Jan. 1991
CALI CO. Superior Software
P.O. BOX 9873, MADISON, WI 53715
For $20 we will mail you a disk with the complete program.
On this demo, only the first 5 layouts are active.
Once upon a time, not long ago, we tripped over a German
version of Mah-Jong Solitaire (called something else, but
that's what it was) on a friends' computer. "Wow! Neat!"
said Josh, "I can make one of those for us! And prettier,
too!" Soon he had us all busy making icons, beta testing,
and arguing over who got to play next. We had lots of fun
with it.
This DEMO copy of the Mah-Jong game contains a solvable
example of each of the first 5 layouts we developed. When
you buy the complete game, you will have 15 layouts to play
with. We will eventually come out with supplementary disks
with more layouts on them.
Of course, we had to 'sample' each layout to see if it
could be won. After quite a few games of "Castle Sr.", I
complained that it would take forever to win a game, and how
the heck were we to provide some solvable games for the demo,
anyway? Josh wrote a little program so that Tassie, M.C.,
Ida, Helen and Leyline (our computers) could play a LOT of
games in a short time, count up, and save the goodies for us.
When playing, the girls just remove the first pair they come
to, as they have no concept of strategy. Presumably, a human
can do better.
The results were interesting, though. We found that they
won 3 of 200 of the original game, 3 of 200 playing "Dome", 4
of 200 playing "Castle Sr.", and 62 of 200 playing "Castle
Jr.". "Block" is a beast. Poor Leyline stayed up all night
running that layout, and of 30,000 - THIRTY THOUSAND! -
games, she won a total of only 14! The DEMO sample of Block
can be won, but winning is NOT inevitable!
Boring Legalese: This DEMO may be freely distributed,
but may not be sold or the pieces of it copied for other use.
The programming is copywrit as being All Our Own Work, and
may not be swiped. Please DO buy the complete program, and
DON'T pass out copies to your friends. Our prices are
reasonable ($20), and pirating will discourage this NICE, NEW
COMPANY from merchanting the OTHER nifty programs we are
working on (just wait 'til you see the NEXT one!)
This program was written entirely using GFA Basic 3.0 and
our own brains.
----------------------------
How to Play the Game:
The purpose of the game is to remove all the blocks, by
pairs, in 'record' time. The blocks can only be removed
horizontally to the left or right, and only if there is no
block next to them on the same level on at least one side.
The blocks are to be paired by suit and number, except for
the "flowers" and "seasons" which do not have to look alike;
any two flowers or any two seasons make a pair. If you have
a choice of three of a kind of anything, figure which pairing
will give you the better options for your next move. As you
play, you will 'tune in' to the best strategy for winning
each layout.
----------------------------
Handy Hints For Using This Program:
Help features:
While the 'suggest move' is useful when you are stuck, it
does NOT necessarily show the moves in order of preference.
'Show removed blocks' will let you know if you already
removed a particular pair of tiles.
'Re-cast.' Due to a pesky bug in 'Gem' which is beyond
our control, the screen occasionally gets messy. Use the
're-cast' to clean it up.
'New game' lets you dump a hopeless layout.
'Select layout' lets you change to a different layout any
time.
'Random layouts' surprises you with (what else) random
layouts!
--------------------------
Please use order blank, and
SEND MONEY ($20 U.S. FUNDS) TO:
CALI CO. Superior Software
P.O. BOX 9873
MADISON, WIS. 53715
And for goodness sake, remember to give us YOUR name and
address!
This price includes shipping and taxes.
Then you will shortly receive your complete (and really
spiffy) Mah-Jong program. It comes on a single sided 3.5
inch disk which will work on anybody's ST, Mega, STE, Mega
STE, Stacey, or TT. Buying this program will also keep you
on our mailing list, and you will be informed when we have
something new to show you. Have fun!
Thank You.
P.S. Dealer inquiries are WELCOME!
-------------------------------
Order Form
Name___________________________________________
Address________________________________________
City______________________________ State______
Zip__________
Phone( )________-_________ In case we have a question
about your order.
How many copies of Mahjong? __________
At $20.00 a copy- __________
Total __________
We have the shipping and tax costs in the total cost. Please
make out your check to Cali-Co and we will send your copy as
soon as possible. The address to send to is:
Cali-Co
P.O.Box 9873
Madison, WI 53715
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Would you answer a few questions for us? We will not sell
your name and address to anyone. This is for us.
Where did you find out about us?
What computers do you have? Atari __8-bit __16-bit __Apple
__Macintosh __Commodore __Amiga __IBM(or clone) __Other
Do you have a __single or __double disk drive?
Do you have a hard drive? ______
What do you use your computer for?
What is your favorite non-Cali-Co game?
What non-computer hobbies do you enjoy?
Do you have any comments on the demo?