Copyright: Solitaire by Tom Warfield


Contents

Pretty Good Solitaire 2.0a

by Tom Warfield
Internet Email: Tomstaaf1@aol.com

World Wide Web:  http://users.aol.com/Tomstaaf1/pgs/pgs.html
(latest version always available on this site!)

Compuserve:  75237,254

General Information

Benefits of Registration

How to Play

Features

How to Register

About

Other Programs by the Same Author

Napoleon Solitaire


General Information

Welcome to Pretty Good Solitaire!  This program started because I was unsatisfied with the solitaire programs out there.  There's some good ones, but usually they come only 1 or 2 games at a time, with no undo feature, and so on. And so I started to write my own.  It all started with FreeCell, and the first version had 5 games.  It's now grown to 30.

Every game has full undo and redo (except for when the deck is reshuffled).   The first time you play the game, you will be asked for your name.  You can add new player names (or delete them) at any time, so more than one person can use Pretty Good Solitaire.  All the game settings are saved independently for each player, so if you like AutoPlay and someone else doesn't, you don't have to keep turning it on and off all the time!

In addition, Pretty Good Solitaire will keep a record of your wins and losses in each game, for each player.  You can reset the statistics at any time.  You can even turn off the statistics keeping (see Options menu), if you want to play a game you don't want counted.

The best feature of Pretty Good Solitaire, in my opinion, is the game saving.  When you exit, the program will automatically remember your game position.  When you restart the program, you can continue right where you left off.  You can turn off game saving if you like (see the Options menu).

If you can't decide which of the 30 games to play, you can have the program select one at random (See the Game menu).

Important Notes about the AutoPlay feature

Windows 95 Issues

Screen Resolution Issues

Benefits of Registration


Important
Notes about the AutoPlay feature

AutoPlay

AutoPlay is the feature that moves playable cards from the tableau to the foundations automatically.  (Only those games with foundations have this feature, of course.)   This feature can be a great time and effort saver, and I highly recommend its use.

However, there are a couple of things about AutoPlay that you should be aware of.  First, in some games (such as FreeCell, Yukon, etc)  it is not necessarily a good idea to automatically play every possible card to the foundations.  In these games, the best strategy is to keep the foundations pile roughly even with each other (for example, don't play the clubs foundation pile up to 5 or 6 when the ace of hearts hasn't come out yet).  Because of this, the AutoPlay feature will NOT play a card to the foundations if it determines that that card might be necessary for play on the tableau.  You can, of course, override this if you wish by playing the card to the foundations yourself.  But remember, if AutoPlay doesn't move a card that it could move, there's a reason.

Secondly, although in many games it is technically cheating, these games allow you to move a card from the foundations back to the tableau, if you wish.  However, if AutoPlay is turned on, the AutoPlay feature will promptly play the card back to the foundation!  Therefore, if you ever want to do this you will need to turn AutoPlay off.


Auto Play

By selecting Auto Play from the Options menu, any cards in the tableau or cells that can be legally moved to the foundation are automatically moved there.  This speeds up play.

Important Notes about the AutoPlay feature


Windows 95 Issues

Pretty Good Solitaire was developed on and intended for Windows 3.1.  However, the final stages of its development was in Windows 95, and it runs fine in Windows 95.  There are a few things Win95 users should be aware of, however.

If you run Win95 with a screen resolution of 800x600 or more, you should have no difficulties.  You may want to resize the game window to your liking.  I recommend setting the taskbar at the top or bottom of the screen.

Screen Resolution Issues

The main problems with Pretty Good Solitaire and Windows 95 occur at 640x480 resolution.  The problem is the taskbar, and how much valuable space it takes up.  This screen just ain't big enough for the both of 'em.  The taskbar will cause serious problems, particularly in La Belle Lucie and Shamrocks.  In these game especially, I recommend setting the taskbar on AutoHide.  In the other games, the taskbar is tolerable, but still, you can give yourself more space by getting rid of it.


Screen Resolution Issues

Pretty Good Solitaire was developed to run in 640x480 mode, except for those games in the 800x600 section.  However, if you run it in higher resolutions, you can resize the game window to make it bigger.  Pretty Good Solitaire will then adjust to the bigger window the first time you do a "New Game".  This will spread out the piles.  Pretty Good Solitaire will remember how big you made the window and always run at that size.

You can adjust the size of the game window at any time.  Pretty Good Solitaire will always adjust to a new window size after a "New Game".

Note: If you switch resolutions and play a game that was previously played at another resolution, you will need to "New Game" to get Pretty Good Solitaire to adjust to the new resolution.


Benefits
Benefits of Registration

The registration price for this program is only $12!   This program is shareware, and if you use it for longer than a 30 day evaluation period, you should register the program.  Supporting shareware development will result in better programs.

If you do register this program, this is what you will get for your money:

•	Instructions on how to register your copy of Pretty Good Solitaire and get rid of the registration notices.  (Instructions will be sent by e-mail if you specify an e-mail address; otherwise, they will be sent by regular mail).

•	Free upgrades to all future versions, if you have a Compuserve, America Online, Prodigy, or Microsoft Network account.  These upgrades will be sent by e-mail, so be sure to include your e-mail address on the registration form if you wish to take advantage of this benefit.

