Copyright: Helpfile Generated by VB/Helpmaker!


Double Deck Solitaire

About Double Deck Solitaire

Playing the Game

Options to Help You Win!

Changing the Card Background

Changing Screen Colors

Setting Up Sound

Viewing History

Starting a New Player

Registering the Program

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


About Double Deck Solitaire

This game represents my first foray into the world of Windows programming.  I would like to thank my grandmother for teaching me this game.  Watching her spend almost as much time dealing the hand out as she was playing the game inspired me to tackle this.

This program may be Freely Distributed.

You have permission to distribute without restriction, but you may not make alterations to the files.

This program is Shareware.  You may evaluate it for a period of no more

than 30 days. After this time you must either register (read Registering

in README.TXT and REGISTER.TXT or in the online help) or remove it from

your system. Failure to comply with this condition is a violation of

United States and international copyright law.  This program is fully

functional.  Please register if you use this program for more than the trial period.

If you any questions or comments, you may email me at the following locations.

America Online	CaryL473

Compuserve	74244,2654

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Playing the Game

Two decks of cards are shuffled and dealt face up in the center playing area.  This area is called the Table and contains 13 piles of cards.  These piles correspond to the 13 cards in one suit beginning with the Ace.  Whenever an Ace or King is dealt, a single card is dealt face down into the Draw pile.  If a card dealt on the Table matches the pile number it was dealt to (a 3 is dealt to the third pile), two cards are dealt face down to the Draw Pile. The number on the Draw pile indicates how many cards are in the pile.

Your objective is to play all 104 cards to the Stack piles.  The Stack piles on the left begin with Kings and build downward by suit.  The Stack piles on the right begin with Aces and build upward by suit.

If any Aces or Kings are showing on the Table piles, left click on one of them.  This will move the card to the Stack pile and then display the next card in the pile.  Continue playing from the Table piles until there are no plays left.

Left click on the Draw pile.  This will take the top card from the pile and its matching pile from the Table and display them in the Play pile along the bottom of the screen.  For example, if the card taken from the Draw pile is a Jack, the Jack is placed on top of the eleventh Table pile and the entire pile is picked up and placed on the Play pile.  The Play pile displays every card in the pile starting from the bottom card and moving right to the top card.  You may play any card from the Play pile.  If the card played isn't the top card, the cards are shifted to the left to fill the void left by the card played.  Remember to check the Table piles again as you may now be able to play a card from there after making a play from the Play pile.  When you have played all the cards you can, left click on the Draw pile again.  This replaces the current Play pile to the Table pile and starts the cycle over again.

Occasionally, the card you choose to play can be played on both Stack piles.  When this occurs, the card will raise slightly upward on the screen.  You will need to left click on the Stack pile you wish to play it on.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Options to Help You Win!

There are 7 handy tools to help you win the game.

Displaying Number of Plays

Using the Shift Buttons

Setting the Difficulty Level

Undo the Previous Play

Drawing a Card

Setting a Mininum Draw Pile

Peeking at the Next Card

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Changing the Card Background

From the Options menu, select "Card Backs".  The following window will open.  Select the deck you wish to use by clicking on the card.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Changing Screen Colors

Selecting one of the change color options from the menu will display the color selection notebook.  Select the element of the playing are you would like to change (or select ALL to change all of them), click on the color you would like to use.  Press OK when you are finished.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Display Number of Plays

Take "Options| Show Number of Plays" from the menu.  This will display a box on the screen telling you how many plays are possible at the time.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Using the Shift Buttons

These are the Shift buttons and are always displayed when you draw a card from the draw pile if there is more than one card to play.  Pressing the left button will move the top card in the current Play pile to the bottom card.  Pressing the right button will move the bottom card to the top.  You may only rotate the cards once per card drawn (on the Hard level).  This is helpful if you have drawn a card that you won't need for awhile, such as a King.  If you have already played the King in the King Stack, you won't need this King until you are ready to complete the Ace Stack.  Placing this card on the bottom of the pile means the other cards in the pile will be accessible to you from the Table Stack.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Setting a Minimum Draw Pile

Take the "Options|Draw Pile" selection and you get to select a mininum starting Draw pile count.  This is helpful because it is VERY difficult to win the game with fewer than 20 cards in the Draw pile.  If you have one of the minimums set the game will keep dealing hands until the minimum is met.

CAUTION - If you set the mininum to 30, the game can go through MANY deals before getting 30 or more in the draw pile.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Peek at the Next Card

The last tool at your disposal is the right mouse button.  Using this on the Table pile will show you the card below it.  This is very handy when you have the same card on two Table piles and don't know which one to play.  If a back of a card is shown, this tells you there are no cards below the one you clicked on.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Undo the Previous Play

Whenever the Undo option is highlighted on the menu, you may take back the play you just made.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Viewing History

The History box shows the current players history by the starting number of cards in the draw pile.  To erase your current history, click on the Zero button.  Warning - the history is erased without a annoying 'Are you sure?' prompt!

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Registering the Program

Double Deck Solitaire is shareware.  It isn't crippled in any way nor does it have a nagging reminder to register.  Feel free to use this product for 30 days on a trial basis.  If after that time, you decide not to keep it, please remove it from your system.  To register, please send your name, address, email address and a check or money order for $10.00 to the address below.  Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Send check or money order to:

Cary Lockwood

1411 Rebecca Lane

Arlington, TX   76014

Thank you for registering!

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Difficulty Level

Take "Options|Difficulty Level" from the menu.  Selecting "Easy" will allow you to use the Shift Buttons as many times as you like.  Selecting "Hard" allows you to use the Shift Buttons only once per card drawn.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Setting Up Sound

If your system is capable of playing Windows WAV files, you can assign sounds to game events.

Change the drive and directory to a location that contains WAV files.  A good starting point is the directory Windows is installed in.  You should see a list of files that end in '.wav' in the list box on the left side of the screen.

The game events are listed on the right side of the screen.  To assign a sound to a event, click on a file name and hold down the mouse button.  Move the mouse to the entry box next to the event you desire.  When the pointer is over the entry box, it will change to a hand releasing a sheet of paper.  Let go of the mouse button and the file name will be entered into the event entry box.

To remove a sound event, click on the file name and hold down the mouse button.  Move the mouse to the trash can on the lower portion of the screen.  When the pointer is over the trash can, it will change to a hand releasing a sheet of paper.  Let go of the mouse button and the file name will be removed from event entry box.

To play a WAV file, drop the file name on the picture of a ear in the lower left portion of the window.

Lastly, you need to enable the sounds.  Select 'On' in the sound box.  If your system isn't capable of playing WAV files, this check box will be disabled.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Starting a New Player

When you start the game or choose new player from the menu, the following window appears.

The list below the entry box contains the names of the last four players.  The entry box contains the name of the last player to play.  To change to a different player, you may either key in the players name, double-click on one of the names in the list, or use the arrow keys to move down the list to the desired name and press enter.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.


Drawing a Card

This option determines where to place the card drawn in the Play Pile.  Normally, the card is placed on top of the pile.  However, if you have carefully arranged the pile so the cards you will need are on top, this can be an inconvenience.

Double Deck Solitaire v4.1 - Helpfile generated by VB/Helpmaker.