* HOCKEY * a card game for the Amiga copyright 1987 John A. Samuels 2121 South 12th Street Allentown, PA 18103 (215) 797-6000 CIS: 71066,307 PLINK: BATMAN GENIE: BOYWONDER version 1.0 This game is SHAREWARE. You can send me all your money if you like but what I'd really rather have is PRAISE and ADULATION. After all, money disappears so quickly but a large ego is forever. So, if you like this game, spread it around (wash it off first!) and send me your comments. Also, please let me know if you find any bugs or would like to see some added features. Ok, enough of that self-serving claptrap! ............................................................................. * HOW TO PLAY * HOCKEY is a card game. It's called HOCKEY because each game has three (3) periods and the winner is the one who scores the most GOALS. This flimsy analogy goes one step further - you must PASS immediately prior to scoring. You will be matched against a superior opponent - the Amiga. The Amiga has superior logic, an infallible memory and unwavering hostility toward all humans. You have emotion and illogic on your side. Use your human skills to your advantage or you will lose approximately 60% of all games! Oh, yes, to prove this, we'll be keeping an eternal running score. After the end of each game, we'll record the essential statistics of the game to disk. You can then use the program STATS to view your lack of progress against the Amiga. - A period consists of one DECK of cards (52 cards). There are three (3) periods in the game. If the score's tied at the end of three periods, there will be a SUDDEN DEATH overtime (first to score wins). - There are five HANDS in each period. In the first four hands, both you and the Amiga are dealt five (5) cards each. In the fifth hand, both you and the Amiga receive six (6) cards. If you're paying attention, you'll notice that that adds up to 52 cards. If you're not paying attention, don't worry - the Amiga takes care of shuffling and dealing. - You'll start a game by "cutting" for the deal. If you win the cut, the Amiga leads (plays the first card of each hand) in the first and third periods and you lead in the second. If the Amiga wins the cut, you lead in the first and third periods and the Amiga leads in the second period. Your strategy will vary depending on whether or not you are to play first in a period. - You and the Amiga alternate play. You play a card by clicking on the card with the left mouse button. The Amiga will then play its card in turn. * PASS * - If you MATCH the card your opponent just played you have a PASS! By the same token, if the Amiga matches the card that you just played, the Amiga has a PASS. To MATCH a card, you must play a card with the same "face value" of your opponent's previously played card. Suits are irrelevant but may help you to remember how many of each card has been played within the period (deck). If the Amiga plays the three of clubs and you next play the three of hearts you have PASSED. If you play the King of spades and the Amiga plays the King of diamonds, then the Amiga has a PASS. Get it? - Jacks and Twos (2) are AUTOMATIC PASSES. That is, anytime either of you plays a Jack or a Two, even if it does not match the card your opponent just played, you have a PASS. (To help you remember this, the 'J' and '2' on these cards are blue instead of black or red). - BUT, you cannot SCORE with a Jack or a Two! Only pass. * SCORE * - To SCORE, you must match the card your opponent just played AFTER your PASS. You must have a PASS to SCORE. If you do not score on the very next sequence after your pass, you no longer have a PASS. * STEALING A PASS * - Let's say you play the four of diamonds. Then the Amiga plays the four of clubs. PASS - Amiga! If you then play the four of hearts, it's YOUR PASS and the Amiga NO LONGER HAS A PASS OF ITS OWN. You have stolen the Amiga's pass. Your chances of doing this is pretty good if you have a PAIR of something in your hand. * OTHER STUFF * - A PASS at the end of a hand is still active in the beginning of the next hand. So, if you PASS at the end of your hand and five more cards are dealt, your PASS is still in effect. But at the end of a period, all passes disappear and everything starts over. * STRATEGY * - The best way to learn strategy is to note how the computer plays over the course of several games. But here's some things to think about: * what to do when you have more than one Jack/Two in your hand? * how does strategy change as more cards out of a 52-card deck become revealed? * how can you use a pair in your hand to lure the computer into a pass? * does the computer's relentless logic allow you to take chances and "steal" a goal? * when you deal (and play the first card of each hand within a period) the Amiga will play the last card of each hand. How can you use this to increase your odds of a goal early in the next hand? - Because of the nature of a card game, luck of the draw is a large factor. But careful strategy and card-counting will allow you to beat the computer ALMOST as many times as it beats you. * WHAT THE COMPUTER KNOWS * - The computer knows many maneuvers to increase its chances of success. The computer knows when to get rough with you and when to run scared. And the computer knows how to win more often than not. Most important, the computer counts cards and calculates odds. But the Amiga DOES NOT know what cards you have in your hand. The decision-making and planning routines of this program do not "look at" what cards we've dealt you. However, once you play a card, the Amiga remembers it. * HOW TO WORK THE PROGRAM * - Simply click on the card you want to play. The Amiga will do the rest. PAY ATTENTION. The Amiga is VERY QUICK in decision-making and playing its cards. I could have slowed it down a little to make the computer a little more human-like. But if you wanted SLOW, you should have bought an IBM! In the menus are the following: QUIT ........ This will ABORT the program without recording your FUTILE attempts at success. ABOUT ........ More self-serving garbage about who my Amiga refers to as "The BOSS". SPEECH ON ........ I've always found that verbally humiliating your opponent gives you a DEFINITE edge over the long haul. Look at John McEnroe or Rickey Henderson. Keep the speech on and you'll see my point. SPEECH OFF........ If you can't take the HEAT! ............................................................................. * THE ARC FILE * - Hockey.ARC includes: RULES.TXT ..... But you know that already. HOCKEY ..... The executable progam. STATS ..... A program that digs up game-by-game statistics and spits them back at you in relatively meaningful ways. Sorry, no icons. Draw them yourself if you prefer the workbench. When you're done with a game, some vital statistics are written into a data file called SCORES. This file will be created in the current directory if it doesn't exist there already. If you want to copy HOCKEY into RAM: before playing, you should also copy SCORES into RAM: and then cd RAM: In this event, you should also copy SCORES back to disk before turning your Amiga off for the night. Type STATS to view these so-called "meaningful" statistics. Again, SCORES must be in the same directory as STATS and that must be the current directory. If you fail to pay attention to these instructions, the Amiga will remember and simply humiliate you unmercifully in the next game! ............................................................................. Good luck! Let me know if you're winning more than 50% of the games - I'll remove one or two of the "humane" routines in a version 2. .............................................................................