Copyright: Lucky Stars ®1994-95 Ultimate Software


CONTENTS
Lucky Stars Video Slots

Copyright ©1994, 1995 by Ultimate Software

Introduction

Registration

Placing Bets

Borrowing Credits

Payoffs

Bonuses

Double or Nothing

Program Settings

Loading/Saving Games

Statistics

Strategy

Programming Credits

 Ultimate Software Catalog


Introduction

Lucky Stars is a new video slot machine game by Ultimate Software, the makers of the very popular Cherry Delight Video Slot game.  You will really love the stars in the Lucky Stars game; the stars are wild!

Lucky Stars is not your grandmother's slot machine!  Lucky Stars is a realistic simulation of the new breed of video slot machines sweeping the U.S.  Unlike traditional slot machines, Lucky Stars has nine separate spinning wheels.  This results in eight separate pay lines.  There are also a variety of bonuses that actually bring strategy to slot machine play.  The graphics are beautiful, and the wheels really look like they are spinning.  Also includes a double-or-nothing high/low card game option which you may choose to play after a winning spin.

A pay line (sometimes called a win line) consists of the symbols showing on three wheels in a row.  There are eight separate pay lines in Lucky Stars.  Starting on the left side, the first pay line is the top-left, top-middle, and top-right wheels (in that order).  The next row is the second pay line.  The bottom row is the third pay line.  The fourth pay line starts at the top-left wheel and includes the middle-left and bottom-left wheels.  The fifth pay line is the middle column, and the sixth payline is the right-most column.  The seventh payline runs from the top-left wheel down and diagonal to the right and includes the center wheel and bottom-right wheel.  The eigth payline runs diagonally from the bottom-left wheel, through the center wheel to the top-right wheel.

After you place your bet (See Placing Bets), you click on the SPIN button (or press Enter) to spin the wheel.  If your spin produces one or more winning lines, a new window will appear to tell you how and what you won.  To see the payoffs, choose PAYOFFS from the HELP menu.


Registration

If you have purchased the registered version of Lucky Stars Video Slots, then let us thank you for your support!  You will notice that the registered version has many enhancements and additional features not available in the shareware version.  We hope that Lucky Stars brings you many hours of enjoyment.

If you are using the shareware version of Lucky Stars, then we would like to thank you, too, for trying it out.  We also need to remind you that this is copyrighted software released as shareware.  Shareware allows you to try out a program before buying it.  Millions have purchased software through this marketing method.  Isn't nice to be sure you like a program before buying it?

You are granted a limited licence to evaluate this product for up to 30 days.  If you will be using this program after 30 days, you must register it with Ultimate Software.  Using this software beyond 30 days without registering it is a serious copyright violation.  Besides the moral and legal reasons to register this program, you will find that registration is quite a bargain.  You not only gain the right to continue using the software, but you get several product enhancements.  Included in the registered version are game save and load options, unlimited credits, additional sounds, a double-or-nothing card game, an autoplay option, a game statistics window, and the removal of the sometimes annoying shareware reminders).

Pricing

Lucky Stars registration is only $20.

Order Info

Payment:                Check or Money Order (US funds drawn on US bank)
                              VISA, MasterCard

Send you order to:
                              Ultimate Software
                              PO Box 609
                              Daleville, IN 47334-0609
                              USA

Or order by phone:
                              USA/Canada  1-800-925-3147
                              International   1-317-759-6852
                              FAX               1-317-759-6053

On-Line:
                              America On-Line:  UltiSoft
                              CompuServe:        71203,1301
                              Internet:               ultimate@iquest.net


Placing Bets

To place a bet, click on either the BET 1 or BET 8 button.  Bets are made from line one to line eight.  You can bet one more credit on line one than line two, but you cannot bet a third credit on line one until all lines have at least two credits.  If you click on Bet 8, all lines receive one more credit.  The maximum bet is eight credits per line (a total of 64 credits).

For payoffs each line is played separately.  The amount shown on the payoff chart for a particular line shows the amount won per credit bet on that line.  For example, three cherries on one line pays ten.  That's ten times the amount bet on that line.

