Copyright: Lucky Stars ®1994-95 Ultimate Software


CONTENTS
Lucky Stars Video Slots

Copyright ©1994, 1995 by Ultimate Software

Introduction

Registration

Placing Bets

Borrowing Credits

Payoffs

Bonuses

Double or Nothing

Program Settings

Loading/Saving Games

Statistics

Strategy

Programming Credits


Introduction

Lucky Stars is a new video slot machine game by Ultimate Software, the makers of the very popular Cherry Delight Video Slot game.  You will really love the stars in the Lucky Stars game; the stars are wild!

Lucky Stars is not your grandmother's slot machine!  Lucky Stars is a realistic simulation of the new breed of video slot machines sweeping the U.S.  Unlike traditional slot machines, Lucky Stars has nine separate spinning wheels.  This results in eight separate pay lines.  There are also a variety of bonuses that actually bring strategy to slot machine play.  The graphics are beautiful, and the wheels really look like they are spinning.  Also includes a double-or-nothing high/low card game option which you may choose to play after a winning spin.

A pay line (sometimes called a win line) consists of the symbols showing on three wheels in a row.  There are eight separate pay lines in Lucky Stars.  Starting on the left side, the first pay line is the top-left, top-middle, and top-right wheels (in that order).  The next row is the second pay line.  The bottom row is the third pay line.  The fourth pay line starts at the top-left wheel and includes the middle-left and bottom-left wheels.  The fifth pay line is the middle column, and the sixth payline is the right-most column.  The seventh payline runs from the top-left wheel down and diagonal to the right and includes the center wheel and bottom-right wheel.  The eigth payline runs diagonally from the bottom-left wheel, through the center wheel to the top-right wheel.

After you place your bet (See Placing Bets), you click on the SPIN button (or press Enter) to spin the wheel.  If your spin produces one or more winning lines, a new window will appear to tell you how and what you won.  To see the payoffs, choose PAYOFFS from the HELP menu.


Registration

If you have purchased the registered version of Lucky Stars Video Slots, then let us thank you for your support!  You will notice that the registered version has many enhancements and additional features not available in the shareware version.  We hope that Lucky Stars brings you many hours of enjoyment.

If you are using the shareware version of Lucky Stars, then we would like to thank you, too, for trying it out.  We also need to remind you that this is copyrighted software released as shareware.  Shareware allows you to try out a program before buying it.  Millions have purchased software through this marketing method.  Isn't nice to be sure you like a program before buying it?

You are granted a limited licence to evaluate this product for up to 30 days.  If you will be using this program after 30 days, you must register it with Ultimate Software.  Using this software beyond 30 days without registering it is a serious copyright violation.  Besides the moral and legal reasons to register this program, you will find that registration is quite a bargain.  You not only gain the right to continue using the software, but you get several product enhancements.  Included in the registered version are game save and load options, unlimited credits, additional sounds, a double-or-nothing card game, an autoplay option, a game statistics window, and the removal of the sometimes annoying shareware reminders).

Pricing

Lucky Stars registration is only $20.

Order Info

Payment:                Check or Money Order (US funds drawn on US bank)
                              VISA, MasterCard

Send you order to:
                              Ultimate Software
                              PO Box 5015
                              Central Point, OR 97502
                              USA

Or order by phone:
                              USA/Canada  1-800-925-3147
                              International   1-503-857-9229
                              FAX               1-503-734-3267

On-Line:
                              America On-Line:  ultisoft
                              CompuServe:        71203,1301
                              Internet:               ultisoft@mind.net
                              Home Page:         http://www.softsite.com


Placing Bets

To place a bet, click on either the BET 1 or BET 8 button.  Bets are made from line one to line eight.  You can bet one more credit on line one than line two, but you cannot bet a third credit on line one until all lines have at least two credits.  If you click on Bet 8, all lines receive one more credit.  The maximum bet is eight credits per line (a total of 64 credits).

For payoffs each line is played separately.  The amount shown on the payoff chart for a particular line shows the amount won per credit bet on that line.  For example, three cherries on one line pays ten.  That's ten times the amount bet on that line.

If you only bet four credits, that would be a bet of only one credit for lines one through four (with nothing on lines five through eight).  If line seven was a winner, but you bet fewer than seven credits, you wouldn't win anything on that line.  You can only win on lines you bet on.  Also, you are eligible to add to or win the pool or bonus spins if you bet at least eight credits.


