Copyright: ® 1995 G. J. DeBacker


Contents

The Game

Options

Q & A


Contents

The Game

Dealing

The Basics

How To

Solo

Modem

Jokers

Options

Q & A


Contents

The Game

Dealing

The Basics

How To

Solo

Modem

Jokers

Options

Menus

Players

Cards

Game

Sound

Color

Q & A


Contents

The Game

Options

Menus

Players

Cards

Game

Sound

Color

Q & A


Q & A
Question & Answer

Q. What do I get when I register Two Handed Spades?

A. You get it all! When you register Two Handed Spades you receive the latest version of Two Handed Spades along with an additional free game. Not to mention the warm, fuzzy feeling you get all over.

But wait, there's more! Also, the registered version of Two Handed Spades loads much faster and does not display the logo screen in-between games. With modem games the registered version does not hang up after one game but continues to start new games, one after the other, until you chose to quit. Also, you may even receive a set of six steak knives (or maybe not). Now how much would you pay?

Q. How can I register Two Handed Spades?

A. I thought you'd never ask. You can register Two Handed Spades in one of two ways. First, by filling out the Order Form and sending in a check or money order to:

Greg DeBacker

638 San Juan Av.

Santa Cruz, CA

95065

The Order Form can be filled out by clicking on the Order Form button when the game first starts or by selecting Order Form from the Help menu.

Or, if you are a member of CompuServe, you can use their software registration feature (GO SWREG). Once there, use SWREG # 8966 and follow the on screen instructions.

Q. How much does it cost to register Two Handed Spades?

A. Another excellent question. You must be very smart, and I'm not just saying that - Really. The cost of Two Handed Spades is $14.50, plus $2.50 to cover shipping.

Q. What language is Two Handed Spades written in?

A. Two Handed Spades is written in *Visual Basic 3.0.

Q. I had to get a copy of VBRUN300.DLL in order to run Two Handed Spades. What is this file?

A. VBRUN300.DLL is the run-time version of Visual Basic. It is needed to run all programs written in Visual Basic 3.0. VB stands for Visual Basic; RUN stands for run-time; 300 represents the version number; and DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library.

Q. I know my sound card is configured correctly because it works with other Windows programs, but it only works some of the time with Two Handed Spades. What's wrong?

A. If Two Handed Spades encounters any problems with WAV files while you are playing a game it simply stops trying to play them. Go to the Sound section of the Options dialog box and select each WAV file you are using one at time and click on Test. If there is a problem with the WAV file the Test button will tell you there is a problem.

Q. How can I make Two Handed Spades play faster?

A. Buy a faster PC and more memory.           Take my wife - Please.

But seriously folks...Almost every option you use while playing Two Handed Spades will slow it down a bit. To make it play faster you can turn off the Fix Corners, Sound, and Animation, and select Super Fast from the Game section of the Options dialog box.

All applications use Systems Resources (different from memory). To see how much Free Systems Resources you have select "About..." from the Help menu of Two Handed Spades main window. At the bottom of the About window you will see something like the following:

	Mode: Enhanced
	Free Memory: 22696 kb
	Free User Resources: 83%
	Free GDI Resources: 59%

The last two, User and GDI Resources are the important ones here, Two Handed Spades runs best if they are at about 80% and 60%, respectively. If they are well below these values try closing any other applications that are currently running to free up Systems Resources. Of course, the more memory you have the better.

Q. Where did you get the rules for Two Handed Spades? They're different than the way I play.

A. The rules for this version of Two Handed Spades were taken from the book "Hoyle's Rules of Games, Second Revised Edition", by Albert H. Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 83-61703.

The book does not mention anything about playing with Jokers. The rules that apply to Jokers are my own. Also, the rules in the book are for 4 handed Spades. Other than the dealing, though, the rules do apply.

Q. Can I get a copy of the source code for Two Handed Spades?

A. Ha-ha-ha! Good one.

Oh, you were serious. No, I'm sorry I don't give away the source code.

Q. Do the players ever "look" at each others hands?

A. That would be cheating. No, they don't, not when bidding or playing a card.

Q. What are the files 2HSPADES.INI and 2HSPADES.INF for?

A. 2HSPADES.INI stores the option settings for all the users so that every time a user starts a game the same options (e.g. Card Back, Play To, Sound, ect) will be set as they were the last time they played.

2HSPADES.INF stores all the information about the players, both human and computer. This is where the Win/Loss numbers are kept. Also, when you have registered, this is where registration information is kept.