•	Technical support, via e-mail.

•	The eternal gratitude of the author.

You can register online on the Compuserve service by GO SWREG.  The registration number is #8322.  You will be sent the registration instructions by e-mail, as well as any future upgrades.

Registration Form


Registration Form

Pretty Good Solitaire 2.0a

Print out this form.  (To print, select Print from the File menu.)
Send this form along with a check for $12 to:

Thomas Warfield
1309 N Hershey Rd #8
Bloomington IL  61704  USA

You can register online on Compuserve: GO SWREG, registration #8322.

Name_________________________________

Address_______________________________

City__________________State_____Zip_____

E-Mail address__________________________
(if a Compuserve, Prodigy, America Online, or Microsoft Network account,
you will receive upgrades by  e-mail.)

Where did you hear about Pretty Good Solitaire?

______________________________________

Suggestions:

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

CIE207


How to Play

Klondike type

Canfield type

2 Deck games

800 x 600 games

Simple games

Miscellaneous games


Klondike type

Klondike

Yukon

EastHaven

Spiderette

Will o the Wisp

Scorpion


Klondike

Klondike is basic Windows solitaire.  28 cards are dealt into 7 tableau piles, the number of cards increasing from 1 to 7 as you go from left to right.  The top card of each pile is face up, the others face down.  There are 4 foundation piles above the tableau.  These foundation piles will be built up in suit from aces to kings.  The game is won if all 52 cards are moved to the foundations.  The rest of the cards go face down in the stock.

On the tableau, build down by opposite colors.  For example, a 5 of hearts could be played on a 6 of spades.  The top card, or any set of face up cards,  of any tableau pile is always available for play on other tableaus or the foundations.  A space made by clearing an entire pile can be filled only with a king (or a group of cards with a king on the bottom), if the KingOnly property in the Options menu is checked.  If this property is not checked, any card may be moved to an empty space.  When a face-down card becomes the top of a pile, it is turned face up.

Cards are turned up from the stock (by clicking on the stock) and placed in the waste pile, either one at a time or three at a time, depending on the rules setting in the Options menu.  When the stock is empty, click on the empty stock to move the cards in the waste pile back into the stock.  There is no limit on the number of times you can go through the deck.  (Note: in true Klondike, only one time through the deck is allowed)


Yukon

Yukon is a relative of Klondike, the Windows Solitaire game.  28 cards are dealt into 7 piles, the same as Klondike.  Then the remaining 24 cards are dealt face up in the rightmost 6 piles, 4 in each pile.

The 4 blank spots with the X's are the foundation piles.  The foundation piles are built up in suit from ace to king.  The game is won if all 52 cards are moved to the foundation piles.

The tableaus are built down by opposite colors.  For example, a red 6 can be dropped on a black 7 (no cards can be built on an ace).  Any face up card in the tableau may be built upon another, no matter how deep it is in a pile.  All cards covering it are moved together.  When a face down card is uncovered, it is automatically turned face up and is available for play.  Spaces created by moving an entire pile can be filled only with kings.

Tips: Uncover the face down cards as soon as possible.  Don't let one foundation get too far ahead of the others.


EastHaven

EastHaven is another variation on Klondike (as is Yukon).

There are 4 foundations at the top of the screen.  To win, build the foundations up in suit from Ace to King.  There are 7 tableau piles and 1 deck pile.  At the beginning of the game, 3 cards are dealt face down in each pile.  Then 1 card is dealt face up on each pile.  The tableaus are built down in alternating colors (as in Yukon).  For example, a black 5 can be played on a red 6.  Groups of cards in the tableau may be moved, as long as they form an descending sequence of alternating colors (different from Yukon).  When the KingOnly option in the OPTIONS menu is set, an empty space can only be filled by a king or a legal group of cards with a king at the bottom.  When KingOnly is not set, an empty space can be filled by any legal group of cards.  Whenever there are no more possible plays on the tableau, another group of 7 cards is dealt to the tableau by clicking on the deck above the tableaus.  One card from the deck is then placed face up on each tableau pile (note that this may block out the previous cards).  The last 3 cards of the deck are dealt to the first 3 tableau piles.

The difficult part of this game is that the new cards dealt can completely ruin the tableau.  Good luck.  Not checking the KingOnly option makes the game somewhat easier to win.


Spiderette

Spiderette is a cross between the popular games Klondike and Spider.  There are no foundations.  All building is done on the 7 tableau piles.  In regular Spiderette, 28 cards are dealt to the tableau as in Klondike.  The tableaus are built down in sequence, regardless of suit.  However, building down by suit is preferable.  The top card of each pile is always available for play on another pile, and multiple cards at the top of a pile that are of the same suit and down in sequence may also be moved as a unit.

A space created by moving an entire pile may be filled by any card or any legal group of cards.  Whenever there are no more possible plays, a row of 7 cards can be dealt to the tableaus by clicking on the face down card above the tableaus.  All empty piles must be filled before the deal.

The object of the game is to get all 13 cards of each suit in sequence in a pile.  Whenever the 13 cards of suit are assembled in sequence, the program will automatically remove them from play.  You win by getting all 52 cards removed.