If you only bet four credits, that would be a bet of only one credit for lines one through four (with nothing on lines five through eight).  If line seven was a winner, but you bet fewer than seven credits, you wouldn't win anything on that line.  You can only win on lines you bet on.  Also, you are eligible to add to or win the pool or bonus spins if you bet at least eight credits.


Borrowing Credits

You can add to your credits by borrowing.  You can borrow as many credits as you need in increments of 1000 by selecting BORROW CREDITS from the SETTINGS menu.

Please note that the statistics window does take into account the number of credits borrowed.  In other words there is a difference between "won" and borrowed credits.  Also, the credits you start with are considered borrowed.


Payoffs

There are two kinds of payoffs, winning pay lines and screen bonuses.

Paylines

As explained in the introduction, paylines are made up of the symbols showing on a line of three wheels.  With the exception of cherries, for a pay line to be a winner, all the symbols showing on that line must be the same (please note that the stars are wild and will "become" the symbol which results in the best possible win line).  To see the payoff amounts for each "kind" of match, select PAYOFFS from the HELP menu (within the program).

Cherries pay if you get three in one line, and pay lessor amounts if the first symbol (or first two) are cherries.  Just having a cherry in the line is not enough, it must be on the first wheel in the line.  Two cherries pay more than one.  Lemons are worthless.  Three lemons pays nothing.

The wheels in the normal game are different than those in the bonus game (bonus spins).  Also, the wheels themselves are different (have a different mix of symbols on them).

Screen Bonuses

If you win the pool, it is listed on the payoff screen under "Screen Bonuses."

Bonuses


Bonuses

In addition to winning on any of the eight paylines, you can also win credits by achieving one of the two bonuses mentioned below.

Pool

There is a pool that can be won by three times getting a win line with all lightning.  Each time you get a line with all lightning, one lightning graphic is removed from the left side of the screen.  The pool is increased during regular play by getting stars on any of the slot wheels.  Each star on the screen adds three credits to the pool.  When you win the pool, the amount of the pool is added to your total credits, and the pool total is reset to zero.

Bonus Spins

You get three free bonus spins when you remove the fruit from the upper-left corner.  A new game begins with one watermelon, two apples, and three grapes graphics.  When you get a win line with all three wheels being all of one kind (like three grapes), the corresponding fruit is removed.  When all the fruit graphics are removed, the screen changes color, and you will receive three free bonus spins.  The game will spin automatically for you.  Not every bonus spin will win, but the spins that do win may be quite large.  The amount won will be based on the amount bet on the last normal spin.  This is where strategy plays a role--you may want to increase your bet when you are close to earning bonus spins.  After the three bonus spins occur, the screen will return to its normal color and the fruit graphics will be reset.

There are special wheels (different than the normal wheels) for the bonus spins.  The symbols on these wheels are Stars, 3-Bars, 2-Bars, 1-Bars, and blanks.  Blanks pay nothing.  Pay lines with all of one symbol (example all 2-Bars) win you credits.  Also, you win if you get a pay line with all bars (three bars which are not all the same).  As always, stars are wild.  See Payoffs for more about pay lines and payoffs.

Payoffs


Double or Nothing

After a winning spin, you have the option to either TAKE your winnings or try to DOUBLE them.  If you click on the DOUBLE button, a high/low card game appears.  This is a double-or-nothing game.  You can continue to play this game until you lose or choose to take your winnings back to the normal game.

The object of the game is to examine the cards already dealt and guess whether the next card (the card face down) is higher or lower than seven.  If you guess correctly, your wager is doubled.  If you are incorrect, or if the card is a seven, you lose your wager.  Your wager starts as the amount you just won on the slot machine.  If you choose to play this game, you wager all your winnings from the previous slot machine spin.  Each time you win, your wager is doubled.  You can stop at any time by clicking the TAKE button.  This will return you to the slot machine.  If you lose, you lose your entire wager.