If the 2HSPADES.INF file becomes corrupted and needs to be deleted it will be recreated the next time you play. If this happens, though, you will lose all the Win/Loss numbers and you will need to supply your registration number the first time you play the game after it has been deleted.

Q. Where do I write to if I have comments about the game?

A. You can write to me at the same address you send your registration fee listed in the first question, or you can E-Mail me at:

CompuServe # 71042,36

Internet # 71042.36@compuserve.com

World Wide Web http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/gregdebacker

I encourage your comments, suggestions, and complaints.

Q. The window does not fill the entire screen. How can I make it larger?

A. At video resolutions greater than 600X400 the main window will not fill the entire screen. There is no way to enlarge it.

* Visual Basic and Windows are a trade marks of Microsoft Corporation.


The Basics

If you are not familiar with the game of Spades the instructions below cover the basics of the game.

Bidding

You bid the number of tricks you think you can take in the deal. You get a bonus if you take exactly the number of tricks you bid. You are penalized if you take fewer tricks than you bid.

A trick consist of 2 cards, one from each player. If yours is the highest card of the 2, and is in the suit of the first card that was played, you win the trick. Ace is the highest and 2 is the lowest card.

There are a total of 13 possible tricks in one deal. However, the total number of tricks bid by the 2 players may add up to more or less than 13.

Trump

The suit Spades is the exception to the above rule. A Spade can beat any card except a higher Spade. If the other player plays the Ace of Hearts and you play the 2 of Spades you take the trick. This is called a "Trump". See Jokers for more information on trumping.

When To Trump

You can only Trump with a Spade if you are out of the suit that was first played, that is, the suit that was "Opened" with. The suit that was "Opened" is the suit of the first card that was played, this is also referred to as the "Lead Suit". On the right side of the screen you will see an icon representing the lead suit.

You can not open with Spades until Spades have been "Broken". Spades are considered broken when someone trumps a trick. A status label at the left side of the screen will tell you when Spades have been broken. You must play in suit if you have the suit that was led.

The Flow of the Game

The player that is not the dealer will play the first card in the trick. When it is your turn to play a card you click on a card in front of you to play that card. After both players have played a card the computer will determine the highest card and that player will be credited with the trick. The player that wins the trick will begin the next round by playing a card.

After all 13 tricks have been played the scores will be tallied and then the next deal will begin. The deal rotates back and forth between the two players. This continues until someone has won the game by reaching or exceeding the number of points set with the Play To option.

Scoring

If you take exactly the number of tricks you bid you get 10 points for every trick bid plus 20 points for being such a good player.

If you take more tricks than you bid you get 10 points for every trick you bid plus 1 point for every trick over your bid.

If you take fewer tricks than you bid you get negative 10 points for every trick bid.

If you bid 0 this is called "Bidding Nil". If you Bid Nil and take 0 tricks you get 200 points. If you Bid Nil and take any tricks at all you get negative 200 points.


Playing Solo

When you play solo it is you against the computer. See Modem for information on modem or serial port (Null-Modem Cable) play between two computers.


Modem Play
Modem And Null-Modem Cable Play

Two Handed Spades can be played between two computers either over a Modem or with a Null-Modem cable directly linking two computers together. For the specifics of setting up either of these two methods see either Modem Setup or Null-Modem Setup.

When playing between two computers there are a few things which are different. In an effort to keep the two computers in sync with each other some of the options are disabled. Also, the "Sort Hand" button becomes the "Talk" button so you can send messages to your opponent on the other end.

You can use the Talk feature to send a message to your opponent only when it is your turn to play. To use this feature click on the "Talk" button and type in a short message when the dialog box comes up. After typing in a message click on "OK" and your message appears on your opponents screen.

If you receive a message from your opponent a message box will pop up on your screen. After you have read the message move the mouse pointer over the message box and the pointer will change from an hour glass to an arrow. You can then click on "OK" to remove the message box from your screen.

When you start the first game there will be no Draw To See Who Deals First as in normal play. The person who initiates the call will be considered the first dealer. The person who receives the call will be the first bidder.

The settings for Play To, Speed, the Number of Jokers, and Quick Deal will be set for both PCs by the PC that initiates the call. Both players should agree on these settings before the game begins.

The person who is considered the dealer will have to wait until the their opponent has bid before the bidding window will come up on their screen. Be patient.

When a winner has been decided and the game is over the Review Game window will be displayed. Immediately after you close the Review Game window a new game will start. If your opponent is the dealer you will need to wait until they have closed the Review Game window on their computer before the dealing will commence. New games will continue to start until you select End Game from the File menu or you exit Two Handed Spades. (In the unregistered version only one game will be played and then the modem will hang up.)


