GIN RUMMY (Version 2.1) - README.TXT
====================================

** See "Having Problems?" below if the cards don't display correctly. **
** Also review the "Frequently Asked Questions" in GINRUMMY.FAQ.      **
** Gin Rummy is not able to display cards at resolutions of more than **
** 256 colors.                                                        **

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, CMDIALOG.VBX, and VBCTL3D.VBX are present in your path
(typically in the windows\system directory).  CMDIALOG.VBX and VBCTL3D.VBX
are 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 (3" 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:

	GINRUMMY.EXE - The program
        RUMCARDS.BMP - The card images
        GINRUMMY.HLP - The help file
	VBRUN300.DLL - The Visual Basic Runtime
        CMDIALOG.VBX - The Visual Basic Common Dialog extension
        VBCTL3D.VBX  - The Visual Basic 3D Effects extension
        GINRUMMY.FAQ - The "frequently asked questions" file
	READGIN.TXT  - This file

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.

Gin Rummy may not run if you have your configuration set to display more
than 256 colors.  see "Experiencing Problems?", below.

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!


Having Problems?
----------------

The only known problem outside of Gin Rummy's control is when Gin Rummy is
initiated on a system with insufficient memory or other graphics resources
available.  This problem usually manifests itself by Gin Rummy "locking up"
when loading, or by all cards being displayed as blank images.  The reason is
usually one of the following:

1. Insufficient low memory.  Try loading high some of the DOS start-up
   utilities in AUTOEXEC.BAT and/or CONFIG.SYS.  If you have DOS 6.0 or
   later, you might try the memmaker utility.
2. Too many other programs running.  Exit Gin Rummy, terminate some of the
   other programs, re-execute Gin Rummy.
3. Insufficient resources to handle graphics colors.  If you have your
   graphics driver set to handle more than 256 colors, Gin Rummy will not run
   Reset your resolution to 256 colors before executing Gin Rummy again.
4. Deficiency of the graphics driver handling Windows BitBlt functions.

All other reported problems have been related to logic errors in the Gin
Rummy program itself.  These are always fixed in the next release.  If you
find such a problem, please report it to us at the above address.


Revision History
----------------

Version 1.x  - Development versions.

Version 2.0  - Beta test version

Version 2.1  - First shareware release.  Fully functional.


 MeggieSoft Games 1995.  All Rights Reserved.
