Copyright: Help Pre-Compiler v3.0 (C) Antonio Cordero


About Funsol
The about menu item brings up a box introducing Funsol.

The about box will have the owners name, address and serial

number in it.


Antonio Cordero Balcazar
copyright by Antonio Cordero Balcazar.


Spaces can be filled with any card
This space can be filled with any available card.

This allows for great flexability in some games.


Other aspects of solitaire
Other aspects of solitaire.

Besides building cards and types piles, there are several other aspects one needs to know.

Here is a list of these other rules.

1. Spaces made by emptying a pile.

2. The redeal.

3. Pile size limitations.

4. Moving cards in groups.

5. Emptying piles before playing cards to other piles.

6. Dealing out cards.

7. Removing pairs of cards.

8. Automatic removal of full straights and suites.

9. Sorted piles.

10. Re-arranging cards after the deal.

11. Different ranks can be high.


Author
Lane Waters.

Software engineer.

Lane has written several arcade games for various companies.

He has also written accounting software and systems software.

His programming languages mainly consist of C and Assembly Language.

Before moving over to the DOS/Windows environment, he programmed on the Amiga.


Auto menu
The auto menu allows the player to autoplay cards to foundations.

All cards possible will be played to the foundations.

This could lead to completion of the game.


Types of building
Types of building.

Piles can be built in several different ways.

The two main components of building is by rank and by suit (or color).

1. Building up by rank.

2. Building down by rank.

3. Building by same suit.

4. Building by different suit.

5. Building by opposite color.


Card back
The card back design can be chosen here.

The card back shows up whenever a face down (non visible) card is displayed.


Classic games menu
Here is a list of the classic card games in Funsol.

There should be something for every type of player.

First for the one deck games.

  1. Aces Up

  2. Agnes

  3. Auld Lang Syne

  4. Baker's Dozen

  5. Beleaguered Castle

  6. Bisley

  7. Bristol

  8. Canfield

  9. Carpet

10. Chameleon

11. Captive Queens

12. Citadel

13. Dutchess

14. Eagle Wing

15. Easthaven

16. Eight Off

17. Elevens

18. Five Piles

19. Fifteens

20. Flower Garden

21. Fortress

22. Fortune's Favor

23. Four Seasons

24. Fourteen Out

25. Gate

26. Golf

27. Good Measure

28. King Albert

29. Klondike

30. La Belle Lucie

31. Nestor

32. Old Patience

33. Osmosis

34. Peek

35. Perseverance

36. Puss in Corner

37. Rainbow

38. Russian Solitaire

39. Scorpion

40. Shamrocks

41. Simplicity

42. Spiderette

43. Storehouse

44. Strategy

45. Streets and Alleys

46. Super Flower Garden

47. Superior Demon

48. Tam O'Shanter

49. Thirteens

50. Tens

51. Thumb and Pouch

52. Trefoil

53. Westclif

54. Will O' the Wisp

55. Whitehead

56. Yukon

Here are the two deck games.

  1. Alhambra

  2. Blockade

  3. Blondes and Brunettes

  4. Colorado

  5. Congress

  6. Contradance

  7. Diplomat

  8. Double Fan

  9. Fanny

10. Forty Thieves

11. Frog

12. Gargantua

13. Grand Duchess

14. House on the Hill

15. Indian

16. Limited

17. Lucas

18. Maria

19. Miss Milligan

20. Mount Olympus

21. Number Ten

22. Parisienne

23. Patriarchs

24. Rank and File

25. Red and Black

26. Royal Rendezvous

27. Spider

28. Streets

29. Sultan


Commodore Business Machines
copyright by Commodore Business Machines.


Company
The Softgame Company of Vermont

RR 2 Box 149-D

South Royalton, VT 05068

1-802-763-2638


Help contents
Contents brings up the main contents screen of this help file.


What is the cost
The price of the shareware vesion (five games) is $20. (this program)

The price of the Professional version (100+ games) is $28.

Both versions include a free dice game, diskette, shipping and more.

Both versions are identical, except for the amount of games offered.


Card Counter
The card counter displays all cards in the Tableau or Stock that are still face down (not visible).

The cards are displayed in sorted order so the actual locations of the cards are unknown.

A grid is used with rank being displayed horizontally and suit vertically.

Card counter grid:

  A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 J Q K

S|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

H|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

D|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|

C|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|


Creative Labs
copyright by Creative Labs.


Funsol Credits
Funsol credits.

This game was written in the Green Mountain State.

Yes, right in the mountains of Vermont.

1. Author

2. Company

3. Tools used


Dealing out cards
In almost all games, the computer deals out all the cards for each game.

In some games, the player deals out cards from a stock one at a time to a waste pile.