At the beginning of this game six cards appear at the bottom of the screen.  They are the first six cards of the newly shuffled deck dealt face up.  Use them to help you choose your course of action.  If most of the cards are above seven, your best bet is to guess that the next card will be below seven.  If they are mostly below seven, you probably want to guess that the next card is above seven.


Program Settings

You can select the following options from the SETTINGS menu.

Autoplay

Sound

Speed


Autoplay

To go into autoplay mode, select AUTOPLAY from the SETTINGS menu.

When you are in autoplay mode, the game plays automatically.  Before each spin, the game automatically bets the same amount that you last bet before going into autoplay mode.  You can leave autoplay mode (and return to normal play) by again choosing AUTOPLAY from the SETTINGS menu.

Why would you like go into autoplay anyway?  You may not.  However, you may find it interesting to let the game play on its own for several hours and then check the statistics window to get a feel for the overall payout.  The game will continue to play if you minimize the Lucky Stars screen.  It will also play faster (and without sound) when minimized.

During normal play, you cannot place a bet if you are out of credits.  To place an additional bet, you would need to borrow additional credits.  When in autoplay mode, the game will continue to bet and spin even if credits fall below zero.  If your credits fall below zero during autoplay, you can borrow enough credits to bring the total above zero when you return to normal play.


Sound

To turn the sound off (or back on), select SOUND from the SETTINGS menu.  When sound is on, a check mark will appear next to SOUND on he SETTINGS menu.


Speed

The default speed setting is fast, but you can adjust it to suit your tastes (or computer speed).  To change the speed setting, select SPEED from the SETTINGS menu.  Then select the speed setting you desire.  The current speed setting will be noted by a check mark.

The one speed setting which requires a brief description is the ALL STOP setting.  This is the fastest setting, and you should probably use it if the game is running too slow on your computer.  With the other speed settings, the wheels spin for a different period of time and stop in order from the top-left wheel to the bottom-right wheel.  Unlike the other settings, ALL STOP causes all the wheels to stop at the same time.  The outcome is the same, but the visual effect (and time required) is different.


LOADING GAMES
Loading/Saving Games

Saving Games

To save a game, select SAVE from the FILE menu.  In the window that appears, select a game slot to save your game to (any slot except the one labeled SETTINGS).  You can change the name of your game by editing the name in the text box at the upper-right corner of the window.  Then click on the SAVE buttom to save your game.  Saving your game saves both your balances (credits, amount borrowed, won/lost, bonuses paid, etc.) as well as your settings (last bet, and speed).

IMPORTANT!
Do not save a game to the slot labeled SETTINGS.  This is the place to store your default settings (those that take effect when you select NEW GAME).  To change the default settings, choose NEW GAME from the FILE menu.  Then change your settings.  You can even place a bet (BUT DON'T SPIN!).  You can also borrow credits if you wish to begin new games with over 1000 credits.  After you have made your changes, then select SAVE from the FILE menu.  Now click on SETTINGS and then click on SAVE to permanently change your default settings.

Loading Games

To load a previously saved game, select LOAD from the FILE menu.  This will bring up a LOAD GAME window.  Select the game you wish to load and click on LOAD.

To begin a new game, select NEW GAME from the FILE menu.  This will begin a new game according to the default settings.  When you first run the program, it automatically begins a new game, or you can load a previously saved game.


Statistics

To view the statistics for the current game, select STATISTICS from the FILE menu.

The statistics window displays the number of spins (not counting the bonus spins), credits, amount borrowed, amount wagered (the total amount of the bets placed on all your spins), amount won/lost, bonuses won (Bonus Spins and Pools won), the normal payout percentage (without bonuses won), and the overall payout percentage.


Strategy

Slots machines are a lot of fun because they are so unpredictable.  Winning on a traditional slot machine is mostly based on luck--not skill.

Lucky Stars does offer some opportunity for strategy/skill because you are allowed to vary your bet to such a large degree.  Since the bonus spins are so lucrative, their payout is based on your last bet, and because you know that you are more likely to get one when you only need one more of the fruits removed for the bonus spins, why not increase your bet SUBSTANTIALLY when you are close to earning a bonus spins!