Baby Spiderette

Since pure Spiderette is fairly difficult to win, the program offers a rules option that is easier to win.  To change the rules, select "Rules" from the Options menu.

Baby Spiderette is considerably easier than regular Spiderette.  In Baby Spiderette, the tableau is the same as regular Spiderette, as are all the rules except one.  In Baby Spiderette, you are allowed to move a group of cards as a block if they are in sequence regardless of suit.  In Spiderette, they must all be of the same suit.  This makes it easier to move cards around, and easier to win the game.


Will o the Wisp

Will o' the Wisp is a variation of Spiderette with exactly the same rules, except that 21 cards are dealt to the tableau at the beginning of the game instead of 28.  (The cards are dealt in the same fashion as EastHaven).  With fewer face down cards to clear, the game becomes slightly easier.

Spiderette


Scorpion

In Scorpion, 49 cards are dealt to the tableau in 7 piles.  In the first 4 piles, 3 cards are face down; in the others, all are face up.  The 3 remaining cards form the reserve, face down above the tableau.  There are no foundations.

The object of play is to manipulate the tableau into 4 piles, one for each suit, with the cards in sequence from king to ace.  The tableau piles are built down by suit; for example, a 10 of hearts can be played on a Jack of hearts.  Any card, regardless of where in a pile it is, can be moved, along with all cards above it (this is like Yukon).  A space created by moving an entire pile can only be filled with a King.  When a face-down card becomes the top card of a pile, it is turned face up.

Should there ever be no more possible moves, the 3 cards in the reserve can be dealt to the tableau by clicking on the reserve pile.  These 3 cards are dealt on top of the 3 leftmost tableau piles.  Play is then continued as before.  If no more moves are then possible, the game is lost.

Tip: it is imperative that the face down cards be uncovered as soon as possible.


Canfield type

Canfield

Storehouse

Duke


Canfield

Canfield is one of the most well known and popular Solitaire games.  13 cards are dealt to a pile called the reserve.  A 14th card is dealt above and to the right of the reserve.  This becomes the first of 4 foundation piles.  As cards of the same rank appear, they will be moved to the other 3 foundation piles.  (ie. if the first foundation pile started with a 5, the other three 5's will be moved to the other foundation piles as they appear).   The foundation piles will be built up in suit, wrapping around with Ace on top of King.  Below the foundations, 4 cards are dealt out to form 4 tableau piles.  The tableau piles are built down by opposite colors, wrapping around with King on top of Ace.  For example, in the tableaus a red 8 could be played on a black 9.  Entire tableau piles can be moved onto other tableau piles, if possible.

The remainder of the deck is placed face-down in the stock.  Stock cards are played (by clicking on the stock) either one or three at a time to the waste pile (depending on the Rules setting in the Option menu).  The top card of the wastepile is available for play on the tableaus or foundations.  Empty spaces in the tableau are filled from the reserve, or when the reserve is empty from the wastepile.

When the stock is empty, the wastepile can be moved back to the stock by clicking on the empty stock.  There is no limit on the number of times the stock can be run through.

The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.


Storehouse

Storehouse is a variation of the popular game Canfield.

The 4 twos in the deck are removed and put in a row.  These are the 4 foundation piles.  13 cards are dealt in a pile below the foundations, called the storehouse. A row of 4 cards are dealt below the foundations.  These are the 4 tableau piles.  The remainder of the deck is dealt face down to the stock, with the top card of the stock turned over for the waste pile.

The foundation piles are built up by suit, wrapping around Ace on top of King.   The tableau piles are built down by suit.  Spaces created in the tableau are immediately filled by the top card of the storehouse.  The top cards of the storehouse, tableaus, and wastepile are always available for play on the tableaus or foundations.

Turn over cards in the stock one at a time by clicking on the stock.  Two redeals are allowed.


Duke

Duke is related to Canfield.  To begin, 12 cards are dealt to 4 reserve piles (3 cards per pile).  Only the top card of each reserve pile is available.  Then 4 cards are dealt to 4 tableau piles.  The tableau piles are built down by alternate colors, as in Canfield.  As Aces become available, they are moved above the tableau piles to form the 4 foundation piles.  The foundation piles are built up in suit from Ace to King.  The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.

The remainder of the cards are placed face down in the stock.  The stock is turned over 1 card at a time to the wastepile.  The top card of the wastepile is always available for play on the foundations or tableau.  Fill spaces in the tableau from the reserve piles, or, when the reserves are empty, from the wastepile.  Multiple cards may be moved as a unit within the tableau piles.  There are two redeals.  To redeal, click on the empty stockpile.


2 Deck games

Busy Aces

Deuces

Threes Company

St. Helena

Rouge et Noir


Busy Aces

Busy Aces uses two decks of cards.  It is easy to play and fairly easy to win.
The eight foundations are across the top of the screen (with the X's).  To win the game, build the 8 foundations up in suit from Ace to King.

