*p5 Welcome to Excellent ÉCard ÉGames ÉIII, Éa Écompilation of five new ècard games from Tower Software.*m
*h001~~~~~~~~~Instructions~~~~~~~~~
*h017~~~~~~~~~~The~~Games~~~~~~~~~~
*h034~~~~~~~Tower~~Software~~~~~~~~
*p5Select the topic you require help with ...*m*e
*tInstructions Menu*
*h000~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Main~~Menu~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*h002~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Using~~~Help~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*h005~~~~~~~~~~~General~~Card~~Play~~~~~~~~~~
*h009~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preferences~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*p5Select the topic you require help with ...*m*e
*tUsing Help*
*p5 These help screens provide Éinformation Éon Éa wide range of ètopics, including general instructions on how to play and detailed èhelp for each of the five games.
*p4 The row of help gadgets at Éthe Ébottom of the screen allow you èto move about between the different screens:
*p1
MENU returns you to the main menu screen.
<< moves to the previous screen.
*e
*p1
>> moves to the next screen.
HELP brings up these help screens.
FINISHED exits help and returns you to
the game you were playing.
*p5 So for help Éon Éa Éspecific Égame, Éselect ÉMENU Éand then the èparticular game you are interested in.*e
*p4
Help screens may also contain icons such as the one below which ècan be used to move directly to a specific topic.
*p5 Most controls are easy Éto Éuse and intuitive. Everything is èmouse controlled for maximum convenience.
*h005~~~Click~here~to~move~to~another~screen~~~
*e
*tGeneral Instructions*
Excellent Card Games *p1has Ébeen Écarefully Édesigned to be as èeasy to use as is possible.
*p4 The next few pages provide a clear description of how to use èthe mouse, pick up cards etc, and also illustrate some of the more èsubtle features which you may not have noticed.
*p5 When playing a game, Éthe ÉHELP Éicon Éat Éthe bottom of the èscreen provides specific help for that game.*e
*tPicking Up Cards*
*p5Picking up a card, or a Ésequence of cards, in most games is èsimply a matter of positioning Éthe Émouse Épointer over the card, èand clicking on the left mouse button.
*p4If the pointer is DIRECTLY Éover Éthe card, (the top card èif its a sequence), the program Éwill Étry Éto Éadd that card to a èfoundation. If you want to pick the card up make sure you èposition the pointer slightly above or below it.
*p1To pick up a Épartial Ésequence, Éthe Épointer must be directly èabove the first card you want to pick up.*e
*tFoundations*
*p5Most of the patience games Éhave four foundations, on which èall the cards have to be built to win the game.
*p4Some of the games differ, but Émost Éhave a foundation for each èsuit, and have to be built Éup Éstrictly Éin the order Ace,2,3 ... èKing in each suit.
*p1Once placed on a foundation, a card cannot be removed.*e
*tIcons*
*p5 At the bottom of the screen is Éan icon bar, that provides some èextra game features. If you are Éusing an NTSC display these icons èare replaced by pull down menus.
*p4
turns card shuffling on and off, allowing you to
*h008~~Shuffle~~ replay a game Éwith Éexactly the same ècards.
brings up the help screens, either general
*h008~~~Help~~~ instructions (from Éthe game selection èscreen),
*p5 The preferences screen allows Éyou Éto Éalter Éand save many of the ègame settings, to enter new players, and review high scores
*h011~~~~~Welcome~~~~~
*h012~~~~~Scoring~~~~~
*h014~~~Customising~~~
*h016~~~~~Players~~~~~
*e
*tPreferences "Welcome"*
*p5 The welcome setting allows you to Échoose the way this program will èstart up. The default player is Éthe Éone Éwho was selected when you last èsaved Preferences.
*p5Auto log*p4 The default player will be welcomed.
*p5Ask for name*p4 The Éprogram Éwill Éask Éyou Éto Étype Éin a player's èname.*e
*tCustomising*
There are many preferences Éfeatures Éthat Écan Ébe combined to ècustomise the game to suit your own taste.