Borrowing Credits

You can add to your credits by borrowing.  You can borrow as many credits as you need in increments of 1000 by selecting BORROW CREDITS from the SETTINGS menu.

Please note that the statistics window does take into account the number of credits borrowed.  In other words there is a difference between "won" and borrowed credits.  Also, the credits you start with are considered borrowed.


Payoffs

There are two kinds of payoffs, winning pay lines and screen bonuses.

Paylines

As explained in the introduction, paylines are made up of the symbols showing on a line of three wheels.  With the exception of cherries, for a pay line to be a winner, all the symbols showing on that line must be the same (please note that the stars are wild and will "become" the symbol which results in the best possible win line).  To see the payoff amounts for each "kind" of match, select PAYOFFS from the HELP menu (within the program).

Cherries pay if you get three in one line, and pay lessor amounts if the first symbol (or first two) are cherries.  Just having a cherry in the line is not enough, it must be on the first wheel in the line.  Two cherries pay more than one.  Lemons are worthless.  Three lemons pays nothing.

The wheels in the normal game are different than those in the bonus game (bonus spins).  Also, the wheels themselves are different (have a different mix of symbols on them).

Screen Bonuses

If you win the pool, it is listed on the payoff screen under "Screen Bonuses."

Bonuses


Bonuses

In addition to winning on any of the eight paylines, you can also win credits by achieving one of the two bonuses mentioned below.

Pool

There is a pool that can be won by three times getting a win line with all lightning.  Each time you get a line with all lightning, one lightning graphic is removed from the left side of the screen.  The pool is increased during regular play by getting stars on any of the slot wheels.  Each star on the screen adds three credits to the pool.  When you win the pool, the amount of the pool is added to your total credits, and the pool total is reset to zero.

Bonus Spins

You get three free bonus spins when you remove the fruit from the upper-left corner.  A new game begins with one watermelon, two apples, and three grapes graphics.  When you get a win line with all three wheels being all of one kind (like three grapes), the corresponding fruit is removed.  When all the fruit graphics are removed, the screen changes color, and you will receive three free bonus spins.  The game will spin automatically for you.  Not every bonus spin will win, but the spins that do win may be quite large.  The amount won will be based on the amount bet on the last normal spin.  This is where strategy plays a role--you may want to increase your bet when you are close to earning bonus spins.  After the three bonus spins occur, the screen will return to its normal color and the fruit graphics will be reset.

There are special wheels (different than the normal wheels) for the bonus spins.  The symbols on these wheels are Stars, 3-Bars, 2-Bars, 1-Bars, and blanks.  Blanks pay nothing.  Pay lines with all of one symbol (example all 2-Bars) win you credits.  Also, you win if you get a pay line with all bars (three bars which are not all the same).  As always, stars are wild.  See Payoffs for more about pay lines and payoffs.

Payoffs


Double or Nothing

After a winning spin, you have the option to either TAKE your winnings or try to DOUBLE them.  If you click on the DOUBLE button, a high/low card game appears.  This is a double-or-nothing game.  You can continue to play this game until you lose or choose to take your winnings back to the normal game.

The object of the game is to examine the cards already dealt and guess whether the next card (the card face down) is higher or lower than seven.  If you guess correctly, your wager is doubled.  If you are incorrect, or if the card is a seven, you lose your wager.  Your wager starts as the amount you just won on the slot machine.  If you choose to play this game, you wager all your winnings from the previous slot machine spin.  Each time you win, your wager is doubled.  You can stop at any time by clicking the TAKE button.  This will return you to the slot machine.  If you lose, you lose your entire wager.

At the beginning of this game six cards appear at the bottom of the screen.  They are the first six cards of the newly shuffled deck dealt face up.  Use them to help you choose your course of action.  If most of the cards are above seven, your best bet is to guess that the next card will be below seven.  If they are mostly below seven, you probably want to guess that the next card is above seven.


Program Settings

You can select the following options from the SETTINGS menu.

Autoplay

Sound

Speed


Autoplay

To go into autoplay mode, select AUTOPLAY from the SETTINGS menu.

