepad to return to a productive game of Solo (interrupted by some annoying “real work”).