*p5 The graphical style can be Échanged Éby Échoosing one of eight card èbacks, or selecting wallpaper Éwhich Éwill Éform Éa permanent backdrop to èyour games.
*p4To select a wallpaper, click on Éthe Éfilename you require and it will èbe highlighted. It will not be Éloaded Éuntil Éyou return to the game you èwere playing. To remove a wallpaper click Éon Éit Éagain so that it is no èlonger highlighted.*e
*tChanging the Screen Type*
This program uses a full Éheight ÉPAL Éscreen, which may not be èsuitable for all Ésystems, Éparticularly Éthose Éin ÉNorth America èwhich have NTSC displays.
*p5 To change to an NTSC screen, click on the "Sceeen" gadget so èthat it changes Éfrom ÉPAL Éto ÉNTSC. ÉThen Ésave Éthe Preferences èsettings, exit the program and restart. ÉIt Éwill now have an NTSC èscreen, with the icons that Éwere Éalong Éthe bottom of the screen èreplaced with pull down menus.
*e
*tPlayers*
The right hand side Éof Éthe ÉPreferences Éscreen Éhas four functions. èFirstly, it shows the current player's Éname Éand Éa brief summary of his ègame scores. Click on DELETE to reset the current scores to zero.
*p5For more information on a Éparticular Égame, Édouble click on the game èname and a summary of your scores will appear. This will only appear once èyou have actually played that game, and is not available for multi-player ègames such as Poker.*e
*tPlayers*
*p4 Secondly, a new player can Ébe Écreated, Éor a name can be selected èfrom the player list. Click on PLAYERS to bring up the player list.
*p1 To enter a Énew Éplayer, Éclick Éon Éthe Écurrent name and a ècursor should appear. Use backspace Éif Éyou Éneed Éto erase the existing èname, then type in your new name and press ENTER. Your new player will be ècreated, with all scores reset to zero.
*p5 To select an existing player, Éeither Étype in their name or double èclick on one of the names in the player list.*e
*tOpponents*
*p4 The opponents Ésection Éallows Éyou Éto Échange Éthe Éname Éof your èopponents (played by the computer) in multi-player games.
*p5 Click in each name box to Ébring Éup Éa cursor, and type in the new ènames. These will be stored Éalong Éwith Éall your other preferences when èyou have finished playing.*e
*tThe Games*
*h018~~~~~~Poker~~~~~~
*h025~~~~~Czarina~~~~~
*h028~~~~~Colours~~~~~
*h030~~~~Scottish~~~~~
*h032~~~~~~~Nap~~~~~~~
*e
*tPoker*
Poker is regarded by many as the Émost skillful card game of them all. èThis version is particularly difficult É- Échanging quickly between three èvariations of the game.
*p5 Straight draw poker, in which Éthe Éhighest scoring hand wins, is the èmost widely played poker Égame. ÉLowball Éis Éthe Éopposite and which the èlowest scoring hand wins. Finally Deuces wild, in which all twos are wild ècards and the highest scoring hand becomes five of a kind.
Lowball poker is a completely Édifferent Égame from normal draw poker. èIn this version, aces are still the Éhighest Écard and all hands score as ènormal, but the lowest hand wins.
*p5*c00,60 If you have even a pair Éyou are unlikely to win at lowball, èso try to avoid changing more than Éone Éor Éat the most two cards in the èdraw. Don't bet high unless you have say É9 or ten high. With three other èplayers you are bound to be up against very similar hands.
With twos wild the average score of Éeach Éplayers hand is bound to go èup. Each two can be any card Éyou Érequire É- even the duplicate of other ècards in your hand. Thus a Énew Éhand Éis Épossible: five of a kind. Five èaces is now the highest possible hand and beats all others.
*c00,60*p5 With a single 2 Éin Éyour Éhand, Éit Éis quite easy to score èthree of a kind or better - bear this in mind when betting!
Each hand of poker starts Éwith Éthe Éante. ÉEach player throws in one èchip to the centre of the table. Then the cards are dealt and the betting èbegins. If no-one prior to you has Ébet Éyou can simply pass. If all four èplayers pass the cards are thrown in and a new hand is dealt.