When you are in autoplay mode, the game plays automatically.  Before each spin, the game automatically bets the same amount that you last bet before going into autoplay mode.  You can leave autoplay mode (and return to normal play) by again choosing AUTOPLAY from the SETTINGS menu.

Why would you like go into autoplay anyway?  You may not.  However, you may find it interesting to let the game play on its own for several hours and then check the statistics window to get a feel for the overall payout.  The game will continue to play if you minimize the Lucky Stars screen.  It will also play faster (and without sound) when minimized.

During normal play, you cannot place a bet if you are out of credits.  To place an additional bet, you would need to borrow additional credits.  When in autoplay mode, the game will continue to bet and spin even if credits fall below zero.  If your credits fall below zero during autoplay, you can borrow enough credits to bring the total above zero when you return to normal play.


Sound

To turn the sound off (or back on), select SOUND from the SETTINGS menu.  When sound is on, a check mark will appear next to SOUND on he SETTINGS menu.


Speed

The default speed setting is fast, but you can adjust it to suit your tastes (or computer speed).  To change the speed setting, select SPEED from the SETTINGS menu.  Then select the speed setting you desire.  The current speed setting will be noted by a check mark.

The one speed setting which requires a brief description is the ALL STOP setting.  This is the fastest setting, and you should probably use it if the game is running too slow on your computer.  With the other speed settings, the wheels spin for a different period of time and stop in order from the top-left wheel to the bottom-right wheel.  Unlike the other settings, ALL STOP causes all the wheels to stop at the same time.  The outcome is the same, but the visual effect (and time required) is different.


LOADING GAMES
Loading/Saving Games

Saving Games

To save a game, select SAVE from the FILE menu.  In the window that appears, select a game slot to save your game to (any slot except the one labeled SETTINGS).  You can change the name of your game by editing the name in the text box at the upper-right corner of the window.  Then click on the SAVE buttom to save your game.  Saving your game saves both your balances (credits, amount borrowed, won/lost, bonuses paid, etc.) as well as your settings (last bet, and speed).

IMPORTANT!
Do not save a game to the slot labeled SETTINGS.  This is the place to store your default settings (those that take effect when you select NEW GAME).  To change the default settings, choose NEW GAME from the FILE menu.  Then change your settings.  You can even place a bet (BUT DON'T SPIN!).  You can also borrow credits if you wish to begin new games with over 1000 credits.  After you have made your changes, then select SAVE from the FILE menu.  Now click on SETTINGS and then click on SAVE to permanently change your default settings.

Loading Games

To load a previously saved game, select LOAD from the FILE menu.  This will bring up a LOAD GAME window.  Select the game you wish to load and click on LOAD.

To begin a new game, select NEW GAME from the FILE menu.  This will begin a new game according to the default settings.  When you first run the program, it automatically begins a new game, or you can load a previously saved game.


Statistics

To view the statistics for the current game, select STATISTICS from the FILE menu.

The statistics window displays the number of spins (not counting the bonus spins), credits, amount borrowed, amount wagered (the total amount of the bets placed on all your spins), amount won/lost, bonuses won (Bonus Spins and Pools won), the normal payout percentage (without bonuses won), and the overall payout percentage.


Strategy

Slots machines are a lot of fun because they are so unpredictable.  Winning on a traditional slot machine is mostly based on luck--not skill.

Lucky Stars does offer some opportunity for strategy/skill because you are allowed to vary your bet to such a large degree.  Since the bonus spins are so lucrative, their payout is based on your last bet, and because you know that you are more likely to get one when you only need one more of the fruits removed for the bonus spins, why not increase your bet SUBSTANTIALLY when you are close to earning a bonus spins!

You should always bet at least eight credits to be eligible for the bonuses.  Betting fewer than eight would lower your odds significantly.  Then when you only need to remove one more fruit for the bonus, start betting 64 credits.  This way you get three spins--all based on your 64 credit bet.


Programming Credits

Lucky Stars Video Slots is Copyrighted ©1994, 1995 by Ultimate Software

Programming:  Mike Comish

Testing:  Matthew Roland, Patricia Smith

Special Thanks:  We wish to thank Stephen Murphy for his fantastic
                          QCARD playing cards library.  It was used for the
                          high/low card double-or-nothing game in the
                          registered version.