Copyright: The Softgame Company of Vermont


Aspects
Other aspects of solitaire.

Besides building cards and types piles, there are several other aspects one needs to know.

Here is a list of these other rules.

  1. Spaces made by emptying a pile can have varying rules.  No fill, King fill, any card or specific card are some examples.

  2. Piles can be re-dealt, once, twice or infinitely.

  3. Piles have size restrictions.  One card or three card size restrictions are common.

  4. Cards can be moved in groups of built sequences, such as same suit or different color.

  5. Piles must be empty before playing cards to other piles.

  6. Piles automatically fill spaces in other piles.

  7. Piles are clicked to deal cards to other piles.

  8. Automatic removal of any full straight or suite to the foundations.

  9. Piles are sorted by rank.

10. Kings are automatically placed at the bottoms of their piles.

11. Different ranks can be high, such as Aces or Queens.  In some games it is random.

12. Three cards at a time are dealt when going through the stock.


Building
Types of building.

Piles can be built in several different ways.

The two main components of building is by rank and by suit (or color).

Building by rank:

1. Building up, down or both directions.

2. Wrapping Ace/King.

3. Building by twos, threes or fours

Building by suit:

1. Building by same suit.

2. Building by different suit.

3. Building by opposite color.


Card counter
The card counter.

The card counter displays all cards in the Tableau or Stock that are still face down (not visible).

The cards are displayed in sorted order so the actual locations of the cards are unknown.

A grid is used with rank being displayed horizontally and suit vertically.

Card counter grid:

  A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 J Q K

S|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

H|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

D|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

C|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

There is a menu attached to this window that allows one to count the stock instead of the tableau.

The card counter counts cards in one and two deck games only.


Database and graph
Game database management.

One can manage the player log file here.

1. Open/create player is used to open or create a new player log file.

2. Game graph shows a win/loss percentage graph for the last 100 games.

3. Game database allows one to go back to previously attempted games and to comment on them.

   A. A description can be selected for each game.

   B. Double click on a seed in the seed list to go to a previously played game.

4. Player statistics brings up a list of statistics for every game played.  They can be sorted either ascending or descending in five ways.  Press the buttons above the column to sort.

   A. Game name sorts in alphabetical order.

   B. Total sorts by amount of games played.

   C. Won sorts by games won.

   D. Lost sorts by games lost.

   E. Percentage sorts by win/loss percentage.


Groups
Removing groups of cards.

Some games require selecting a group of cards and discarding them to a waste pile.

1. Two of a kind.

2. Four of a kind.

3. Any King, Queen and Jack combination.

4. Any pair of cards whose total ranks add up to a specific total.  Usually eleven, thirteen or fourteen are used.

5. Any groups of cards whose total ranks add up to fifteen.


Keyboard
Keyboard usage.

1. The A key will attempt to automatically play all cards as possible to the foundations.

2. The S key will attempt to play one card to the foundations.

3. The U key will undo the last play made.

4. The R key will redo the last undo.

5. The N key will pick a random game seed and reshuffle.

6. The Up arrow key will step the game seed up and reshuffle.

7. The Down arrow key will step the game seed down and reshuffle.

8. The Left arrow key will deal the previous game.

9. The Right arrow key will deal the next game.


Menus
Using the menus.

1. File menu.

    A. Selecting games and shuffles.

    B. Saving and loading games.

2. Options menu.

    A. Making game play easier.

    B. Customizing favorite gams.

    C. Preferences.

3. Player menu.

4. Tournament menu.

5. Help menu.


Mouse
Using the mouse.

1. Left button click.

    A. Manually dealing cards to other piles.

    B. Flipping face down cards over.

    C. Re-dealing layouts

.

2. Left button click and drag.

    A. To move cards from pile to pile.  If a move is valid, the destination card will darken.  If not, the card will return to its original location.

3. Right button click.  One of the following can be chosen in preferences.

    A. To attempt to play the top card in the selected pile to the foundations.

    B. To display quick rules for the selected pile.

    C. To edit the layout for personal preference.


Game helpers
Game play helpers.

Hopefully these features will make playing the tough games easier and more enjoyable.

1. Select undo/redo position allows one to go directly to a position in the game.  Very powerful feature!

2. Snapshot position saves a position in the game that one can return to at any time.

3. Return to snapshot returns to the last snapshot position.

4. Show all cards allows one to see face down cards as well as face up.  The face down cards will be grayed.

5. Card counter displays a diagram of face down cards.


Piles
The different pile types in solitaire.

Piles come in five basic types.

Not all games have all types of piles, but games can contain several of one type of pile.

1. Foundation piles are the final destinations for cards.  Fill these piles to win the game.

2. Tableau piles are where building occurs.

3. Waste piles is where unplayable cards are stored.

4. Stock piles are where the undealt cards go.  These cards are played to other piles.

5. Reserve piles are temporary storage areas for cards.


Preferences
Preferences.

The preferences box allows plenty of flexibility for the player.

There are a few "cheat" options too.

  1. Display prompt turns confirmation prompts on or off.

  2. Allow display all cards lets the player disable the display all cards feature.

  3. Allow card counter lets the player disable the card counter feature.

  4. Allow undo/redo lets the player disable undo/redo.

  5. Display game seed allows the player to turn game seed display on or off.

  6. Allow deal three lets the player to disable the deal three option.  Only one card at a time will be dealt instead of three.

