Zaarkon
Introduction

Zaarkon is a 4 handed game that has attained popularity in the Calex quadrant of the Vraylon system.  The origin of the game is unknown, but there is speculation that it was derived from an old game on a planet in the Milky Way Galaxy.  Zaarkon includes the Two Up game and the Five Up game.

File Name

Zaarkon ver 1.00r0 Sept 24, 1997

Author

Zaarkon was written by Alexander Smoljanovic at Calex Software

You may direct questions, comments or requests to Alex Smoljanovic via E-Mail to smoljanovic@coolsite.net or beam a memo directly to the Calex Quadrant via Phoretic Co-Ordinates 'x2-y3 z1 smo8795'

Welcome  I hope you enjoy Zaarkon

Help is available for the following topics.

Game Play	Options

Music


Game Play

Description

Two Up:  Two cards are dealt face-up for each of the 4 players.  Players must complete all bet processing before the other 3 cards can be dealt.  The player with the best hand after the last cards are dealt wins all the Zorikon Units accumulated in the pot.

Five Up:  Five cards are initially dealt to each player.  Player 1 may hold any card by pressing the numeric key corresponding to the card or by clicking on the cards with the mouse.  New cards are dealt after all the bets have been processed.  The player with the best hand receives all the Zorikon Units in the pot.

Rules:

1) A Deuron is a set of 2 cards.  Each card must have the same numerical value.  There can be no other card in the hand of the same numerical value.  A hand containing 1 Deuron is better than a hand containing no sets.

2) A Double Deuron is a hand that contains 2 Deurons.  The numerical value in each set of 2 must be different.  A hand containing 2 Deurons is better than a hand containing only 1.

3) A Krozon is a set of 3 cards with the same numerical value.  No other set is present in a hand containing a Krozon.  A Krozon is better than a Dueron or Double Deuron.

4) A Sequenna is hand containing 5 cards in numerical sequence.  Example: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.  A  Sequenna is better than a Krozon.

5) A Flagon is a hand where all 5 cards contain the same symbol.  A Flagon is better than a Sequenna.

6) A Zorgon is hand containing a the equivalent of a Krozon and a Deuron.  A Zorgon is better than a Flagon.

8) A Sequenna Flagon is a combination of a Sequenna and a Flagon.  Example: 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 with each card having the same symbol.  A Sequenna Flagon is better than a Zorgon.

7) A Quatron is a hand containing 4 cards of the same numerical value.  A Quatron is better than a Sequenna Flagon.

9) A Regal Flagon is a combination of a Sequenna and a Flagon.  The numerical values must be:  5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 with each card having the same symbol.  A Regal Flagon is better than a Quatron.

10) A Pentron is a hand containing 5 cards with identical numerical value.  A pentron is better than all other hands.

Notes:

The deck contains 54 cards. The deck contains 6 suits with 9 cards per suit.  The odds of making a good hand are slightly different than the poker game played on earth.

Three separate compuholo entities pit their skills against the human opponent.  The human's task is to acquire all the Zorikon Units belonging to Krayton, Gormax and Xanor.

The game is over when the human has insufficient Zorikon Units to cover bets, or when Krayton, Gormax and Xanor have all lost their units.


Options

Description

The Options menu allows you to change the way the game plays and looks.  You may select to play either the Two Up game or the Five Up game.  You may change the color of the panels or the color of the text.  Five different wallpapers are available for a change of scenery.  Three different card backs are available.  Three-D effects may be turned on or off.  You have the option to deal the cards quickly or slide the cards in place.  The game comments may be turned on or off.  You have the option to play background Music during play.  You may change the required buy-in to 1Mega , 2Mega, 3Mega, 4Mega or 5Mega Zorikon Units.  You may change the Ante to 10Kilo, 20Kilo, 30Kilo, 40Kilo or 50Kilo Zorikon Units.  You may enable or disable a built-in Screen Saver, turn it on, or set it to automatically start between 1 and 90 minutes.  Zaarkon attempts to resize itself automatically during a resolution change in an effort to utilize maximum screen area.

All options are automatically saved.


Music

Description

Selecting Music opens up a midi player, or focuses on the player if already open.  The player allows you to select any midi files that are available on your PC.The background music is automatically looped.  Clicking the pause button temporarily stops play.  Clicking the stop button stops play and kills the midi player.  The player is minimized once play begins.