You should always bet at least eight credits to be eligible for the bonuses.  Betting fewer than eight would lower your odds significantly.  Then when you only need to remove one more fruit for the bonus, start betting 64 credits.  This way you get three spins--all based on your 64 credit bet.


Programming Credits

Lucky Stars Video Slots is Copyrighted ©1994, 1995 by Ultimate Software

Programming:  Mike Comish

Testing:  Matthew Roland, Patricia Smith

Special Thanks:  We wish to thank Stephen Murphy for his fantastic
                          QCARD playing cards library.  It was used for the
                          high/low card double-or-nothing game in the
                          registered version.


CATALOG
Ultimate Software Product Catalog

The descriptions below refer to the registered versions of the various products in the Ultimate Software product line.  The shareware versions of these products will differ slightly.  Shareware versions of any of the following can be obtained for $5 directly from Ultimate Software, or from your favorite shareware vendor, BBS, on-line service or user group.  Prices for the fully-registered versions are listed with the product descriptions.  Click on any title below to see a product description.

Windows Programs

Cherry Delight Video Slots

Dream Home Loan

Home Stretch

Lucky Stars Video Slots

Noisy Video Blackjack

Noisy Video Poker

REAL Video Blackjack

REAL Video Poker

Ultimate Language Tutor for Windows

Ultimate Solitaire Collection

Zip Code Book

DOS Programs

Ultimate Geography

Ultimate Language Tutor for DOS


Cherry Delight Video Slots

Cherry delight is not your grandmother's slot machine!  Cherry Delight is a realistic simulation of the new breed of video slot machines sweeping the U.S.  Unlike traditional slot machines, Cherry Delight has nine separate spinning wheels.  This results in eight separate pay lines.  There are also a variety of bonuses that actually bring strategy to slot machine play.  The graphics are beautiful, and the wheels really look like they are spinning.  Also includes a double-or-nothing high/low card game option which you may choose to play after a winning spin.

     o Cherry Delight Video Slots $20


Dream Home Loan

Dream Home Loan is a very easy-to-use loan amortization, comparison, and analysis program.  But really, Dream Home Loan is much more than that.  Dream Home Loan is useful even after your home purchase because it is a powerful financial tool which helps you "manage" your mortgage.  Want to make extra mortgage payments of a fixed or variable amount either every month or here-and-there?  No problem.  Dream Home Loan will track your current and future loan balances.  Find out how much faster you can pay-off your mortgage with extra payments and a well thought-out mortgage management plan..

     o Dream Home Loan $20


Home Stretch

HOME STRETCH is the most realistic and fun horse racing and wagering simulation available.  Includes several betting options (Win, Place, Show, Quinella, and Exacta) and allows multiple bets per race.  Supports up to four human or computer players.  Computer players place their own bets.  There are several game options such as distance (6 furlongs or 1 mile), surface (dirt or turf), field (5 to 12 horses per race), and race type (Claiming, Maiden, Allowance, and Stakes races).  The registered version includes 100 pre-made horses, allows you to add additional horses (up to 1,000), and to edit horses (name, color, and speed attributes).  You'll love the included digitized sounds (real track sounds).

Unlike the other horse racing simulations you may have seen, HOME STRETCH gives you real past performances for each horse in a race.  This allows you to make informed betting decisions.  The odds are based upon the past performances of the horses.  When you place a bet, your bet is added to the betting pool and affects the overall odds.

There are two registered versions available.  The basic registration package includes everthing mentioned above.  The HOME STRETCH PRO version includes everything in the basic registration package, plus HORSE OWNERSHIP!  Horse Ownership adds a whole new dimension to HOME STRETCH.  You can claim horses in claiming races, you can sell any of your horses through auction, you choose which races to enter, you choose which instructions to give the jockey, and you can decide whether or not to bet on your (or any other) horse.

   o Home Stretch Basic Package $20
   o Home Stretch Pro Package $30


Lucky Stars

Lucky Stars is not your grandmother's slot machine!  Lucky Stars is a realistic simulation of the new breed of video slot machines sweeping the U.S.  Unlike traditional slot machines, Lucky Stars has nine separate spinning wheels.  This results in eight separate pay lines.  There are also a variety of bonuses that actually bring strategy to slot machine play.  The graphics are beautiful, and the wheels really look like they are spinning.  Also includes a double-or-nothing high/low card game option which you may choose to play after a winning spin.

