CLUB 100 Library - 415/939-1246 BBS, 937-5039 NEWSLETTER, 932-8856 VOICE "Four Seasons" is a solitaire game that is usually played with a deck of 52 cards. Once the deck is shuffled, the five top cards are dealt into a "tableau" is follows: . CARD . CARD CARD CARD . CARD The next card is dealt into the upper left-hand corner, and it becomes the first card of the "foundation." Foundations are built up in suit and in sequence. For example, if the first card is a 5, the foundation can be built up in the sequence 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, and 4. The first foundation card dealt into the upper left-hand corner determines the rank of the foundation. Only a card of the same rank can be played on an empty foundation position. For example, if the first foundation card dealt was a 5 of hearts, the only cards that may be played in the remaining three empty foundation positions would be the 5 of diamonds, the 5 of spades, or the 5 of clubs. Once the initial cards are dealt, the play begins. Each card in the deck is turned up one at a time. A card may be: * Built on a foundation in suit and in ascending order * Built on the tableau in decending order, regardless of suit * Placed on top of a discard pile The top card of the discard pile is always for play on the tableau or on any of the foundations. The top card of each tableau may also be played on another tableau or on a foundation. Spaces in the tableau must be filled by a card from the tableau, the hand, or from the discard pile. You win if all the cards are moved onto the foundation. USING THE PROGRAM When you run the program, you will first see the message: Initializing - be patient... In a few seconds, you will see the prompt: Keep cumulative score? Type Y of y if you want to record your wins and losses in a file of cumulative scores; otherwise type N or n. If you decide to keep your cumulative scored, they will be stored in a file called FOURSC.DO. The screen will then be cleared and the message: Shuffling - be patient... will be displayed. After a few seconds the computer will display the tableau, the first foundation card, and the first card from the hand. The cards from the hand are automatically placed on the discard pile for viewing. For example: . AC 3D . 2D 9S 4H .PLAY? 9H . 45 Cards Left KD A To the right of the discard pile the rank of the foundation is displayed. Recall that only a card of similar rank may be played in an empty foundation. At the left side of the screen, you will see the message: PLAY? 45 Cards Left You may type in one of the following: H or h .... To get a new card (Hit) M or m .... To move a card from one pile to another Q or q .... to quit playing Once you type M or m, you can use the arrow keys to position the cursor over the card you want to move and press ENTER. You may now use the arrow keys to position the cursor to the pile where you want to play the card. When you press ENTER, the card you selected will be moved. The way in which the arrow keys move the cursor will seem strange at first; it may take a while to get used to how they work. They are designed to allow you to get from any pile to any other pile in either one or two moves. The program requires about 12K. I have not compressed this program but probably should. Also, after keying it in from the book, correcting the input errors and running it I have yet to score any points at all, even after a pretty good game. However, I have not taken the time to find out why.