BRIDGE PLAYER ------------- Play bridge against your Spectrum with the Bridge Player. Bid in the Acol system, use the Stayman and Blackwood conventions as appropriate, and then play the cards. Alternatively see all 4 hands, choose the contract and then play the cards. Other features include a post mortem facility, cumulative scoring, print out of hands if a ZX printer is connected. (C) CP SOFTWARE TO LOAD A PROGRAM The procedure for loading a program is described in chapter 6 of the Sinclair SPECTRUM Instruction Booklet. For your convenience the procedure is summarized here. 1. Position the tape before the start of the program. 2. Ensure that the EAR socket on the SPECTRUM is connected to the earphone socket on your tape recorder. 3. Set the volume control to about 1/2 of maximum and any tone controls to: treble high, bass low. Alternatively, use levels that you have already found to be successful on your recorder. 4. Enter LOAD "" by pressing the following keys - J (for LOAD) symbol shift and P twice (for "") and press the ENTER key. 5. Start the tape recorder playing. If the program fails to load, approximate load time, 4 minutes, press BREAK and try again with a new volume setting. If the program still fails to load refer to chapter 6 of the Sinclair SPECTRUM Instruction Booklet. R. WHEEN (C) Copyright 1983 CP SOFTWARE. NO part of this program shall be reproduced without prior permission in writing. While every effort has been made in the production of this program the publisher undertakes no responsibility for errors nor liability for damage arising from its use. The material on this tape and inlay card, or any part thereof, shall not be copied for use by any other person or organization, neither shall it be loaned nor hired. CP SOFTWARE, 17 Orchard Lane, Prestwood, Great Missenden, BUCKS, HP16 0NN ABOUT "BRIDGE PLAYER" This program allows you to play the game of bridge without having to find three people to play with. It does not use prepared hands: instead the hands which you will see result from random shuffling, which is why you will have to wait a few moments for each new hand to appear. Although it is not a bridge tutor it will provide enjoyable and useful practice, particularly for beginners and intermediate players, in both bidding and playing the cards. On each hand, unless you elect for option 2 (see below), you will be South and your hand will be displayed as if you were holding the cards. Using the Acol system you will then be able bid your own hand, with the computer bidding the other three hands. Once the bidding is complete North and South's hands will be displayed and you will be able to play the hands as declarer, with the computer playing the opponents' hands. All legal bids are allowed including doubling and redoubling. If, by mistake or design, you enter an illegal bid it will not be accepted. Similarly during the play of the cards you can play any card which you are legally entitled to play but a revoke or the purported play of a card not held is not accepted. To assist the declarer, the computer will make a small 'beep' whenever a defender makes a ruff i.e. trumps another suit led. You do not have to bid the hand if you do not want to. Option 2 allows you to see all four hands and then decide what contract to play in and who is to be the declarer. Thereafter you will be able either to play the hand as before (i.e. playing only the declarer's and dummy's cards) or to play all 4 hands yourself. Whichever option is selected the computer will always display (in addition to the 2 or 4 hands, as appropriate) the sequential hand number, who was the dealer, the vulnerability of North/South and East/ West, any part score and (once these are known) the contract and who is the declarer. In addition, once you have started to play the hand the number of tricks won by North/South and East/West will be shown as well as the cards played to the previous trick. The cards played to the current trick will normally be shown in the centre of the screen. However, if all four hands are being shown there is not room in the centre of the screen for this display and accordingly this information will be given at the top right-hand corner of the screen. If, at any time during the play of a hand, you wish to abandon the hand and go on to the next one, the computer allows you to do this by entering "next" instead of a bid. The computer keeps the score cumulatively and after each hand shows, in the customary format, the previous and the new scores, including penalty points, honours, slam points and rubber points. It does not include in the score the results of a replayed or abandoned hand. At the end of each hand you will have the opportunity to see all four hands as originally dealt and then, if you wish, to replay the cards. If you have a printer you may wish to connect it to your Spectrum before loading the program, since there is a facility in the program to otain a print-out of all four hands after the play of the cards. THE ACOL SYSTEM AND CONVENTIONS ------------------------------- The computer plays the system known as Acol with a weak (13-15) no trump. Opening bids at the two level are strong (with 2 Clubs being a conventional bid showing normally 23 or more high card points) and opening bids at the three level are pre-emptive and weak. A bid at the two level overa partner's no-trump is considered as weak. The computer understands and accepts the Stayman and Blackwood conventions and will reply accordingly. (For those not familiar with these conventions see below.) However, it will not initiate these conventions itself. Thus, if the computer bids 2 clubs in response to your '1 no-trump' it is not Stayman but a natural (weak) bid showing a Club suit. In leading, the computer will lead the higher of touching honours (e.g. A from A, K; K from K, Q). The Stayman Convention - 2 Clubs over a partner's opening of '1 no trump' asks for the bid of a four-card major suit if held and, if not held, for the bid of '2 Diamonds'. If both majors are held, hearts will be bid. The Blackwood Convention - The bids of '4 no trumps' and '5 no trumps' ask the partner to show the number of Aces and Kings respectively which he holds. These are indicated by the following responses:- Response to '4 no trumps' Response to '5 no trumps' 0 or 4 Aces - 5 clubs 0 or 4 Kings - 6 Clubs 1 Ace - 5 Diamonds 1 King - 6 Diamonds 2 Aces - 5 Hearts 2 Kings - 6 Hearts 3 Aces - 5 Spades 3 Kings - 6 Spades PLAYING INSTRUCTIONS The enter your bid - To bid a suit or no-trumps enter first the value of the bid (1, 2, etc.) then the initial of the suit, i.e. S, H, D, C or N (for No trumps). For example, to bid '2 No trumps', you would enter 2N or 2n. To bid '6 Spades' you would enter 6S. The remaining possible bids are entered as follows:- Pass (no bid) - P (or p) Double - D (or d) Redouble - R (or r) Once you have entered your bid, press the "ENTER" key. To play a card - Enter first the suit to be played (S, H, D or C) and then the card (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 or 2). For example, to play the Jack of Hearts enter HJ. Note that if you enter the suit alone, that will result in the lowest card of the suit held being played. For instance, if you hold AJ65 of diamonds and you want to play the 5, all you need do is enter D. This even works if you happen to hold, say, a singleton Ace. Once you have entered the card to be played, press the "ENTER" key. At the end of the hand - The result of the hand will be shown, including the number of overtricks (if any) on the number of tricks by which the contract has been defeated. The score on that rubber will also be shown, with the score on the latest hand shown separately. If you have a bid and make a slam, or when the rubber is complete, or if your contract has been defeated, an appropriate tune will be played. Thereafter you will be given the opportunity:- - by pressing R, to see all four hands and, if you wish, replay them (you will be able either to have the computer play the defenders' hand or to play all four hands yourself). Note that the computer will not include the results of a replayed hand in the score (it will already have scored the hand when first played); - by pressing P, to have the hands, and details such as the declarer and contract, printed out on your printer, if this is attached; - by pressing N, to proceed to the next hand. Prompts are given for all these options. General - If, at any stage during the play, you wish to abandon the hand and proceed to the next hand, enter "NEXT" or "next" instead of a card. The hand you have abandoned will not then be scored. Whether in bidding, in the play of the cards or in the responding to prompts, the computer accepts CAPITALS or lowecase letters.