Solitaire Basics

Background information and more!

Prologue

Hi everyone!
This is a new kind of guide I'm making - an inside view into the game industry sort of thing.
You may see a lot of "duh" moments coming, but please enjoy the discussion and have fun!
-The Vhampster

Background Info and the Customisable Game Industry

---Overview---

There are many shapes and forms of solitaire. It's a classic game, much like chess and checkers. Solitaire is available to play on many platforms and is often offered in basic format when you buy a new computer, laptop, Android, iPad, or i-whatever.
Rules and challenges vary widely making it one of the ultimate customisable games. All you really need is a standard deck of cards and a flat surface.

The basic attraction of solitaire is cause-and-effect. You can choose which 4 from which stack to move, but why? Especially if there's another 4 in play that will flip a different card underneath....

A basic setup involves relocating the cards of 5 or more columns of random cards in increasing card quantity - usually starting with 2 cards, going up from there. Random = shuffling the cards

The ultimate goal is to eliminate all the cards on the screen by combining them with those in the deck.

Since there are very specific cards you must play to eliminate what's on-screen, you already know what to look for, you just don't necessarily reveal the cards in the order you want.

More info from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitaire

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Faerie Solitaire has overhauled and revamped these standards to provide a new and exciting take on a classic game such as Scrabble or Monopoly does occasionally with the physical game. Often, these companies offer a PC version with new challenges or gameplay mechanics as an alternative to the new versions of the boardgames, which introduce new rules, game tokens, or other means of changing the way you always played the game.

Often, you are forced to realize that there are irreversible changes that are for the better or for worse. In Faerie Solitaire, you are given the option to "undo" certain changes up to a point.

Sometimes you will get stuck and have to restart. In these exact situations, you will have the opportunity to uses Spares, to change the very next card you have to work with, but only in Faerie Solitaire.

Faerie Solitaire

The layout of "columns" is overhauled, but you still need to eliminate cards that are NOT in the deck in order to win. You do not need to reveal all the cards in the deck, simply use what's needed. Often you just need a starting point and it will set off a combo (chain reaction) allowing you to eliminate many cards in play from a single card revealed from the deck.

You can move a large stack of cards as long as you keep with the pattern. The pattern is to click on a card and use it if it's exactly one number higher or lower than the face up card in the deck. For the non-numerical cards, the order is either 2-Ace-King-Queen-Jack-10 OR 10-Jack-Queen-King-Ace-2

• When you run out of cards to move in the columns, start flipping cards from the deck one by one. Keep highlighting what you can use. You can use your Spares!
  
• Keep doing this until you find a card from the deck you can use in a column and then rearrange those columns as allowed.
  
• Go back to the deck until card-flipping finds you nothing useful and you can no longer rearrange columns.

• You may ONLY stack cards that are directly above or below the order of the face-up card in the deck.
  
• You may need to look for opportunities to allow you to reveal more cards.

Faerie Solitaire Strategies

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Active (using what you've learned)
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• You can hover your mouse over cards to highlight what can be used in your foundation if you're not into searching the cards for the number. It can be easier on your eyes if you tend to play many rounds in one sitting
  
• You can manipulate your "undo" opportunities to scout what you have in play instead of using your undo options as a safety net for misplays such as clicking on the wrong card.

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Passive (Faerie Land items / game mechanics )
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• Once you buy the most expensive item in town (Tree of Life: simplified to 25% free flip rate per turn), you will not need to rely on "undo" manipulation.
  
• The Aura Ring can help you rack up high combos and perfect hands in addition to Spares.

  When the aura ring is glowing and has only glowing orbs above the circle - click on it, then click on a card and it will go to the top of your stack and be removed from the play area. To deactivate if you decide not to use it, just click on an area without cards.

• When you use the Aura Ring, the card you click on is now the top of your foundation. You can end at one, or grab a card that's one above or below many cards on screen and rack up a nice combo.

  You can also select a spare you've collected that goes along with whatever you eliminated using the aura ring!!!

• Note that, from Spares you cannot directly eliminate a King or Queen (K or Q cards). Spares you collect seem to only go from 2-10, not J,Q,K,A
  
• The Orb of Fortune can help you scout ahead to help determine whether to use a certain Spare and such.

Extras

Enjoy!

Benefits of the Physical and PC Customisable Games

The benefits of playing a classic game include the following:

• Every innovation is available, assuming the general audience is brought up with the notion of shared experience and collective gain.
  
• The basic game is ready to play for a busy, social-oriented, or on-the-road lifestyle (*outdated way of saying this would be the nomadic or migration-oriented lifestyle*).
  
• The game requires generic skills and materials so it is easily customisable.
  
• You can end the game (pause on a computer) or return to it without repercussion to either the game or your personal life (game doesn't continue without you but you might forget what was in the deck =P )

These are some of many benefits shared by both PC and physical versions of classic games.

Specific Benefits of Faerie Solitaire

• Hovering the mouse over cards will reveal which combos are able to be made
  
• Takes up space IN your computer instead of on your computer table (but you have your computer supplies =P )
  
• The developers made the challenges, so you can focus your attention elsewhere
  
• Internet Community options
  
• Gaming is a fun activity and can be incorporated into daily life to relieve stress and other things
  
• Solitaire with a twist (incorporates a storyline)
  
• Automatically tracks time, cards statistics and more
  
• Game mechanics such as the "Spares" help burn through the cards in play

Specific Downfalls of Faerie Solitaire

• Incorporating Challenge Modes can be unsatisfying if players constantly reveal bad hands (i.e. they can't "complete" a match)
  
• Ice Walls, Thorns and other challenge mechanics can discourage players due to play time and make them feel they need to set aside game time instead of seeing gaming as part of everyday activities
  
• Computer-related issues (lag, glitches, hardware, software-based problems that disrupt gameplay)
  
• Internet community can be non-existent if not isolating, especially with Solitaire (and one-player oriented games)
  
• Consumes electricity to run your computer
  
• Computers have space requirements too!
  
• More expensive for two computers for two people to play solitaire than two decks of cards

Credits

• wikipedia
  
• Creators of Faerie Solitaire
  
• my forever alone childhood XD
  
• my family for pushing me so much in the wrong direction that I found the right direction and studied English to bring you these guides (lol)

Hope you enjoyed this look into the industry of customisable games!
Have fun playing Faerie Solitaire!
-The Vhampster

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[That Wun Wabbit]

=D

[LyndaSmiles ᴱᴳ]

Update: Thanks again for the help! I got the aura blast achievement :)

[LyndaSmiles ᴱᴳ]

Thanks so much for explaining it...I understand now!

[That Wun Wabbit]

When the aura ring is glowing and has only glowing orbs above the circle - click on it, then click on a card and it will go to the top of your stack and be removed from the play area. To deactivate if you decide not to use it, just click on an area without cards.

[LyndaSmiles ᴱᴳ]

Thanks for the background info but I still don't understand how to use the aura ring. Can you explain it in more detail please!!

[That Wun Wabbit]

you're welcome! Happy Holidays~

[jenn]

Thanks! Very informative!