Below the foundations on the right are 12 tableau piles.  On the left (face down) is the deck and below that is the discard pile.  To play, turn over cards from the deck one by one to the discard pile by clicking on the face-down deck.  The top card of the discard pile is always available for play.  The top card may be moved from the discard pile to a tableau pile by dragging.  The tableau piles are built down by suit.  For example, a six of diamonds can go on top of a seven of diamonds.  Cards can be played from one tableau pile to another, if possible.  Play aces immediately to the foundations, as well as any other cards that are possible.  There is no reason to not play cards to the foundation.

When all 8 foundations are filled, the game is won.

Note: The AutoPlay feature will automatically play cards to the foundation, if possible.  This is a big time saving feature in this game.  However, you should be aware that there are situations where there are two possibililities for play on the foundations, since there are two decks.  There may be two eights of Spades, for example, that could be played on a certain foundation.  The AutoPlay function may not move the same eight to this spot that you might.


Deuces

Deuces is played with two decks.  It is very similar to Busy Aces.

At the beginning of the game, the eight 2's (the Deuces) are removed from the deck and placed in the middle of the screen, inside the box.  These are the 8 foundation piles.  They are to be built up in suit, with Aces as the highest card, above the Kings.  Ten cards are dealt around the foundation box.  These are the 10 tableau piles.  The tableaus are built down in suit (for example, a 4 of diamonds is played on a 5 of diamonds).  The remaining cards in the deck are dealt to the stock, and the first card in the stock is turned over to form the waste pile.  The top of the waste pile is always available for play on the tableau or foundations.  The top card of each tableau pile is always available for play on another tableau pile or the foundations.

Cards are turned up from the stock to the wastepile one at a time by clicking on the stock.  The game is won if all 104 cards can be played to the foundations.

Deuces is slightly harder to win than Busy Aces.  Although in the beginning the first card in each foundation is already played for you (unlike Busy Aces, where you must wait for all the aces to come out), because there are only 10 tableau piles rather than the 12 of Busy Aces, it is harder to win.


Threes Company

Three's Company is related to Busy Aces and Deuces.  It uses 2 decks of cards.  The eight 3's are removed and placed in 8 piles at the top of the screen.  These are the foundations.  The foundations are built up in suit, from the 3's up to King, then Ace, then 2.  The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.

Eight cards are dealt to 8 piles below the foundations to form the tableau.  The tableau piles are built down in suit.  The top card of any tableau pile may be moved to the foundations or another tableau pile.  In addition, any group of cards can be moved from one tableau pile to another.  Spaces in the tableau can be filled by any card.

The remainder of the cards are placed face down in the stock (at the bottom left).  The stock is turned over 1 card at a time to the wastepile.  The top card of the wastepile is always available for play on the foundations or tableaus.  There is no redeal.

Three's Company is more difficult to win than Deuces or Busy Aces.  Although multiple card moves are allowed in the tableau, there are fewer tableaus (8 compared to 10 for Deuces).


St Helena
St. Helena

St. Helena uses two decks.  First, one Ace and one King from each suit are removed from the deck and placed in the middle of the screen.  These form the beginnings of 8 foundations, 4 "King-foundations" and 4 "Ace-foundations".   The remaining 96 cards are dealt into 12 tableau piles circling the foundations.  Four piles are placed above the King-foundations, 4 piles below the Ace-foundations, and 2 on each side of the foundations.

The objective is to build the King-foundations down in suit to aces, and the Ace-foundations up in suit to Kings.  When all the cards are in the foundations, the game is won.

The top card of each tableau pile is always available for play on the foundations, with one exception: until the first redeal, cards from the piles above the King-foundations can only be played to the King-foundations, and cards from the piles below the Ace-foundations can only be played to the Ace-foundations.  Cards from the sides can be played anywhere, and after the first redeal, cards from any tableau pile can be played to any foundation.

The tableaus are built up or down in sequence, regardless of suit.  The top card of any tableau can be so moved to any other tableau.  For example, a 9 can be played on an 8, as can a 7.  However, only a Queen can be played on a King, and only a 2 can be played on an Ace.  An empty tableau pile cannot be filled.

Two redeals are allowed.  In a redeal the cards are not shuffled.  Rather, each tableau pile is picked up in counter-clockwise order, and then the cards are dealt back to each pile clockwise.  You cannot undo a redeal.


Rouge et Noir

Rouge et Noir uses 2 decks.  The 8 aces are removed and placed in a row to become the foundations.  These foundations will be built up in opposite colors to kings.  I repeat, in opposite colors!  Suits are meaningless.  This is different from most games.  The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.

Below the foundations a row of 8 cards is dealt, to become the tableau.  The tableau piles are built down by opposite colors.  A group of cards can be moved onto another pile, if possible.

The remainder of the deck is dealt to the stock pile.  The stock pile is turned over one card at a time (by clicking on the stock) onto the wastepile.  The top card of the wastepile is available for play on the tableaus or foundations.  There is no redeal.


800 x 600 games

Seahaven Towers

Spider

Forty Thieves


Seahaven Towers

Seahaven Towers is nearly identical to FreeCell.

FreeCell

The differences are: in Seahaven Towers there are 10 tableau piles instead of 8, and in Seahaven Towers the tableaus are built down in suit, rather than by opposite color.  Therefore, a 8 of spades can only have a 7 of spades played on it.  Also, the cells are in the middle of the screen at the top, and the foundations are split up on the two sides.


