




                           *** Four-Handed Euchre ***
                                   Version 4.1
                                Copyright (c) 1995
                                  David W. Feltz
        
        

             Please  feel free to give unmodified copies  of  Four-Handed
        Euchre,  (the   EUC41.EXE   file  and   EUC41.TXT)  to  friends, 
        relatives, and co-workers. They may also enjoy the opportunity to 
        try it out!

	SHAREWARE/FREEWARE DISTRIBUTORS
	     I am asking that distributors please replace older shareware
	versions of Four-Handed Euchre for DOS with this FREEWARE version.
        
        RUNNING THE PROGRAM
             Four-Handed Euchre has been tested and seems to perform well
        in  as little as 100K bytes of RAM. It requires NO graphics card. 
        All screen  objects  are created  using ASCII  characters.
             Four-Handed  Euchre  is  ran by entering EUC41  at  the  DOS
        prompt. 
        
        THE USER INTERFACE
             Four-Handed Euchre 4.1 incorporates a keyboard driven user 
	interface. Registered version has mouse control as well.This 
	interface consists  of  three sections - hotkeys, dialog  boxes,
        and  card selection.
        
        HOTKEYS
             Hotkeys are displayed at the top of the game screen and can
        be selected  with a corresponding key stroke. All hotkeys are 
	available at any time during  program execution. After hotkey 
	action is complete, the program picks up where it left off.
             QUIT immediately terminates to the operating system. It does
        not  verify if you are sure. Be certain you really want  to  quit
        before  making  this selection. Before termination  to  DOS, the
	"human" player's name is saved to disk.  This will become the 
        default settings next time the  program is ran.
             The  ABOUT  hotkey displays information about  the  program.
        When complete, game play resumes where it left off.
             The  BOSS hotkey is a special hotkey which is not  displayed
        on  the  screen.  It blanks the screen and displays  a  fake  DOS
        prompt  (  C:\>_ ). When the BOSS key is pressed again  the  game
        play resumes where it left off. This key can be useful if playing
        at  work.  To use the BOSS key simply hold down the ALT  key  and
        press  the spacebar. When it is safe to resume game play,  repeat
        the ALT spacebar combination. The ESC key immediately exits to DOS
	while in the boss mode.
        
        DIALOG BOXES
             Dialog  boxes  are the main method of input from  the  user.
        They consist of one or two lines of text and one, two, three,  or
        four  "buttons". The boxes are always displayed over  the  bottom
        part  of the user's cards. When the dialog box is displayed,  the
        first button will be colored light blue. If more than one button
        is available, the others will be purple. A selection is made by 
        pressing the TAB key or the LEFT and  RIGHT ARROW keys until the
        desired button is light blue. Then press the ENTER key or the 
        SPACEBAR. Also, the user can press the key enclosed in brackets 
        ( < > ) to make the selection.
        
        CARD SELECTION
             Card  selection is also done with dialog boxes, except there
        are no buttons. Instead, an arrow pointing down appears above the
        first card. This arrow can be moved with  the TAB key or LEFT and
        RIGHT  arrow keys  to until  it points at  the desired card. Then
        press ENTER or SPACEBAR.
        
        GAME PLAY
             The  first  step in playing Four-Handed Euchre is  to  enter
        your  first  name. The name of the last player (if any)  will  be
        displayed.  If you want to use that name, simply press enter.  If
        not, begin typing your name and the previous name will be erased.
        There is no need to backspace over the previous name. Only alpha-
        betic character will be excepted. Spaces, function keys, numbers,
        etc. will be ignored. A maximum of ten letters can be entered. At
        least one letter must be entered.
             The  names of the computer players will be picked at  random
        from  a  list  of about fifty names. The  computer  player  names
        will never be the same as the human player.
        
