GIN RUMMY (Version 3.02) - READGIN.TXT ====================================== Gin Rummy is probably the best known member of the Rummy family of card games. Gin Rummy is believed to be the first fully-comprehensive shareware Gin Rummy game available for Microsoft Windows. You play against the computer, which can be set to use a number of different skill levels. At expert and champion level, the computer is hard to beat and provides a very challenging game. Customizable features include: Colors Sound effects Card backs Screen resolution (600x480 or 800x600) AutoMouse (moves mouse pointer automatically between deck and hand) Opponent skill level Rule variations The only installation requirements are that GINRUMMY.EXE, RUMCARDS.BMP, GINRUMMY.HLP, and the wav files reside in the same directory; and that VBRUN300.DLL and VBCTL3D.VBX are present in your path (typically in the windows\system directory). VBCTL3D.VBX is included with this distribution. VBRUN300.DLL should be downloaded separately if you don't already have it on your system. To use the sound effects, you must either have a sound card installed in your system, or have the speak.exe driver installed to use your system's regular speaker. Speak.exe is a freely distributed product from Microsoft, and is available on most online services and bulletin board systems. Gin Rummy is distributed with a few sound files, others may be obtained from libraries on most online services and bulletin board systems. To enable sound effects, you must check the "Enable Sounds" box from the "Sounds..." option under the "Configuration" menu. Remember to "Save Configuration" to make the setting permanent. Gin Rummy is shareware, and is fully functional. You may evaluate this program for a period of 21 days after which you must register it or remove it from your system. To not comply with this condition is a violation of United States and international copyright law. You register your copy of Gin Rummy by sending $12 (check or money order, U.S. funds only) to: Carol Bufton 58 Prendiville Way Marlborough MA 01752 USA There is a printable order form under the "Help" menu of Gin Rummy. You will receive your registration code by mail. The registration code is encoded from your name, so be sure to provide your name exactly as you wish to be registered. Please allow 28 days for your registration to arrive, although every effort will be made to mail your registration within 5 days. Your registration code licenses you to use the version of Gin Rummy that you are currently evaluating, irrespective of which is the latest version currently available on America Online, CompuServe, or registered diskette. Your registration may also be valid with future versions as they become available. **************************************************************************** IMPORTANT NOTE: MeggieSoft Games does not process any registrations between December 15th and January 15th. Any registrations received during this period will be processed after January 15th. The registration reminder will not be displayed between December 20th and January 15th. **************************************************************************** If you require a diskette (3½" only), add $3 making the total cost $15. The diskette version may contain a later version of Gin Rummy if improvements have been made since the release of your evaluation copy. Because we cannot track which versions are currently available at what locations, it is possible that Gin Rummy will have been updated since your evaluation copy unless you downloaded a recent version from CompuServe or America Online. You may not share your registration code with others. Your registration permits you and other users to use Gin Rummy on any single-user computer system. You may also use Gin Rummy on any other computer system of which you are the primary user, such as a laptop. You may distribute Gin Rummy (as shareware) to others provided that you derive no revenue other than that associated with distribution, and provided that you distribute the following, and only the following, files intact: READGIN.TXT - This file GINRUMMY.EXE - The program GINRUMMY.HLP - The help file FAQGIN.TXT - The "frequently asked questions" file RUMCARDS.BMP - The card images VBRUN300.DLL - The Visual Basic Runtime VBCTL3D.VBX - The Visual Basic 3D Effects extension To use Gin Rummy you need Microsoft Windows 3.1 and a mouse (with at least two buttons). An Intel 386 class system with 4 megabytes of RAM is recommended as a minimum. Gin Rummy has not been evaluated on less capable systems, but should present no problems other than responsiveness and speed. You are recommended to take advantage of the comprehensive help file information in order to learn how to play Gin Rummy. Perhaps the best first step to learning Gin Rummy is to use the "Player | AutoPlay" option and watch the computer play against itself. Enjoy! Revision History ---------------- Version 1.x - Development versions. Version 2.0 - Beta test version Version 2.1 - First shareware release. Fully functional. Version 2.2 - Minor improvements and problem fixes. Version 2.3 - Resolved display and memory problems with higher color resolutions. (RUMCARDS.BMP is now WMF metafile format). - Removed dependency on CMDIALOG.VBX (no longer required). - If scoreboard file is damaged, choice of reset or exit (in case the user can restore it) is offered. - Fixed problem when opponent would meld ace high when "Ace Must Be Low" was selected. - Fixed problem where opponent could meld four of a kind and not retain a card to discard. - Fixed problem of turn counter sometimes not being correct after "undo". - Fixed problem when hint before undo caused the undo to fail. - Revised opponent algorithm for taking a card to avoid taking and discarding the same card from the discard pile. - Improved "Champion" and "Master" skill levels to be more aggressive in seeking undercut opportunities. Version 3.0 - Added custom card back capability to support user defined card designs (WMF format). - Added "Trim Corners" option to display cleaner card images on more powerful systems. - Added capability to remember custom color definitions between sessions. - Added "Series Scoring" whereby three sub-games are scored and recorded as a single game (like Hollywood but without the "carry forward" from sub-game to sub-game). - Enhanced scoreboard capabilities now display skill level the date played. Display colors are customizable from the "Configuration | Colors" menu option. Previous scoreboard data are automatically converted with a skill level of "Unknown" and a date of "1/1/94". - Scoreboards can now be displayed for all games or only those against a specific opponent skill level. - Scoreboards can now be displayed for all scoring methods Standard, Series, Hollywood) or only those against a specific method. - Added "AutoMouse - Dialogs" to extend the AutoMouse feature to and from messages and information windows. - Undo now deselects highlighted cards (even if there is nothing else to undo). - Fixed a number of minor problems. 3.01 - Fixed "Input file not found" problem at end of round. - Scoreboards now display skill level 3.02 - Fixed problem with "No Layoff on Gin" whereby non-knocking player was prevented from laying down any cards. (Corrected method is to allow meld laydowns but not laying off on knocker's melds.) - Revised date calculations and removed need for msafinx.dll file. - Cleaned up detection and termination of second instance when Gin Rummy is already running. - Cleaned up detection of when and how scoreboard has changed since it was loaded (for "do you want to save.." prompts). © MeggieSoft Games 1995. All Rights Reserved.