FreeCell

In FreeCell, the entire deck is dealt into 8 piles of cards, called the Tableau.  Above the tableau are 4 cells (marked with X's), and 4 foundation piles (to the right of the cells).  The object of the game is to build up the foundation piles from ace to king, one for each suit.  The first cards that go on the foundation are the aces, then a two of the same suit can be placed on an ace, and so on.  The game is won if all 52 cards are moved to the foundation piles.

The top card of any tableau pile can be moved to a foundation pile, if possible.  The top card of any tableau pile can also be moved to any cell.  Only one card is allowed at a time in a cell.  Cards in the cells can be moved to the foundation piles, if possible, or back to the tableau, if possible.

Only the top card of any tableau pile can be moved, unless there are enough empty cells or tableau piles that a group of cards could be moved individually.  In that case, the entire group can be moved at once as a shortcut.  Tableau piles are built down by alternating color. For example, a red 7 could be played on a black 8.


Spider

Spider is one of the classic two deck solitaire games.  54 cards are dealt in 10 piles, 6 cards to the first 4 piles, and 5 cards to the remaining piles.  Only the top card of each pile is face up.  The rest of the cards (50 of them) form the stock (at the upper left).

The 10 piles are both tableau and foundation piles.  The top card of each pile is always available.  Cards are built down, regardless of suit.  However, building down by suit is preferred.  Cards may be moved as a unit if they are in a proper downward sequence and are all of the same suit (groups of cards not of the same suit cannot be moved).  When all cards above a facedown card are moved, the card is turned face up.  A space made can be filled by any card or legal group of cards.

The objective is to group all the cards in sets of 13 cards, from King to Ace of the same suit.  Whenever such a group is formed in a pile, it is removed from play.  The game is won if all 8 sets can be removed from play.

Whenever play has come to a standstill, click on the stock.  1 card will be dealt on the top of each tableau pile.  All piles must have at least one card in them before you can do this.  When the stock is empty and you are unable to form the tableaus into sets of 13 cards of each suit, the game is lost.

Tips: Try to build in suit if possible.  Spaces should be made as soon as possible, and used to move cards into groups by suit.


Forty Thieves

Forty Thieves uses two decks.  Forty cards are dealt to 10 tableaus, 4 cards to a tableau.  Above the tableaus are 8 foundation piles.  When Aces become available, they will be moved to the foundation piles.  The foundation piles will be built up in suit from Ace to King.   The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.

The remainder of the cards form the stock (upper left corner).  The stock is turned over 1 card at a time to the waste pile.  The top card of the waste pile is always available for play on the foundations or tableau.  The tableau piles are built down in suit.  The top card of a tableau pile can be moved to the foundations or to another tableau pile.  Only one card at a time can be moved in the tableau.  A space in the tableau can be filled by any card.   There is no redeal.

Tips: Try to get a space in the tableau as quickly as possible.  This game is difficult to win.


Simple games

Golf

Fourteen Out

5 Piles

Perpetual Motion

Fortunes Favor


Golf

Golf is a very simple game to play, but difficult to win.  Seven piles of 5 cards each are dealt face up, forming the tableau.  One more card is dealt face up to become the waste pile.  The rest of the cards are dealt face down in the stock pile.

Only the top card of each pile is available.  To play, build in sequence either up or down regardless of suit on the waste pile.  For example, if the top of the waste pile is a 5, you can play either a 6 or a 4 on it.  The sequences do not "wrap around."  Only a 2 can be played on an ace, and nothing can be played on a king.

Whenever there are no possible plays, turn over a card in the stock by clicking on it.  This card goes to the waste pile.

The game is won if the tableau is cleared.  If the tableau is not cleared, the object is to leave as few cards as possible.

Tips: Work out your sequences in advance.  Be careful to save queens for kings, and twos for aces.


Fourteen Out

Fourteen Out is a simple game to play, and is fairly easy to win.  The entire deck is dealt face up into 12 piles (8 piles of 4 cards, 4 piles of 5 cards).  Only the top card of each pile is available for play.

The object of the game is to discard all the cards in pairs that total to 14.  For example, a king and an ace, a queen and a 2, or an 8 and a 6.  To remove a pair, pick up one card with the mouse and drop it on the other.

The game is won if the entire deck is discarded.


5 Piles

5 Piles is an easy game to play, but fairly difficult to win.  The deck is on the upper right of the screen.  At the beginning of the game, 5 cards are dealt, forming the 5 piles.  Any pair of cards out of these 5 whose values add to 13 can be discarded.  For example, a 10 and a 3 form a pair.  To discard them, drag one of the cards onto the other.  Kings are discarded singly.  To discards Kings, simply click on them.  When all possible pairs are discarded, deal another set of 5 cards onto the piles by clicking on the deck.  The last 2 cards in the deck form their own piles and can be discarded with cards from any of the 5 piles.

The game is won if all 52 cards are discarded.   The game will inform you if you win, or if you have no more possible moves.


