The object of Thirty-One is to collect cards in one suit and "knock" when you think you have more points than your opponents. All number cards of a suit are worth their stated values, with face cards being worth ten points and the ace is worth eleven. The player with three cards totaling the closest to 31 wins, excluding ties. You'll challenge three computer players in this C-128 version of the traditional card game.
Plug a joystick into port 2, then run the program using Menu 128. After the cards are shuffled, the dealer (who rotates from game to game) deals three cards to each player. The face-down Draw pile, containing the remainder of the deck, and the face-up Discard pile occupy the center of the table.
Each player starts with ten points and is eliminated after losing all of them. The last player with points left wins and receives a rating based on those points.
If you think you have a higher-point hand than the other players, you can "knock" at the beginning of your turn. However, you may not knock if another player already has in that round. Doing so will end your turn. Remember, only cards of the same suit are added into your score.
If you don't knock, you may draw a card from either of the piles. Move the joystick-controlled pointer to the pile you want and press the fire-button. Then, when the pointer jumps to the cards in your hand, choose a card to swap for the one you're drawing. If you don't want the drawn card, just point to the Discard pile and press the fire-button.
To get an idea which suits the computer players are saving, watch the on-screen pointer as they play. It will show which cards they choose and where they place them in their hands.
After a player knocks, the other players have one more round to improve their hands. Then the hands are totaled, all cards turned face-up, and the scores adjusted as follows: If the player who knocked wins, two points are subtracted from all the other players' scores; if the player who knocked loses or ties, two points are subtracted from the knocker's score.
Anytime a hand reaches 31 points, the player holding it automatically wins--even if someone has already knocked--and one point is subtracted from all the other players' scores. The reason for only one point is that getting 31 is less risky than knocking with less than 31.
If any player runs out of cards, a stalemate is declared, the scores are frozen, and a new hand is dealt.
Thirty-One actually consists of two programs, one that creates the cards and one that creates the action. To copy the game, use Menu 128 so you're sure both programs are on the new disk.