In other games, several cards are dealt from a stock to each tableau.

All possible plays are made between these deals.

Sometimes when the stock is exhausted, the player can redeal the stock.


Building by different suit
Building by different suit means the next suit in sequence cannot match.


Left button double click
Double clicking the left mouse button on a pile will attempt to play the top card of that pile to a foundation.

This allows the player to avoid dragging the card all the way to the foundation pile.


Building down by suit
Building down by rank means building in descending numerical order.

Building down by rank: K,Q,J,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,A


Left button click and drag
Clicking the left mouse button on a pile and holding the button down while moving the mouse is called dragging.

This technique is used to move cards around from pile to pile.

The card can be dropped at any time by letting go of the left mouse button.

If the card is not over a valid pile, it will move back to where it came from.

The last card in a pile will darken if a valid move is possible.


Electronic Arts
copyright by Electronic Arts.


Spaces are kept empty
No cards can be played to this space.

It is basically a "dead" spot in the layout for the rest of the game.


Enable error messages
Enable error messages allows the player to enable or disable error messages.

Error messages are displayed whenever an illegal move is attempted.

These messages are helpful when learning a new game.

Once a game is learned, it is best to disable the messages since thay can be very annoying.


Exit game
Exit game allows the player to exit Funsol once and for all.

Hopefully this does not happen until several hours of enjoyment have occured.


Special features
Special Features.

Funsol has several unique and powerful features found nowhere else.

ALL features are enabled in both the Shareware and Registered versions.

NOTHING IS CRIPPLED.  Crippleware is garbageware.

1. Unlimited undo.

2. Card counter.

3. Saving of game and ALL moves made so far.

4. Powerful seed selection.

5. Plenty of preferences.

6. Show all cards (cheat).

7. Pop-up rule boxes for each game and each pile.

8. Valid move indicator.


File menu
File menu.

The file menu handles all game selection, loading and saving.

Many of these actions can have verification prompts.

1. New game.

2. Open game.

3. Save game.

4. Save As.

5. Restart game.

6. Select game.

7. Exit Funsol.


Registration form
Please print and fill out this form to order Funsol(tm) version 1.1.  Checks or money

orders will be accepted.  The programs will be sent as soon as payment arrives.

Checks must be drawn on a U.S. bank.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name____________________________________________________________________

Address__________________________________________________________________

Town__________________________________________State____ Zip_______________

Telephone (optional) (_______) -_______-_________

Where did you find Funsol___________________________________________________

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor: (circle one)         286               386                486                 Pentium

Disk Drive: (circle one)            1.44M - 3.5"            720K - 3.5"            5.25"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shareware versions (five games)    _____ X  $20   =   $______

Professional versions (100+ games)_____ X  $28   =   $______

Shipping and disk                                                      $ 0

Call discount                                                   minus $______ (take off $1 if you called ahead)

Total enclosed                                                           $______

Please make checks payable to The Softgame Company of Vermont.


Foundation Piles
Foundation piles are where the game is won.  Cards are usually built in ascending rank.

The goal of all the solitaire games is to fill all foundations up to capacity.


Game play
Game play.

The game play section allows the player to adjust how a game is played.

Error messages and sounds are controlled here too.

1. Allow deal three.

2. Allow unlimited redeals.

3. Enable error messages.

4. Enable sounds.

5. Card count stock.


All those games
All those games!

There are over 100 games to choose from in the Professional version.

This will be the only solitaire game you will ever need.

1. Classic games.

2. Unique games.


What do I get.
What do I get?

There are several benefits for registering Funsol.

This will be the only solitaire game you will ever need!

 1. Over 100 entirely different solitaire games in the Professional

    version or five games in the shareware version.

 2. A free dice game that saves your high scores.

 3. Free shipping, disk and verification call.

 4. Your copy will be personalized.

 5. Several saved games that can loaded and tried.

 6. The latest version of the program, and notification if newer versions are done.

 7. Discounts off future software and very cheap updates.

 8. Removal of registration box at start-up

 9. Free technical support.

10. It's always proper to register useful software.


Removing group of cards
Some games require selecting a group of cards and discarding them to a waste pile.

Undo is disabled until all cards in the group are done being selected.

1. Two of a kind.

2. Four of a kind.

3. Any King, Queen and Jack combination.

4. Any pair of cards whose total ranks add up to a specific total.  Usually eleven, thirteen or fourteen are used.

5. Any groups of cards whose total ranks add up to fifteen.


Help menu
Help menu.

The help menu brings up this help file and the about box.

1. Contents

2. About

3. Register (Found only in the unregistered version)


High
The high card is usually a king, but can vary depending on rules of the game.

Other high cards can be aces or queens or it can vary each time the game is played.


Introduction to Funsol
Introduction to Funsol.