Perpetual Motion

Perpetual Motion is a very simple game.  In fact, there is no strategy to it at all.  But totally mindless games have their uses.

In Perpetual Motion, the entire deck is placed in the stock pile (at the far right of the screen).  Four cards are dealt to form 4 tableau piles.  If any cards in the tableau have the same rank (such as, two of the cards are Jacks), the rightmost of the pair is moved on top of the leftmost (pick up the right card with the mouse and drop it on the left).  (Note: the Rules option in the Options menu allows you to choose between drag and drop and clicking.  If clicking is set, instead of dragging the card you want to move to the left, simply click on it.)  Once all possible pairs have been doubled up in this way, deal another row of 4 cards on top of the tableau by clicking on the face-down stock pile.

After all 52 cards in the deck have been dealt out and moved (if possible), click on the ReDeal button.  This starts a complicated process that puts all the cards once again back in the stock.  (note that the cards are not reshuffled, just picked up in a certain way).

Any time an entire row of 4 cards are of the same rank (4 Jacks, for example), click on one of the 4 cards.  The 4 cards are then removed from play.  The object of the game is to get the entire deck removed from play.


Fortunes Favor

Fortune's Favor is a simple game related to Busy Aces, except it uses only 1 deck.  The four Aces are removed from the deck and form the 4 foundation piles.  These foundations will be built up in suit to Kings.  The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.

Twelve cards are dealt to twelve piles to form the tableau.  The tableau piles are built down in suit.  One card at a time may be moved from the tableau to the foundations or another tableau.  The rest of the deck goes face down in the stock.  The stock is turned over 1 card at a time (by clicking) to the wastepile.  The top card of the wastepile is always available for play on the foundations or tableau.  This game is easy to win.


Miscellaneous games

FreeCell

Bakers Dozen

Four Seasons

Beleaguered Castle

Eagle Wing

La Belle Lucie

Shamrocks

Strategy


Dozen
Bakers Dozen

In Baker's Dozen, the entire deck is dealt into 13 piles of 4 cards each.  The 4 kings are immediately moved to the bottom of their piles.  The top card of each pile is available for play.

The 4 piles at the right of the screen are the foundation piles.  The foundation piles are built up in suit from ace to king.  The game is won when all 52 cards are  moved to the foundation piles.

The 13 tableau piles are built down regardless of suit.  For example, a 7 of hearts could be played on an 8 of diamonds.  Only one card at a time may be moved.  Any spaces left by removing an entire pile cannot be filled.

Tips: Don't let one foundation get too far ahead of the others.  Watch for piles that contain a lower card of a suit below a higher card of the same suit.


Four Seasons

A tableau of 5 cards in the shape of a cross are dealt.  The 6th card is dealt in the top left corner of the cross, becoming the first foundation.  The other 3 corners of the cross are the other foundations.  The remainder of the deck forms the stock (face down).

As the other 3 cards of the same rank as the first foundation card become available, place them in the other 3 corners.  Build the foundations up in rank by suit (with aces going on top of kings).  For example, a seven of spades goes on top of the six of spades.

Build the 5 tableau piles down by rank regardless of suit (with kings going on top of aces).  For example, a 5 of hearts could be played on a six of clubs.  The top card of each tableau is always available for play on any of the other tableaus or the foundations.  Fill any spaces in the tableau from any other tableau, or the stock.

Cards are turned up from the stock one at a time (by clicking on the stock) and can be played on either the tableau or foundations.  The top card of the stock is always available for play.

To move a card from the stock to the tableau drag the card with the mouse.  To move cards from a tableau to other tableau piles or to the foundations, again drag the card the with mouse.

There is no redeal of the stock.

The game is won if all cards are moved to the foundation piles.  Four Seasons is relatively difficult to win; perhaps only 1 hand in ten can be won.


Beleaguered Castle

In Beleaguered Castle, the 4 aces are removed from the deck and placed in a column, becoming the foundations.  The foundations are built up in suit to kings.  The game is won if all the cards are moved to the foundations.

The rest of the deck is dealt face up into 8 tableau piles of 6 cards each, 4 piles on either side of the foundations.  On the tableau, build down regardless of suit.  For example, any 8 could be played on any 9.  Only the top card of each pile is available for play.  A space created by moving all the cards in a pile can be filled by any available card.

Tips: Keep the foundations as even as possible.  Try to create a space as quickly as possible.


Eagle Wing

Some number of cards (13, 15, 17, 19 or 21, depending on the setting in the Options menu) are dealt face down into what is called the trunk (in the box in the center of the screen).  The top card of the trunk is turned face up.  Then 8 cards are dealt face up into what are called the "wings".  Finally, one card is dealt face up on the foundation (in the box at the top of the screen).

All cards of the same rank as the first foundation card are played to the other spaces in the foundation as soon as they become available.  The foundations are built up in suit until they contain 13 cards, aces wrapping around on top of kings.  To play card on the foundation, pick it up and drop it on the foundation with the mouse.