*p5 If the player to your Éright Éhas Ébet, Éyou must "see" that bet by èbetting an equivalent amount, raise the bet, or you can fold and cut your èlosses. If all the other players fold you have won without having to show èyour hand - hence it is possible to bluff by betting high even though you èdon't hold anything!*e
*tRaising*
A skillful player will always Étry Éto Éconceal Éthe true value of his èhand. If you are sure you can Éwin Éthe Éhand, Éyou should try to have as èmany people in the pot as possible. ÉIf, Éon Éthe other hand, you are not èsure whether you can beat Éa Éparticular Éplayer, Éa Éhigh raise may well èscare him off.
*p5 Of course, if your opponent Éalso Éholds Éa good hand he will coaxe èyou into making a high raise and then make an even higher raise back!
*p1 To win you must bust out all Éother players. As each player is bust èthe ante will rise, Émaking Éthe Éstakes Éfor Éeach Égame Éget higher and èhigher.*e
*tCzarina*
This game is a traditional patience in which the objective is to build èthe cards in suits onto foundations.
*c00,52*p5 At the start of the Égame Éfive Écards Éare dealt out in the èshape of a cross. A final Écard Éis Édealt Éto Éthe top left corner. This èforms the first foundation with the other three corners being foundations èfor the other three suits.
*i60,46,03*e
*tCzarina*
The foundations all start from the Écard Éthat has already been dealt. èSo if this is a King Éall Éfoundations Éare Ébuilt up in suit from King.. èAce..2.. ..Queen.
*p5 Cards are dealt from the stock, to Éthe left of the cross. Each can èbe placed on a foundation, or Ébuilt Édownwards Éonto the one of the five ècards which form the cross. ÉCards Émust Édescend in order, regardless of èsuit. If a card cannot be played from Éthe stock, click again to deal the ènext card.*e
*tCzarina*
Czarina will usually come out if you can keep one or two blank spaces. èBe careful not to use these up to quickly.
*p5 At the start of the game Éyour biggest danger is leaving good cards èon the discard pile. These Éwill Éinevitably Ébe Élost if you cannot play èthem.
*p4 A reasonable player should Éaverage Éabout 60%, winning every other ègame. It is quite a challenge to win Émore Éthan three or four games in a èrow though!*e
*tColours*
Colours is quite a tricky patience game. Once played, cards cannot be èmoved around so take care - mistakes are costly.
*p5 To play, cards are taken one Éat Éa Étime from the stock and can be èplaced on any one of the six pillars. ÉCards Écan be placed on top of any èother card - the only restriction Ébeing Éthat they cannot then be moved, èexcept when they are played onto a foundation.
*p1 Cards cannot be moved from one pillar into an empty space.*e
*tColours - Foundations*
Foundations are built slightly Édifferently. ÉThe left-most foundation èstarts with a red ace, the second with Éa black two, the third with a red èthree and the last with a black four.
*U42,54,00*U51,54,27*U60,54,15*U69,54,42
*c00,40*p5 Subsequent foundation cards must build upwards in colour but ènot necessarily in suit. So the two of Édiamonds can be placed on the ace èof hearts.*e
*tScottish*
Scottish patience is a Éstraightforward Éstyle Éof Épatience game with èmost of the cards on view. ÉAs Éusual Éthe Éobject Éis to build up on the èfoundations from Ace to King in each suit.
*p5 The cards are dealt into Éeighteen Épiles Éof three, except for the èbottom right pile, which contains only Éa Ésingle card. Cards can be move èone at a time onto another Épile, Éproviding they descend in sequence and èmatch in suit.
*p4 An empty space can be filled by a King but nothing else.
*e
*tScottish*
In order to score well at this game you need to avoid making mistakes. èInevitably you will have to build Éon Étop Éof cards which are hidden. At èthe start of the Égame, Étry Éto Ébuild Ésequences Éwhich Éare as long as èpossible but can easily be removed. For example, if you build the 6,5,4,3 èand 2 of spades onto top of the Éseven, these can all be removed when the èace of spades comes into play.