Playing With Jokers

You can chose to have Jokers added to the deck. Jokers are similar to Spades in that they can only be played if you are out of the suit that was led. Jokers are considered higher than Spades and can trump a Spade. The only card that can trump a Joker is another Joker. If two Jokers are played in a single trick the second Joker played takes the trick.

If 2 Jokers are added to the deck then the deck will now have 54 cards in it. The computer will only deal 52 cards, and there is no way of knowing which 2 cards were not dealt. It might be 2 high Spades or it could be the 2 and 3 of Clubs, or it could even be one or both of the Jokers that was not dealt.

If a player leads with a Joker the next card played will determine what the lead suit is. If Spades have not been broken and you or another player trumps with a Joker this does not constitute that Spades have been broken. Only a Spade trump can break Spades.


User Options
Player's Options

Access all the options by selecting "Options..." from the Options menu.

Player Options is where you set up the Human Players and Computer Opponents for the game. The window is divided down the middle with a list of Human Players on the left and Computer opponents on the right.

Each side has it's own list of players, Add and Remove buttons, and a text box for adding names to their respective lists.

Human/Computer  List	A list of the available human/computer names from which you can chose.
New Human's/Computer's Name	Here you can type in a name, and then click on "Add" to add your name to the list.
Add Button	Adds the name you typed into the text box to the list
Remove Button	Removes the name displayed in the list from the list.
Apply Button	Sets the name selected in the Human List and the name selected in the Computer list as the current player and opponent.

The "Human" and "Computer" selections in their respective lists can not be removed.


Game Options

Access all the options by selecting "Options..." from the Options menu.

Below is a description of the Game Options available to you.

Play To - Determines how far a game is played until a winner is decided. The choices are 250 points, 500 points, 750 points, 1000 points.

Speed - Determines how fast the cards are displayed and how long a trick remains on the table before it is removed. The Choices are:

Super Fast	This is as fast as your computer can go.
Fast	There are slight delays between cards played and when the trick is removed.
Medium	The delays are a little longer than the Fast setting.
Slow	Delays are longer still and the winning card is flashed before the trick is removed.

Jokers - Determines how many Jokers are added to the deck.

Suit Order - Determines the order in which the suits are displayed in your hand. The choices are:

H-C-S-D - Hearts, Clubs, Spades, Diamonds

C-H-D-S - Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds, Spades

Play Sounds - WAV files are played on certain events when checked.

Animate Cards - The cards are animated when the trick is cleared from the table.

Fix Corners - Rounds off the corners of the cards. Turn off if speed is an issue.

Quick Deal - When Quick Deal is unchecked the speed of the dealing is relative to the Speed option you have selected (See Above). When this option is checked the speed of the deal remains fast regardless of the Speed option set.


Sound Options

Access all the options by selecting "Options..." from the Options menu.

If you have a sound card you can attach WAV files to events in Two Handed Spades. Below are a list of the events you can attach WAV files to:

Start Up	WAV played when the game first starts.
Spades Broken	WAV played when Spades have been broken.
Wrong Selection	WAV played when you try to play out of suit.
Set Hand	WAV played when you take fewer tricks then you bid.
Click Card	WAV played when you click on a card to play it.
Lose Game	WAV played when you lose a game.
Win Game	WAV played when you win a game.

Two Handed Spades is shipped with several WAV files. However, you can chose to attach your own WAV files to the events listed above.

To the left of the listed events in the Sound section of the Options box there is a directory and file list box for you to find WAV files on your computer's hard drive. Once you have found the specific WAV file you wish to attach to an event make sure that the specific event is selected and then click on the "Apply" button.

If you don't wish to have a WAV file attached to a particular event select that event and click on the "Clear" button.

You can test a WAV file by selecting it from the file list box and then clicking on the "Test" button. If for some reason the WAV files are not playing during the play of the game, and you know that your sound card is set up correctly, the "Test" button will tell you if any errors where encountered while it was trying to play the WAV file.

Any errors encountered playing WAV files during the play of the game will be ignored and no error messages will be displayed. The WAV files will simply no longer play until you have fixed the problem or removed the offending WAV file.


Menus

File

Start Game	Starts a new game.
End Game	Ends the game you are playing. Will also hang up the modem on Modem Games
Restart Deal	Restarts the current deal.
Save Game	Saves the game you are playing to disk.
Save Game As	Allows you to give the saved game a name.
Load Game	Loads a saved game.
Exit	Exit Two Handed Spades.