     o Lucky Stars Video Slots $20


Noisy Video Blackjack

Noisy Video BlackJack for Windows is a simulation of the coin-operated video blackjack machines in casinos.  You choose how many coins to wager and whether to stand, hit, double-down, split pairs, buy insurance, etc.  In this version the dealer must stand on a hard 17 or higher and hit on a soft 17.  Blackjack and Insurance pays 2-1.  You can double-down on a 9,10 or 11.  You can split pairs.

This is a beautiful simulation with cards that look real.  The user interface makes game-play easy, and you can play as fast as you want because a minimum number of mouse clicks are required.

When you order Noisy Video BlackJack for Windows, you can get Noisy Video Poker for Windows for just $5 more.  That's a $15 savings off the regular price of $20 for each game.

     o Noisy Video BlackJack $20
     o Both BlackJack and Poker $25


Noisy Video Poker

Noisy Video Poker for Windows is a very fun and very beautiful simulation of the video poker machines you find in casinos.  Included are JACKS or BETTER, JOKERS WILD, and DEUCES WILD versions of the program.

Besides very realistic sounds like coins dropping into a metal tray (just like at the casinos) there are a variety of wacky sounds that play randomly when you don't have a winning hand.  These sounds really add to the entertainment value of this program, but what really sets this game apart from others is the graphics and user interface.  You can play this game with a minimum of mouse clicks which allows you to play rally fast.  And the cards!  Unlike a lot of other poker games you may have seen, the cards in this game look completely real.

When you order Noisy Video Poker for Windows, you can get Noisy Video BlackJack for Windows for only $5 extra.  That's a savings of $15 since both games are $20 each when purchased separately.

     o Noisy Video Poker $20
     o Both Poker and BlackJack $25


REAL Video Blackjack

Beautiful card designs (they look REAL), digitized sounds, and ease of play make this the most realistic video blackjack game available.

REAL Video Blackjack registration is only $20, but for an additional $5 (that's $25 total) you can get the registered versions of both REAL Video Blackjack and REAL Video Poker.  REAL Video Poker is a very realistic video poker simulation--just like the video poker machines found in casinos.  REAL Video Poker Includes JACKS or BETTER, JOKER's WILD, and DEUCES WILD versions of video poker.

SPECIAL OFFER!!!  For a total of $30 you get the registered versions of both REAL Video Blackjack and REAL Video Poker, and you also get the registered version of Noisy Video Poker & Blackjack.  Noisy Video Poker & Blackjack is different from any other poker or blackjack program you have seen (or heard).  The wacky sounds (glass breaking, donkey, explosions, and many others) make this game so fun that you will laugh even when you lose.

     o REAL Video Blackjack $20
     o REAL Video Blackjack and REAL Video Poker $25
     o REAL Video BJ & Poker and Noisy Video Poker & BJ $30


REAL Video Poker

Beautiful card designs (they look REAL), digitized sounds, and ease of play make this the most realistic video poker game available.  Includes JACKS or BETTER, JOKER's WILD, and DEUCES WILD versions of video poker.

REAL Video Poker registration is only $20, but for an additional $5 (that's $25 total) you can get the registered versions of both REAL Video Poker and REAL Video Blackjack.  REAL Video Blackjack is a very realistic video blackjack simulation--just like the video blackjack machines found in casinos.

SPECIAL OFFER!!!  For a total of $30 you get the registered versions of both REAL Video Poker and REAL Video Blackjack, and you also get the registered version of Noisy Video Poker & Blackjack.  Noisy Video Poker & Blackjack is different from any other poker or blackjack program you have seen (or heard).  The wacky sounds (glass breaking, donkey, explosions, and many others) make this game so fun that you will laugh even when you lose.

     o REAL Video Poker $20
     o REAL Video Poker and REAL Video Blackjack $25
     o REAL Video Poker & BJ and Noisy Video Poker & BJ $30


Windows Language Tutors

The Ultimate Language Tutor for Windows is a vocabulary learning system currently available in four languages.  This program offers a variety of drills and quizzes that help you learn, master, and test your vocabulary skills.  The Flashcard module is particularly useful.  It allows you to read in a list of words (or words you missed during a quiz) and have the words and their translations automatically flashed on-screen at a user-set rate.

