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                               Card Games
                          for DOS and Windows

                             by Tony Curro


                              FOUR SEASONS

Windows has a Solitaire card game. But, after playing it a few hundred
times, you realize it is the same thing. Randy Rasa has released several
solitaire card games that should keep your interest for quite some time.
They are reasonable priced, and if your order the three you get
discounts on two of them.

Four Seasons is the only Windows entry, but the DOS games will also run
through Windows using the enclosed PIF files.

Four Seasons is also known as "Corner Card," "Vanishing Cross," and I
remember it as "Four Corners." The game is simple to play, but requires
skill in card placement. There are many options to aid you in game play:
Move Alert, Hints, Undo (which is how  think the author achieves such
high scores!), Auto Move and others. You can also change background and
border colors, and even card back. Play practice games to get the feel
of Four Seasons; view Top Ten scores, session stats and more.

As you can see from the graphic you start with six cards dealt on a 9
card tableau. The Ace of hearts on the left is the start of your playing
hand.  The King is your starting card for this game. The King of Hearts
is placed in the upper left corner. Each time you play the game, the top
left has you starting card. In the three open corners you see a  small K
in a circle. This is to remind you of the first card that is placed in
these corners. In this game you build from King, Ace, Two, up to Queen.
If you started with a Two for example, you would build from 2,3,4 up to
Ace. For starters in this game you can place the Ace of Hearts on top of
the King of Hearts. The King of Diamonds can be placed on any of the
other three corners. The five spaces that form the cross are where you
build your cards from the deck. These are done in descending order. For
example on the Jack you would place a 10, 9, 8, 7, etc. These cards can
be of any suit. For example when you get a 4 in the deck, you place it
on the 5, and would move the 3 on top of the 4. If you then get a 2 you
place it on the 3, and then  move the Ace on top of it. When you get a
King of Clubs you would then move the Ace of Clubs on top of it. When
you have the Auto Move option selected it will light up when there is a
possible move to a corner. When all moves are exhausted it will gray
out.

You have two scoring options: Traditional and Challenge. The traditional
scoring is one point per card. Challenge scoring is 5 points per card
plus a 5 point bonus per card per run. For example say you have four
cards to place in one run. The first card is five points, second is ten
points, third is fifteen, and fourth is twenty points. The game is won,
or over, when you moved all card to the four corners, or have exhausted
all moves.



                            SOLITAIRE SUITE

Solitaire Suite is a set of seven card games that include:

* Concentration -- Object is to match sets of cards in the fewest moves,
until are removed.

* Calculation -- This is one of my favorite games. The game starts with
four cards face up: A, 2, 3, 4. There are four columns for you to place
cards. The object is to place cards on the original four cards
incrementing the card by the starting card. For example the Ace column
gets 2, 3, 4, etc., all cards incremented by one. The second column is
in twos: 2, 4, 6, etc. The next is added by three, and the last by four.
It is an easy game to grasp, but not easy to win. Several factors come
into play, chiefly the deal, and the placement on the tableau. Many
times you have to think several moves ahead and place the cards
strategically.  For example on the last card, the 4 is present. You then
place, 8, Q, 3, 7, J. If you are dealt a Jack and place it on the
playing field, you then try to place a 7, 3, etc., so that you can clear
this column up. The game is challenging, frustrating, but a heck of a
lot of fun.

* Idiot's Delight -- Also known as 'Aces Up.'

* Midnight Oil -- AKA 'LaBelle Lucie' or 'Three Shuffles and a Draw.'
This is another of my favorites. As one of the aliases implies, you can
deal the deck three times and draw one card at any time. The cards are
dealt face up in threes. You can only move the top card of any set. The
object is to build four foundations starting with Ace and going to King.
Cards can be moved or 'built' onto other cards. For example the top card
in three sets is: 10, 8 and 9 of diamonds. You can move the 9 on top of
10 to free the card below the nine. Subsequently you can move the 8 on
top of the nine to free up the card below it. However, if you place the
eight on top of the nine first, you CANNOT then move both onto the ten.
The game requires strategy and concentration, many times thinking
several moves ahead to see what advantage can be derived from a move, if
any.

* Monte Carlo -- You have a tableau of 25 cards (5x5). You must remove
pairs of cards of the same rank: eg. pair of Jacks, pair of 8's, etc.
The cards must abut each other, regardless of direction.

* Osmosis -- AKA 'Treasure Trove.'

* Royal Cotillion -- Object is to build four pairs of foundations up in
suits of 2, with left starting at Ace and ending with Queen, and right
going from 2 to King.



                            SIMPLE PLEASURES

Simple Pleasures is another set of eight card games. These games range
from 10's to 17's. Object is straight forward for each. Depending the
game, you remove one, two, or three cards that add up to the name of the
game. For example for 10's you can remove two cards that total 10.
Picture and 10 cards must be removed in sets of four. Each game is
different in the regard that in some the cards can be anywhere on the
tableau, while in others they must abut, and some have different point
values for the picture cards.

All games feature: on-line help, statistics, color changes, sound, and
other features mentioned in Four Seasons. All the options can be
disabled by the user. They also feature an AutoPlay or AutoMove mode. As
I mentioned, if you register Solitaire Suite, you can get $5.00 off each
of the others. Look for: FS102.ZIP, SS107.ZIP, SP107.ZIP


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

* All games require EGA, VGA or higher and a mouse.



Product Information


Solitaire Suite -- $15.

Simple Pleasure -- $15. (10. when registered with Sol. Suite)

Four Seasons/Win -- $10. (5. with Sol. Suite)


Randy Rasa
18215 Troost
Olathe, KS 66062-9208

BBS Support and latest versions
913-492-2739