Options

Display Scores	Displays a break down of the scores for the current game.
Review Game	Allows you to review all of the tricks and scores for the game, along with the cards discarded during the deal. See Review Game
Auto Play	The computer will play your hand for you.
Options	Displays the Options dialog box with all the game options.
Modem	Displays the window to set up and play between two computers.

Players

	Current Player's Name
	Current Opponent's Name
By selecting the opponent from the Players Menu you can either show or hide their hand or set their style of play.

Help

Search Help	Search this help file for a particular topic.
Help Contents	Open this Help file.
About	View the About Box for information about version number and system's resources.
Display Logo	Displays the logo screen.


Color Options

Access all the options by selecting "Options..." from the Options menu.

You can set the colors of the main playing area to suit your preference. The color of the following aspects can be changed:

Card Table	This is the main playing area.
Bid Label	Displays the bids for each player.
Trick Label	Displays the tricks taken by each player.
Bid/Trick Outline	Outline color of the Bid and Trick Labels.
Player's Name	Displays the 2 player's name.

When you are looking at the color options dialog box you can click on one of the above aspects of Two Handed Spades and a color selection window will open. Select a color and click on OK to change the color.

When you click on the Bid Label or Trick Label from the Color dialog box you will be asked if you want to change the font. If you say yes you will be changing the font color, if you say no you will be changing the background color of the Bid or Trick Label.

Once you have decided on the colors you like click on the "Apply" button to apply the new colors to the card table. To get back to the colors that the game originally shipped with click on the "Reset" button.


How To

Draw For Deal

When you start a new game the entire deck will be displayed at the top of the card table face down. Both players, starting with you, will draw a card from the deck. The player who draws the highest card will be the first dealer. To draw a card from the deck click on it.

When drawing, suits and trumps don't count. If two players draw the same card, such as two queens, the second card will be the higher of the two.

Dealing

Dealing is the one big aspect of Two Handed Spades that differs greatly from the four handed version. When the dealing begins the deck is spread out face down on the table.

The cards are dealt two at a time. For you, the left card will be face up and the other face down. You select one of the two cards by clicking on it. If you take the face up card the face down card is discarded without you getting a chance to look at it. If you select the face down card that card is put into your hand regardless of how good or bad it may be and the face up card is discarded.

When it is your opponents turn both cards appear face down on the table. Even though both cards appear face down the computer looks a the left card and decides whether it likes the card or not. If the computer likes the left card that card is added to the computers hand and the other card is discarded without the computer looking at it. Should the computer decided it does not like the card on the left it will select the card on the right, the face down card, and the other card will be discarded.

Two things to keep in mind. First, when there is a face up card on the table the computer is waiting for you to make a selection. When there are two face down cards on the table it is the computers turn to select a card.

Second, watch which card the computer selects. If the computer consistently selects the card on the left that means that it is taking the card without ever considering the second, face down card. If that is the case it is safe to assume that they are pretty good cards.

After the game is over you can review the discards you and the computer discarded from the Review Game window. The cards are not sorted by suit, but rather they are displayed in the order they were discarded.

Bidding

After the deal the bidding window will be displayed in the middle of the card table. If you are the dealer your opponent will have bid first and his or her bid will be shown on the bidding window. If your opponent is dealing you will be the first to bid

You can click on Suggest Bid to have the computer suggest a bid for your hand or you can use the scroll bar in the center of the bidding window to select your bid value. When you have chosen your bid click on OK to accept the bid.

Playing A Card

Once you place your bid the bidding window will disappear and the game will begin. To play a card you click on it with the mouse. Once all the cards in your hand have been played the deal will be passed and the bidding process will start again.

Modem Play

See Modem Play or Modem Setup

Null-Modem Play

See Modem Play or Null-Modem Setup

Tools And Display

On the right of the card table is a panel that shows the statistics for the players and 4 buttons. Here you can view each players Win/Loss record, their style of play, and their current score.

Below are a description of the 4 buttons (See also Game options):

Sort Hand	Changes the suit order of your hand. During Modem play this is the Talk button to send messages to your opponent.
New Game	Starts a new game.
Card Back	Toggles through the 6 card backs.
Suggest	Clicking on Suggest will have the computer suggest a card for you to play. The color of the card the computer suggests will become inverted (mostly black). You can then play that card by clicking on it, or ignore the suggestion and play a different card.

More Info

Above the 4 buttons you will see Total Bids and Deal Number. Total Bids is the total number of bids placed by the 2 players and Deal Number is the number of Deals that have been played in the current game. You will also see the current settings for the options Play To, Speed, and Jokers.