  7. Allow unlimited re-deals lets the player have unlimited re-deals even if only one or two are normally allowed.

  8. Enable sounds turns sound effects on or off.

  9. Show pile sizes will display the amount of cards in each pile.

10. Automatic play will allow Funsol97 to attempt to play cards to the foundations every time a card is moved.

11. Card back will allow the player to change card backs.

12. Table back will allow the player to choose table backgrounds.

13. Processor speed will determine how fast cards are animated when they are automatically moved or dealt.

14. Right button allows the player to choose how the right mouse button is used.


Tips
Tips on playing solitaire games.

Playing solitaire games is actually very simple.

Getting adept at it is the hard (but fun) part.

1. The different pile types in solitaire

2. Types of building.

3. Other aspects of solitaire.


Using
Using the Funsol97 Program.

Funsol97 is easy to learn and use.

No tricks here.  Just click, drag, press and enjoy.

1. Using the menus.

2. Using the mouse.

3. Using the buttons.

4. Using the keyboard.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Funsol97 will save the last game in progress when one exits.  This includes all undo/redo positions.

Funsol97 will switch to a smaller deck if a layout does not fit in a window.  Try enlarging the window to see the larger cards.


Welcome
Welcome to Funsol97 (tm).

We hope you enjoy Funsol97 solitaire.

This help menu should answer most questions about this card game.

  1. Information on using the menus, mouse, buttons and keyboard.

  2. Tips on playing solitaire games.

  3. Editing Funsol97 games.

  4. The status bar.

  4. Customizing favorite games.

  5. Playing tournaments.

  6. Player database management.

  7. Making game play easier.

  8. Setting preferences.

  9. Selecting the games and shuffles.

10. Saving and loading games.


Status bar
Status bar.

The status bar displays important information for Funsol97.

1. The score for the current game is displayed.  The amount of money won is also shown.

2. The status of the current game is shown.

   A. New game means the game has not been tried.

   B. Not finished means the game has been tried but not won.

   C. Game won means the game has been won.

3. The play number of the current game is shown.  This counts how many moves have been made.  Redo will lower the number.

4. If the display seed option is selected in preferences the current game seed is shown.

5. The name of the current log file is displayed.

6. Any error messages or notices will be displayed in white for a few seconds.


Saving and loading
Saving and reloading games.

One can return to a game at a later time by saving a game in progress and reloading it later.

Funsol97 automatically saves the current game when one exits.

1. Open game file allows one to load any previously saved Funsol97 game.

2. Save game file will save the current game, prompting for a name if none exists.

3. Save as game will always prompt for a new file name.


Favorite
Customizing favorite games.

One can have up to 20 favorite games.

Select the button that is to be changed.

Select the new game to assign to the button from the game list.


Selecting games
Selecting games and shuffles.

There are several ways to select games and shuffles in Funsol97.

Game selection:

1. Select game brings up a dialog with a list of games.  One can categorize the games by pressing the category buttons.

    A. All games shows every game.

    B. One decks games shows all one deck games.

    C. Two deck games shows all two deck games.

    D. Four deck games shows all four deck games.

    E. Pairing games show all games that require one to discard groups of cards.

    F. Re-dealable games shows all games than have at least one redeal.

    G. Special games show games that are played differently than conventional solitaire.

2. Restart game will restart the same game.

3. Favorite games will bring up the favorite games dialog.

4. Random game will play a random game.

5. Previous game will go to the previous game alphabetically.

6. Next game will go to the next game alphabetically.

Shuffle selection:

1. New shuffle will select a random game seed and reshuffle.

2. Select shuffle will allow one to select their own game seed.

3. Previous shuffle will increment the game seed by one and reshuffle.

4. Next shuffle will decrement the game seed by one and reshuffle.


Buttons
Using the buttons.

Some of the most common features of Funsol97 are accessible via buttons in the toolbar.

1. Undo will undo the last move.

2. Redo will redo the last undo.

3. Auto will automatically play all possible cards to foundations.

4. Step will attempt to play one card to the foundations.

5. New will select a new random shuffle.

6. Rules will bring up rules for the current game.


Tournament
Tournaments.

If one has several favorite games, they can set up their own tournament.

1. Tournament manager brings up the tournament manager dialog.

   A.  Select a tournament from the tournament drop down list.

   B. One can double click the main game list to add games to the tournament.

   C. One can double click the tournament game list to remove games from a tournament.

   D. To add a new tournament, type a new name in the tournament list and press add new tournament.

   E. To play the tournament press play this tournament.

2. Tournament results brings up a list of scores for the currently selected tournament.

3. Start tournament starts the currently selected tournament with the first game in the tournament.

4. End tournament ends the tournament.

5. Next tournament game proceeds to the next game in the tournament.

6. Previous tournament game goes back to the previous game in the tournament.


Help
Help.

1. Rules displays rules for the current game.

2. Contents brings up this help file.

3. Owner brings up a personalized owner screen.  (Registered version only)

4. About brings up a credits box for Funsol97.


Editor
The layout editor.

1. To make your own layout, make sure the right mouse button is set to "Edit pile" in preferences.

2. Each individual pile can be edited.  To change a pile click and hold the right mouse button over the pile you want to edit.

3. Drag the pile around to the desired location in the layout.  The screen will automatically center and size itself to fit the piles on the screen

4. Press the left mouse button (keeping the right mouse button pressed as well) to change the direction of the pile.

5. There are four direction choices:

    A. No direction at all.

    B. Horizontal.

    C. Vertical.

    D. Size indicator.  (grows thicker when it fills, grows thinner when it empties)

6. The editor will rotate through the four choices each time the left button is pressed.  (remember to keep the right mouse button held down at all times)

7. The layout is saved automatically!  Take caution while editing!  Be careful not to 'hide' piles under each other.