*p5 Building large Ésequences Éhelps Éreveal Éas Émany Éhidden cards as èpossible.
*p4 A final tip - watch out for the aces when dealing!*e
*tNap*
Nap is the classic English Étrick Étaking Égame, combining the bidding èand trick taking features of whist games with gambling.
*p5 At the start of each Éhand, Éplayers Éante up one chip apiece. Each èplayer takes it in turn to bid Éhow Émany Étricks he can win. The highest èbidder also selects the trump suit - Éthis Éis the suit of the first card èhe leads.
*p1 Each player in turn must follow Ésuit Éwhere possible. If he has no ècards of that suit he can Éplay Éa Étrump Éor Ésimply discard any card. A ètrump suit automatically beats all other Écards except of course a higher ètrump.*e
*tNap*
At the end of the five tricks the Éhand will be settled. If the bidder èhas made his contract i.e. won the Énumber Éof tricks he bid, he wins the èpot. If not, he pays a penalty to Éeach other player, and the pot remains èon the table - leaving a bigger reward for the next hand.
*p5 As each player is Ébusted Éout, Éthe Éante is increased. With fewer èplayers the game gets faster and Éthe Ébids higher, until only one winner èremains.*e
*tTower Software*
*p5 We produce a range of high quality "traditional" games for all Amigas. èIf you have enjoyed this game, we hope Éyou'll be tempted to buy the full èunrestricted version. Phone, fax, email or write for a free catalogue, or èprint out and send the order form on this disk. Excellent Cards III costs è*#14.99 including P&P, complete with Éfull Écolour packaging. The non-AGA èversion (compatible with all 1MB Amigas) costs *#12.99
*p4 P.O. Box 9, Gosforth
Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 1QW
Phone/fax: 0191 285 5748
e-mail: tower@sv.span.com OR Compuserve 100630,241*e
*tThis Program Is Restricted*
*p1 Sorry, this is only a restricted version of Excellent Card Games 3.
*p4Every so often Éthis Éannoying Éscreen Éis Égoing Éto pop up èwhilst you're playing just to remind Éyou to buy the full version. èI don't want to annoy you too much of course, and you can spend as èmuch time as you Élike Éreading Éthe Éhelp Épages, or playing with èPreferences.
*p1The full version also allows you Éto Ésave Éall your high scores to èdisk, along with all your game settings configured in Preferences.
*p5Phone 0191 285 5748 for a free catalogue*m*e
*tImportant Information!*
Hey, why not pause for a minute and consider whether you'd like èto buy the full version of this program!
*p1 Your Émeasly É*#14.99 Ébuys Éyou Éthe Écomplete, Éunrestricted game ètogether with another sample disk crammed full of quality programs.
*p5 Help support a small software Éhouse Éand Éat Éthe same time have a èreal say in which programs we'll develop next!
*p4Phone 0191 285 5748 for a free catalogue*m*e
*tThis Program Is Restricted*
Lets face it - you must like Éthis Éprogram if you're still playing it ènow. I know you're going to want Éto Édo the sensible thing and shell out èfor the full version of Excellent Card Games III!
*p5When you do place Éyour Éorder, Éwhy Énot Étell us which new ègames you would most like to see Éon Éthe Amiga. We're always looking for ènew ideas, particularly from our existing customers. Or, if you can think èof any way this program can be improved we'd like to know.
*p4Phone 0191 285 5748 for a free catalogue*m*e
*tImportant Information!*
Still playing huh - I Éguess Éyou Éjust Écan't get enough of Excellent èCard Games III. I can't fault your Éjudgement, but don't you really think èyou should dip your Éhand Éinto Éyour Épocket Éand Éhelp support the poor èstarving orphans who created this wonderful program.
*p1 And don't forget, the Éfull Éversion Élets Éyou Ésave all your high èscores, for any number of different Éplayers, Éas well as all your custom èPreferences settings. Not only Éthat, Ébut Éyou'll Énever Ébe troubled by èirritating messages like this again!