Funsol has a very large library of over 100 solitaire games. (Registered version)

There are many powerful features. (All versions)

This game has undergone 360 hours of bug testing.

1. Special features.

2. All those games.

3. Funsol credits


Using the Keyboard
The up arrow key will step the game seed up and redeal.

The down arrow key will step the game seed down and redeal.


Left button click
Clicking the left mouse button is used to flip over top cards that are face down (not visible) in piles.

This action is also used to deal cards or redeal piles in some games.

Most commonly, dealing from the Stock to the Waste pile.


Using the menus
Using the menus.

The Funsol menus are fairly self explanitory.

Each item is explained below.

1. File menu.

2. Options menu.

3. Classic games menu.

4. Unique games menu.

5. Undo menu.

6. Auto menu.

7. Step menu.

8. Help menu.


Microsoft
copyright by Microsoft.


Using the mouse
Using the mouse.

Using the mouse in funsol is fairly simple.

There are only four ways to be concerned with.

1. Left button click.

2. Left button double click.

3. Left button click and drag.

4. Right button click.


New game
New game allows the player to deal out a new game with a randomly selected seed.

The deck is reshuffled and a new combination of cards is dealt out.

The randomly selected seed is actually determined by the length of time Windows has been running.


Open game
Open game allows the player to open any previously saved game.

All moves are stored, so the player will still be able to undo as if the game had never been saved and reopened at all.


Building by opposite color
Building by opposite color means the suits must be the opposite color.

Building by opposite color: Red,Black,Red,Black,Red...

Red suits are Hearts and Diamonds.

Black suits are Spades and Clubs.


Options menu
Options menu.

The options menu allows the user to configure the game.

All configurations are saved in funsol.ini.

1. Show all cards.

2. Preferences.

3. Card counter.


Personalized game.
Registered users will get a personalized game.

The owners name, address and serial number will appear in the about box.


The different pile types in solitaire
The different pile types in solitaire.

Piles come in five basic types.

Not all games have all types of piles, but games can contain several of one type of pile.

1. Foundation Piles

2. Tableau Piles

3. Waste Piles

4. Stock Piles

5. Reserve Piles


Preferences
Preferences.

The preferences box allows plenty of flexability for the player.

There are a few "cheat" options too.

1. Display prompt.

2. Game play.

3. Card movement rate.

4. Card back.

5. Table back.


Display prompt
Display prompt allows the player to enable prompts on different actions.

These prompts ask the player if they really want to perform certain actions.

These actions include loading, saving, exiting, restarting, selecting and starting a new game.


Card movement rate
The card movement rate determines how fast the cards move around the screen.

This occurs during dealing, alignment of cards and error corrections.


Rearranging cards after the deal.
In some games the cards may undergo some rearranging immediatly after they are dealt.

In these cases, the kings of each pile will be brought to the bottom (lowest card) of its pile.


The Redeal
The player can sometimes redeal parts of the layout when all possible plays have been completed or when a stock pile  is exhausted.

If an empty pile says REDEAL on it, then pressing the left mouse button on it will redeal the pile.

The amount of redeals depends on the game and preferences settings.

Most games allow two redeals.


Registering Funsol
Registering Funsol (tm) Verion 1.1.

Imagine having over 100 entirely different solitaire games!

Here is some information on registering.

1. What do I get?

2. What is the cost?

3. Where do I send my payment?

4. Registration form. (use Print Topic from Help Menu)

5. $1 off if you prefer to call before registering.


Registering
The registering menu item will give the user information on registering Funsol.

The shareware version has five games.

The Professional version has over 100 games.

Everything else is identical.


Reserve Piles
Reserve piles are usually a temporary holding place for cards.

There are usually no build restrictions on reserves.


Restart game
Restart game allows the player to restart the same game from scratch with the same seed.

This is like replaying the game with the exact same shuffle or order of cards.


Right mouse button
Clicking the right mouse button on a pile will bring up a pile rule box.

A pile rule box will indicate rules specific to that pile.

Clicking the right button elsewhere will bring up a game rule box if applicable.

A game rule box will indicate rules specific to that game.

This feature can be very helpful when learning a new game.


Building by same suit
Building by same suit means the next suit in sequence must match.


Save game
The game can be saved at any time, even if the game has been completed.

The positions of all cards and ALL moves made are also saved.

This allows the player to continue a game at a later time and still use the undo feature.


Save As
Save As is identical to save except the player will be able to select a filename for this saved game.

Save game uses the current filename if it exists.


Saved games.
Some of these games are VERY difficult to solve, but they can be done.  They make great puzzles.

There are also a few real easy ones too.


Select game
Select game allows the player to choose any one of four billion game seeds.

The seed can be entered directly with the numeric entry box.