Any top card in the wings can be played to the foundation.  Cards can be placed on other cards in the wings if they are of the same suit and one lower in rank.  (For example, a 3 or hearts can be played on a 4 of hearts).  Kings wrap around on top of aces.  There is a limit of 3 cards in each wing.  To play a card on the wings, pick it up a drop it on the desired wing with the mouse.  Cards can be moved from one wing to another, if this is possible by the rules about suits and ranks, and if the 3 card limit is not exceeded.  Any open spaces in the wings are automatically filled from the trunk until the trunk is empty.  Then open spaces can be filled from the stock, wastepile, or other wings.

The remainder of the deck is placed in the stock at the bottom left of the screen. Click on the stock to move the top card to the wastepile.  The top card of the wastepile  is always available for play on the wings or foundation.

When the stock is empty, the wastepile can be redealt by clicking on the empty stock, assuming that a redeal is allowed.  The number of redeals is in the Options menu (none, 1, or 2).

The game is won if all 52 cards are placed on the foundation.

Eagle Wing can be very easy or very difficult depending on the settings.  A 13 card trunk with 2 redeals is fairly easy to win.  A 21 card trunk with no redeals is very difficult to win.  A happy medium, with a 17 card deck and 1 or 2 redeals, is generally the best to play.


La Belle Lucie

La Belle Lucie is a challenging game.  The entire deck is dealt face up into 17 groups (called fans) of 3 cards, with 1 card left over.  There are 4 foundation piles at the top of the screen.  To win, build the foundations up in suit from Ace to King.

Only the top card of each fan is available for play.  One card at a time can be moved from a fan to a foundation, or to another fan.  The fans are built down in suit.  For example, a 8 of spades can be played on a 9 of spades.  Spaces made by playing all the cards of a fan are not filled.  There are two ways to move cards between fans, depending on the settings under Rules in the Options menu.  If Drag and Drop is set, the cards are dragged with the mouse.  If Click is set, clicking on a card in a fan automatically moves it to the one other fan that it can move to.

There are two redeals.  After all possible plays have been made, redeal by clicking on the O in the upper left corner.  All the cards in the fans are reshuffled.  The foundations remain.  When the O becomes an X, there are no more redeals.
You cannot undo a redeal.

This game is tough.  Once you move a card onto a fan, the cards below are blocked until a redeal, unless they can be played to a foundation.  Kings block all cards below them as well.  Play cards to the foundation when they are available.


Shamrocks

Shamrocks is similar to La Belle Lucie, but is easier to win.  In Shamrocks, the deck is dealt exactly as in La Belle Lucie.  The objective of building the foundations up from Ace to King is the same.

La Belle Lucie

The play in the fans is different.  In Shamrocks, the fans or built either up OR down by sequence, regardless of suit.  For example, any 4 could be played on a 5, and so could any 6.  However, there is a limitation of 3 cards in any one fan at any one time.  Like La Belle Lucie, empty fans cannot be filled.  Unlike La Belle Lucie, there are no redeals.

The maximum of 3 cards in a fan means that at the beginning of the game, if no ace can be played to a foundation, and no card can be played on top of the single card, the position is blocked.   Also, in Shamrocks the foundations should be kept as even as possible; don't play cards to the foundation until necessary.


Strategy

   In Strategy, the entire deck is dealt one card at a time.  As Aces appear, they are put in the Foundation piles.  All other cards are placed on one of the 8 tableau piles.  Each card may be put in any pile.

   After all 52 cards have been dealt, the cards are then moved to the foundation piles in the following way:  Only the top of each tableau pile is available.  The foundations are built up in suit from the Ace up to the King.  If at any time no card can be placed on the foundation, you lose.   The game is won if all 52 cards are placed on the foundation.

   In effect, the entire game is played while dealing the deck and placing the cards on the tableau.  If any card is placed on a tableau pile that contains a card of the same suit and higher value, the game will be lost.  This is almost entirely a game of skill.

   To play the game:
   Initially all 52 cards are in the Deck pile.  To move the top card on the Deck to a tableau pile, simply click on that pile, or drag and drop the card on the desired pile.  Aces are automatically moved to the foundation piles for you as they come up in the deck.
   Once the last card is committed to a tableau pile, the program automatically plays the cards to the foundations for you.  If it can play all 52 cards, you win.  If not, it will stop and inform you of your loss.


Features

Select Random Game

Add New Player

Delete Current Player

Background Color

Game Statistics

Game Saving

Individual Game Features

New Game

Restart Game

Undo

Redo

Card Backs

King Only

AutoPlay


Select Random Game

The Select Random Game option selects one of the games at random to play.

Also, clicking on one of the icons inside the groups of games will select a game at random from within that group.


Add New Player

The Add New Player option adds a new player to the player list.  You will be asked for a name for the new player.


Delete Current Player

Delete Current Player deletes the currently selected player from the player list.  You will be asked to confirm the action.


Background Color

The Background Color option allows you to change the backgound color for each game.  Select the game in the box at the left and the current background color for that game will be shown.  To change the color for that game, click on the Change Color button.  To save your changes, click OK.  To abandon any changes, click Cancel.


Game Statistics

The Game Statistics option, when set, saves win and loss statistics for each game, for each player.  To see your statistics for an individual game, start the game and select Statistics from the Options menu.  You can reset the statistics at any time.