        DEALING THE CARDS
             The  "Human"  player's computer  controlled partner will  be
        the first to deal.  The  deal will  then move to the left on each
        successive hand. The  act  of dealing the cards will be performed
        by the PC, even if it is  the "Human" player's deal. The   dealer
        will  distribute  the  cards  in  a   clockwise direction  start-
        ing with the player on his or her left. In keeping with the rules
        of  the  game,  each player will receive three  cards,  then  two
        cards.  After  each player has all five cards, the   dealer  will
        turn  one  card  up in the middle of the  screen.   The   "Human"
        player's cards are face up at the bottom of the screen and his or
        her partner's cards are at the top of the screen. The  opponents'
        cards are on the left and right of the screen. The  game  will be
        played by the rules  of  Euchre (described below).  The  computer
        generated  players  will  NOT renege (cheat)   and   the  "Human"
        participant will not be permitted to renege. If the human  player
        tries to renege, a dialog box will popup and say "You must follow
        suit".  Simply  press  the enter key or space bar to resume play.
             When the game is over, a dialog box will appear stating that
        the game is over. It asks if the player would like another  game.
        If  the answer is no, the program exits to DOS. If the answer  is
        yes, a new game will begin with the same players.
        
        GAME INFORMATION
             The  computer  players  "talk" to the user  though  a  popup
        dialog  box  which appears over their cards.
             The  game  score (tricks taken and points scored)  are  dis-
        played  at  the upper left and upper right portions of  the  game
        screen.  The  name of the player who dealt and the  name  of  the
        player  who  lead  is displayed at the bottom left  of  the  game
        screen.  Trump suit and the player name who made that suit  trump
        is displayed at the bottom right of the game screen.
        
        RULES OF EUCHRE
             Euchre  is a card game usually played by four people with  a
        pack  of  cards  consisting  of nines through aces. The cards are
        ranked downward  with the jack of trump suit (called right bower)
        as  the  highest  card. The jack of the same color as  the  trump
        suit (called left  bower) is  the second highest card and is also
        considered a trump  card. The remaining cards are ranked from the
        ace down.
             The cards are dealt to each player, three on the first round
        and  two on the second. After the last card is dealt, the  dealer
        places the next card face up to indicate the trump suit. Starting
        with  the player to the left of the dealer, each player  in  turn
        has  the  option of accepting or passing the trump suit.  If  the
        player  accepting the trump suit is not the dealer,  that  player
        orders the card up. If the player accepting is the dealer, he  or
        she  picks  the card up. No matter who makes trumps,  the  dealer
        must  place the card that is turned up into his or her  hand  and
        discard one card in exchange for it. If all the players pass  the
        trump,  it is turned down, and each player in turn may  make  the
        suit, that is, call another suit trump, or may pass again. If all
        players pass the second time, the hand is abandoned and the  deal
        moves to the left. A player making trump may go alone without the
        aid  of his or her  partner.  The  partner will give  the  player
        the   best   card he  or she has available and  the  player  will
        discard one card  in exchange for it.  As soon as a player  makes
        trump, the player  to the  left of the dealer leads. Each  player
        must  play a  card.  If the player has cards of the same suit  as
        that led, that suit must be played. Please note, the jack of  the
        same color as trump (left bower) is played as if it had the  same
        suit  as trump. Failure  to follow  suit is called  reneging  and
        will  not be allowed.  If  the player doesn't have cards  of  the
        same  suit  as  that led, any  card may be  played,  including  a
        trump.
             Tricks  are taken by the highest card of the suit led or  by
        the  highest trump. Cards that are not trump or the same suit  as
        that  led, can never take a trick. The player who took the  trick
        then  becomes the lead. Play continues until all cards have  been
        played.
             The object of the game is for the team making trump to  take
        three or four tricks, which would score them 1 point. Taking five
        tricks would score them two points, unless the player went alone,
        which  would  score four points. Failure to take at  least  three
        tricks  is  referred to as being euchred and scores  the    oppo-
        nent team two points. The game is played to ten points. The  team
        who reaches ten points wins.



