The goal of AcidSolitaire is to win games, not to score points. The AcidSolitaire rules are relaxed - for example, you can look through the Deck Stack as many times as you like without penalty, and you can even move cards from the Home cells back to a column. There are many convenience features. You can double-tap a card to move it automatically, and you can enter numbers (0-9, J, Q, K) in the Graffiti area to highlight cards - this can help you locate cards on the screen. There is even an Undo feature (press the Page-Up button). Statistics will be kept - try to keep your Win percentage up there!

Installation

To install AcidSolitaire, just double-click on the file "AcidSolitaire.prc". The Palm Install Tool will start, with AcidSolitaire.prc listed in the window.

Click "Done". The next time you HotSync, AcidSolitaire will be installed.

If double-clicking does not work, you can start Palm Desktop and click the "Install" icon to start the Palm Install Tool. You can then click "Add..." and select the AcidSolitaire.prc file.

If you have trouble installing AcidSolitaire, you can find help in the documentation that came with your Palm OS device. You can also send email to support@red-mercury.com with questions.

Registration

AcidSolitaire will remind you from time to time that it is free to try for a short time. It will tell you how many days you have left to play for free. If you would like to purchase the fully registered version, simply visit Red Mercury to find instructions on how to purchase on-line. Once you have purchased the full version, you will receive an UnlockCode that will allow you to play unlimited AcidSolitaire on one Palm OS device.

Playing

During the game, you can tap the Menu button on screen to drop down the AcidSolitaire menu. From this menu, you can restart the current game, start a new game, change options such as sound on/off, and read the online help that explains how to play.

To move a card, tap it to select it, then tap where you would like it to go. You can also double-tap a card to move it - if there's somewhere for it to go, it will go there when you double-tap.

To move a column of cards, tap the highest card in the group you would like to move, then tap where you would like it to go. A group of cards can only be selected if all of the cards in the group are in proper alternating-color descending-value order (see below).

The Object of the Game

The goal of AcidSolitaire is to move all 52 cards to the four home cells in the upper right of the playfield. Each home cell will hold a stack of one suit of cards. The stack must be made in order from lowest (Ace) to highest (King).

AcidSolitaire has rules similar to "plain old solitaire" (also known as Klondike), but the goal of AcidSolitaire is not to score points. The goal of AcidSolitaire is to WIN THE GAME! Your statistics will be based on how many games you win. Not all games are winnable, but in AcidSolitaire, the rules are set so that you can win most games. The rules are fairly relaxed to give you a fighting chance at winning. For example, you can browse through the Deck Stack as many times as you like without penalty. The default deal mode is "Deal 1". If you set the deal mode to "Deal 3" in the Options, AcidSolitaire will be much more difficult.

Alternating-Color Descending-Value Order

Cards can be moved following certain rules. There are seven columns of cards in the playfield. To add a card to a column, the added cards must follow alternating-color and descending-value order. For example, you can add a black 3 to a column that ends with a red 4 (but not to a column that ends in a black 4).

In the upper-left hand corner, you will see a stack of cards that has not been dealt. By tapping on this deck, you can view the cards in this stack one at a time. When you see a card that can be moved to a column or to a home cell, tap the card to select it, then tap where you would like it to go.

Empty Columns

If a column has no cards in it, a King (or group of cards with a King) may be moved into the empty column.

Flipping a Card Over

Some of the cards in the columns are face down. You can't see the value of those cards. But if the lowest card in a column is face down, you can flip it over by tapping it. You can also set Auto-Turn mode on in the Options to have AcidSolitaire automatically flip cards for you.

Double-Tap to Auto-Move

When you see a card you would like to move, you can quickly move it by tapping it twice. The card will usually go where you wanted to put it. If there is more than one destination, AcidSolitaire will put it in the first legal destination. If you want to move the card again, just double-tap it again and it will move to the next legal destination. This can be done with groups of cards as well.

Automatic Auto-Move

AcidSolitaire will automatically move cards to home cells when it can. For example, if you have three Aces in their home cells and you come across the fourth Ace in the Deck Stack, that fourth Ace will automatically move to its home cell. In general, if a card isn't needed for strategic reasons, it will be automatically moved to its home cell.

Undo

AcidSolitaire has a one-move Undo feature. You can Undo a move by selecting Undo from the drop-down menu, or by using the /U shortcut. You can also Undo a move by pressing the Page-Up button on your Palm OS device.

The Undo will go back to the last move that you made. If you made a move that triggered five auto-moves, those five auto-moves will be undone followed by the move that you made. Moving a card from one location to another is considered a move. Dealing cards is also considered a move. Tapping the Recycle Deck button after all cards are dealt is a move as well.

Auto-Play All

There are times during a game when cards could be legally moved to the home cells, but the relatively conservative Auto-Play feature does not move them. You can press the Page-Down button on your Palm OS device to move one card at a time to the home cells. The lowest-valued cards that can be legally moved to the home cells will be moved first. Each press of the Page-Down button will move another card to the home cells until no more cards can be moved.

Some Strategies

AcidSolitaire doesn't penalize you for flipping through the Deck Stack over and over, so if you see a card that can be moved from the Deck Stack, think it over... you can always move that card later (unless you're playing Deal 3 mode, in which case that card might not be moveable the next time through the deck!). Sometimes leaving lower-valued cards in the Deck Stack gives you more options in the beginning phases of the game.

The column on the right has the most face-down cards. Try to work your way up the longer columns to expose the face down cards.

Statistics

You are playing for stats... win/loss record is everything! If you lose a game, it will be counted as a loss, but if you re-play that same game instead of starting a new game, you can try to win it as many times as you like without racking up more losses in your stats. If you finally win, you will be credited with a win!

Color Background Packs

If you are playing on a color Palm OS device, you can change the color and pattern of the background. The easiest way to change the background is to swipe the stylus from left to right across the screen. You can also swipe right to left to go back to a previous background. On the Sony CLIE, you can use the Jog Dial to switch backgrounds. If you install a Color Background Pack, such as BGPack1.prc (included), those backgrounds will automatically be added. Just cycle through the backgrounds to see them all.

Note that Color Backgrounds are not displayed on non-color devices, so there is no need to install them if you don't have a color screen.

You can delete Color Background Packs at any time by using the Delete function in the standard Palm OS program launcher. Look for the title of the Color Background Pack in the Delete list.

Additional Color Background Packs are available from Red Mercury.

PictureGear Pocket

If you have 8-bit color pictures stored in Sony's PictureGear Pocket format, those pictures will automatically be added as backgrounds in AcidSolitaire. Just use the Jog Dial to page through the backgrounds until you see the PictureGear Pocket photo that you want. If your PictureGear Pocket pictures are stored on a MemoryStick, copy them into the main memory of your CLIE to get them to show up in AcidSolitaire. If your picture isn't showing up in AcidSolitaire, try converting it to an 8-bit, 256 color picture with PictureGear.

Contacting Red Mercury

If you have questions or comments about AcidSolitaire or Red Mercury, LLC, please visit our web site (http://www.red-mercury.com) for more information. If you have technical questions, you can always email us (support@red-mercury.com).


Red Mercury and AcidSolitaire are trademarks of Red Mercury, LLC.