Below the 4 buttons you will see an icon representing the lead suit for the current trick. If no icon is displayed then it is your turn to lead. Below this will be displayed "Spades have been broken" when Spades have been broken in the current deal.


Graphical Device Interface: Used under Windows to create, track and remove graphics.


Creates, tracks, and removes windows and their properties.


Card Backs
Card Back Selection

Access all the options by selecting "Options..." from the Options menu.

Card Back - Allows you to select from the 6 card backs. To select a card back, click on it and then click on Apply.


Modem Setup

See also Modem Play

To start a modem game select Modem Play from the Options menu. When the Modem Play window appears select Modem from the Device selection box. One person will need to initiate the call and the other person will need to receive the call.

If you are going to be the one calling your opponent select Initiate Call from the Connection box and type in you opponents phone number in the Number To Call box.

The number to call should be digits only, no letters. If you are using a phone that needs to dial a special number for an outside line before the number is dialed place a comma in-between the special number and the number to dial. For example, if you need to dial a nine first enter something like this for the Number To Dial:

9, 555-1212 (You can use more than one comma if necessary)

Then click on the Connect button to call your opponent and start the game. To end the call before the connection is made click on the Cancel button. To end the call once the game has begun you can chose End Game or Exit from the File menu.

If you are going to be the one waiting for your opponent to call select Wait For Call from the Connection Box. Then click on the Connect button. When the phone rings the modem will answer the phone and after a brief pause the game will start.

The Modem button will allow you to set up the following options for your modem:

Modem Initialization	AT S0=1 This tells your modem to answer the phone on the first ring. Other initialization settings can be added to this line, but you must at least have AT S0=1.
Dialing	Dial Tone or Dial Pulse. This tells your modem to either use Tone or Pulse dialing to dial the number.
Port	The COM Port your modem is on. If you're not sure select a port and try to dial your own number. If you hear the modem dial and then you get a busy signal you've found it.
Baud	The Baud Rate of your modem. Use the highest baud rate your modem is set for.
Escape	+++  (3 plus signs) The escape characters your modem uses to return to command mode. This is the same for almost all modems, but if you are having trouble hanging up after a game check the documentation for you modem.
Hang Up	AT H The command to hang up your modem. This is the same for almost all modems, but if you are having trouble hanging up after a game check the documentation for you modem.
Reset	AT Z The command to reset your modem. This is the same for almost all modems, but if you are having trouble hanging up after a game check the documentation for you modem

When playing over a modem things can at times go wrong for no apparent reason. Sometimes this is due to noise on the telephone line, which can disrupt the game, or other reasons.

When testing the game I successfully played with several different computers. Most of the time the game played without any problems. On other occasions it took a few trys to get the game going.

If you can't get the game to work over a modem at all start by consulting the documentation that came with your modem for different initialization settings. You may also want to contact the manufacturer of your modem for help. Many modem manufacturers have support forums on the major on-line services.


Null-Modem Setup

See also Modem Play

You can link two computers together will a Null-Modem cable and play between two people. A Null-Modem cable can be picked up relatively cheaply at any computer store. To start a Null-Modem game select Modem Play from the Options menu. When the Modem Play window appears select Serial from the Device selection box. One person will need to initiate the game and the other person will need to receive the game.

If you are going to be the one initiating the game select Initiate Call from the Connection box. Then click on the Connect button to connect with the other computer and start the game.

If you are going to be the one receiving the game select Wait For Call from the Connection Box. Then click on the Connect button. When your opponent clicks on the Connect button the game will begin.

The Modem button will allow you to set up the following options for the Null-Modem cable. The other options are ignored for Null-Modem Cable play:

Port	The COM Port the Null-Modem cable is on. If you're not sure select a port and try to start a game. If nothing happens try the next one until you've found it.


Review Game

Selecting Review Game from the Options Menu allows you to review every trick, bid, and discard for an entire game.

There are two drop-down boxes on the left labeled Deal and Trick. When you select an individual Deal and Trick from these two boxes you can see exactly which cards were played in that trick, which card opened, and who won the trick.

Next to the drop-down boxes will be displayed the number of bids bid, and the tricks taken for the selected deal. Also you will see the score for the selected deal and the total score for the game.

At the top, right of the Review Game window will be two buttons labeled with the two player's names. By selecting a Deal number, and then clicking on one of the buttons you can see which cards were discarded by that player for that deal. The discards will be displayed in the order in which they were discarded.