If you do not want statistics of your performance kept, simply unselect this option.  Your current statistics will remain, but no new results will be added until you select the option again.

Different player names can set this option individually.


Game Saving

The Game Saving option, when set, saves the game positions of every game upon exit.  This means that if you are interrupted during play, and exit the game, you can return to the same position the next time you play.

When this option is not set, the game positions are not saved.  Turning off the option will also delete all currently saved positions.

Different player names can set this option individually.


New Game

Selecting New Game from the Game menu will deal out a new deck.  If you are in the middle of a game and Game Statistics is on, a loss will be added to your statistics.


Restart Game

Selecting ReStart Game from the Game menu will start the current game over again from the beginning.  This will not affect your statistics.


Undo

Selecting Undo from the Options menu will undo the last move.  Moves can be undone back to the beginning of the game (of course, ReStart Game would be easier in this case).


Redo

Selecting Redo from the Options menu will replay any moves you have undone,  in case you change your mind.


Card Backs

Selecting Card Backs from the Options menu allows you to select between 6 different card backs.  Card Backs are only visible in games where some cards are face back.  A card back change will not go into effect until a new game is started.


King Only

By selecting King Only from the Options menu, you can only fill an empty tableau pile with a King.  With this not selected, any card can be placed in an empty tableau pile.


About

Pretty Good Solitaire 2.0a

Copyright © 1995, 1996 Tom Warfield  All Rights Reserved.

Thomas Warfield
1309 N Hershey Rd #8
Bloomington IL  61704  USA

Technical Support is available by e-mail to:  Tomstaaf1@aol.com (note the last character before the @ is a one) or on Compuserve: 75237,254.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Microsoft for Visual Basic 3.0, which allowed a humble programmer like myself to write games like this.  Thanks to Stephen Murphy for writing QCARD.DLL, the wonderful playing cards that this program uses.  Thanks to my beta testers: Michael Calligaro, Lorrita Morgan, Kevin McGillicuddy, Kevin Crowley, James Simpson and others.  And thanks to my primary tester, Diane.

Version History

Version 1.0 - released 7/19/95 - contained the original 5 games, FreeCell Towers, Baker's Dozen, Golf, Fourteen Out, and Yukon.

Version 1.1 - released 8/15/95 - bug fixes on FreeCell Towers, Baker's Dozen, and Yukon.  Five new games- Busy Aces, 5 Piles, EastHaven, La Belle Lucie, and St. Helena.

Version 1.2 - released 9/25/95 - added 5 new games- Spiderette, Eagle Wing, Deuces, Perpetual Motion, and Storehouse.

Version 2.0 - released 11/15/95 - complete re-write of all the games, collapsed all the games into one executable file, added 15 new games and many new features, such as player names and game saving on exit.

version 2.0a - released 2/17/96 - New feature: double-clicking on a card in the tableau automatically moves it to the foundation, if possible.   Fixed numerous bugs, including:
     * A bug that occurred when a game is won, played a 2nd time,  and won again. The second win wouldn't count in the statistics.
     * A bug in FreeCell and Seahaven Towers that allowed more than one card to be in a cell.
     * A bug in Fourteen Out that moved out a single 7 when clicked upon.
     * A bug involving redeals in Storehouse, Duke, and Eagle Wing.
     * Fixed an error that occurred when a card was dropped off the screen at the very top left corner.
     * A bug that occurred when people with very long names tried to register the program.
     * Scorpion has been redesigned to fix a few bugs and to add new features to make it a better game. It now has a KingOnly option that can make it easier to win.
     * A bug that under certain circumstances repeated the same game after a win.
     * Also, new files: DEUTSCH.WRI, a German (Deutsch) translation of the rules of each game, in Windows Write format, and new files FILE_ID.DIZ and VENDOR.DOC, files relating to distribution.

Vendor Information

Pretty Good Solitaire version 2.0a may be distributed via BBSs, online services, and the Internet, as long as all files (GOODSOL2.EXE, GOODSOL2.HLP, QCARD.DLL, CMDIALOG.VBX, and README.1ST) are present and unmodified.  It may be not be sold on diskette or CD-ROM, either alone or as part of a collection, without the permission of the author.  No fee or charge of any kind, not even a "distribution fee", may be made for this program when distributed by diskette or CD-ROM without the permission of the author.  Private individuals can copy and distribute the program on diskette as long as there is no charge for the program.  Diskette and CD-ROM vendors should direct inquiries to the author
at the postal or email addresses above.


Napoleon Solitaire

Napoleon Solitaire is a collection of Windows solitaire games based on the game Forty Thieves.  It contains Forty Thieves and 10 other variations on Forty Thieves, such as Rank and File, Indian, Number Ten, and more.  It also contains a Game Wizard that allows the user to create his or her own solitaire games by changing the rules.  Up to 900 different solitaire games can be created.  Look for Napoleon Solitaire in the same place you found Pretty Good Solitaire, or download it from the World Wide Web at http://users.aol.com/Tomstaaf1/pgs/napsol.html.

Napoleon Solitaire 1.0
by Tom Warfield
released January 1996
Registration price: $15
http://users.aol.com/Tomstaaf1/pgs/napsol.html