The up and down buttons allow the player to step through games one at a time and view the layout.

A "preferred" game can be selected this way.


Show all cards
Show all cards allows the player to see all the cards in the layout.

The face down cards are grayed, so the player can distinguish between face up and face down cards.

This is cheating however, but can be helpful if the game gets difficult.


Pile size limitations
Some piles have a limitation on their size.

Some size limitations come naturally when a build is complete, such as a foundation.

Others are part of the game, and will be indicated in the pile rules box.


Sorted piles
Some large face up piles are sorted by rank, so the cards will be easier to find.

This may be in ascending or descending rank.


Enable sounds
Enable sounds allows the player to enable and disable the game sounds.

Each time the cards are shuffled, or a card is dropped a sound is played.

A sound card and MCI drivers are required for these sounds to be heard.

The PC speaker is not used.


Spaces made by emptying a pile
Spaces made by emptying a pile.

There are several ways to handle an empty space.

1. Spaces are kept empty.

2. Spaces can be filled with any card.

3. Spaces can be filled by the high card.

4. Spaces are filled automatically from the stock.


Step menu
The step menu allows the player to play one card at a time to the foundations.

This differs from auto which plays ALL possible cards to the foundations.


Stock Piles
Stock piles are where the undealt cards go.

Cards are usually drawn from the stock either one or three cards at a time.

The cards drawn from the stock end up either in a waste pile, reserve or tableau.


Suite
A suite is a group of thirteen cards built in rank and in suit from A-K.

A full straight is a group of thirteen of cards built in rank, but not ncessarily in suit, from A-K.


Table back
The table back design can be chosen here.

The table back is the playing surface.


Tableau Piles
Tableau piles are usually built on in descending rank.

Cards are usually played from a tableau to a foundation.


Allow deal three
Allow deal three lets the player enable or disable the deal three option.

Some games deal three cards at a time from the Stock to the Waste Pile.

This option can disable this, so only one card at a time is always dealt.

This is a form of cheating, but can save an already lost game.


Tips on playing solitare games.
Tips on playing solitaire games.

Playing solitaire games is actually very simple.

Getting adept at it is the hard (but fun) part.

1. The different pile types in solitaire

2. Types of building.

3. Other aspects of solitaire.


Tools used
Tools used.

Funsol was written entirely in C.

1. Visual C/C++ and Application Studio were used for programming.

2. Deluxe Paint was used for graphics.

3. Soundo'LE was used for sound.

4. Help Pre-Compiler was used to make this help file.


Undo menu
The undo menu allows the player to undo the last move.

Undo is unlimited.

The player can undo all the way back to the beginning of the game, if they so wish.


Unique games menu
Here are some unique games found only in Funsol.

Some of them are easier versions of classic games.

Here are the one deck games.

  1. Burnt Paw

  2. Daddy Long Legs

  3. Equinox

  4. Great Bear

  5. Kings Up

  6. Mackenzie

  7. Pelican

  8. Raptor

  9. Square

10. Tarantula

11. Timber Hawk

Here are two deck versions of some of the above games.

  1. Daddy Long Legs

  2. Mackenzie

  3. Mrs Lamminen

  4. Tarantula

Here are two four deck versions.

  1. Daddy Long Legs

  2. Mackenzie


Moving cards in units
In most cases, only the top card in a pile can be moved at a time.

However, in some cases a group of cards can be moved as a unit to another pile.

These groups can only be picked up if the cards in the group are in the proper build sequence.


Allow unlimited redeals
Allow unlimited redeals lets the player enable or disable unlimited redeals.

Some games only allow a set amount of redeals.

With unlimited redeals enabled, this restriction is overidden and an unlimited amount of redeals is allowed.

This is a form of cheating, but can save an already lost game.


Building up by rank
Building up by rank means building in ascending numerical order.

Building up by rank: A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K


Using the Funsol Program.

Funsol is easy to learn and use.

No tricks here.  Just click, drag, press and enjoy.

1. Using the menus.

2. Using the mouse.

3. Using the keyboard.


Valid move indicator.
The top card of a pile will turn dark if a valid move is possible.

This is helpful in learning a new game.


Verification telephone call.
You can call the company before registering if you so wish.

Some potential buyers prefer to do this.  The company is in excellent financial health though.

If you do call and leave your name and address, one dollar will be taken off your registration.


Waste Piles
Waste piles receive any cards that are dealt from a stock.

Usually only the top card is available for play.


Welcome to Funsol solitaire
WELCOME TO FUNSOL (TM) VERSION 1.1.

I hope you enjoy Funsol solitaire.

This help menu should answer most questions about this card game.

1. Introduction to Funsol.

2. Information on using Funsol.

3. Tips on playing solitaire games.