The Ultimate Language Tutor for Windows also allows the user to add a chosen list of vocabulary in different language libraries.  This library builder is particularly useful to students taking a language course and using the Ultimate Language Tutor as a supplement to that course.  The student can add a distinct new library that matches the vocabulary for the chapter being studied.

The built-in quiz score tracker is particularly useful for teachers wishing to make this program available to their classes.  Quizzes are tracked by student.  Each student's profile shows scores and a description of the quizzes taken by the student.  The program also manages a top-ten list of the students with highest overall quiz scores.

The Ultimate Language Tutor for Windows is available for the following languages:

     o Spanish $20
     o French $20
     o German $20
     o Italian $20


Ultimate Solitaire Collection

The Ultimate Solitaire Collection is a bundle of nine different solitaire card games for Windows.  The games include Klondike, Canfield, Golf, Poker, Beleaguered Castle, Four Seasons, Pyramid, King's Audience and Monte Carlo Solitaire.  There are a lot of excellent solitaire games besides just the Klondike game which comes with Windows.  Some games are easier, some harder, some based more on skill than luck, some are more relaxing, and others just look nicer on the screen.  You will probably never want to play the solitaire game that came with Windows ever again when this solitaire package gives you so much more variety.

Learning a new solitaire game takes no more than five minute with the on-line manual and context-sensitive help system.  And for a mere $25 you get all nine games.  That's under $3 each!

        o The Ultimate Solitaire Collection $25


Zip Code Book

Zip Code Book is a zip code (and city, state, area code) lookup program for Windows.  Enter a zip code to find the corresponding city, state and area code.  You can also find a zip code by entering a city name and two-digit state abbreviation.  Zip Code Book supports copy and paste to and from other Windows applications (like word processors, spreadsheet programs and databases). Contains a database of over 75,000 zip codes and city/place names.

When you purchase Zip Code Book, you receive a database of the latest quarterly update.  For an extra $15 ($40 total), you will also receive the next 3 quarterly updates when available.  Updates are currently issued in March, June, September, and December.

The databased used by the Zip Code Book is highly compressed.  Registered users will also receive a .DBF version of the database which can be used by any database program which can read (or import) standard .DBF files.

     o Zip Code Book $25
     o Zip Code Book plus the next three quarterly updates $40


Ultimate Geography

This program sports a beautiful map of the United States.  Select a state with your mouse or with the keyboard, and the program displays a variety of census information.  You can also choose a census category (like population growth) and the map will highlight all states according to their national ranking.

Besides being a graphical almanac of U.S. information, Ultimate Geography is also a quizzing program which can teach and test state capitals, state locations, etc.

The teacher's version includes a test score tracker which can be used to administer tests and quizzes and record the scores of individual students.

     o Standard Edition $15
     o Teacher's Edition $30


DOS Language Tutors

The Ultimate Language Tutor for DOS is a vocabulary learning system currently available in Spanish and French.  This program offers a variety of drills and quizzes that help you learn, master, and test your vocabulary skills.

The Ultimate Language Tutor for Windows also allows the user to add a chosen list of vocabulary in distinct language libraries.  This library builder is particularly useful to students taking a language course and using the Ultimate Language Tutor as a supplement to that course.  The student can add a distinct new library that matches the vocabulary for the chapter being studied.

The built-in quiz score tracker is particularly useful for teachers wishing to make this program available to their classes.  Quizzes are tracked by student.  Each student's profile shows scores and a description of the quizzes taken by the student.  Scores can also be graphed on-screen.

The Ultimate Language Tutor for DOS is available for the following languages:

     o Spanish $20
     o French $20