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Tri-Peaks Solitaire To Go
version 1.0
June 17, 2005

Presented by Pogo

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Thanks for downloading Tri-Peaks Solitaire To Go. We hope you enjoy the game!

VERSION HISTORY

1.0  Initial Release!


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1.0  System Specifications
     1.1  Required Specs
     1.2  Recommended Specs

2.0  Troubleshooting/Compatibility
     2.1  DirectX
     2.2  Screen Color Depth	
     2.3  Bug Reporting

3.0  Gameplay
     3.1  Metagame
     3.2  Solitaire
          3.2.1  Starting Layout
          3.2.2  Objective and Gameplay
          3.2.3  Undo
          3.2.4  Power-ups
          3.2.5  The Bonus Multiplier Snake
          3.2.6  Clearing Token Piles
          3.2.7  Winning Score
          3.2.8  Losing Score
          3.2.9  Treasure Chests
     3.3  Warehouse

4.0  Additional Features
     4.1  Game Options
     4.2  Rules
     4.3  Help

5.0  Technical Support

6.0  Credits

7.0  Copyright Information 


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1.0  SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS
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1.1  Required Specs

Tri-Peaks To Go requires an IBM PC or 100% compatible computer, with a Pentium II 350 MHz or better processor. Your computer must have at least 128 megabytes of RAM.

Operating System: you must be utilizing Windows 98, 2000, ME, or XP with DirectX 7 or later to play Tri-Peaks To Go on your system.

Controls: a keyboard and a 100% Microsoft compatible mouse are required.

Sound: you must have a DirectX certified sound card installed.

Video: you must have your desktop set to 16-bit or 32-bit Color (256 Colors will not work).

Hard Drive: You must have a hard drive with at least 35MB of free space.


1.2  Recommended Specs

We recommend you play Tri-Peaks To Go with an IBM PC or 100% compatible computer, with a Pentium II 500 MHz or better processor.


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2.0  TROUBLESHOOTING / COMPATIBILITY
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2.1  DirectX

Tri-Peaks To Go requires you to have DirectX 7 or later drivers installed. These are sound and video drivers from Microsoft used in many games. If you need the latest version of DirectX, go to http://www.microsoft.com/directx.


2.2  Screen Color Depth

Tri-Peaks To Go requires you to be running in 16 bit color or better. It may not function in Windowed mode properly in 256 colors. If you are running in 256 colors, the game will try to switch to full-screen mode.

In addition, the game may run slowly in windowed mode in 32 bit color. If this occurs, switch to full-screen mode, or change your color depth to 16 bits.


2.3  Bug Reporting

Though we do our best to eliminate all bugs, sometimes one crops up. If you should come across a bug in Tri-Peaks To Go, please let us know about it via http://customerrelations.real.com/scripts/rnforms/tech_service.asp.


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3.0  GAMEPLAY
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Join Tex Carter on his adventures to exotic and dangerous places around the world! Discover fabulous treasures of the Aztecs, Egyptians, and Phoenicians, along with those from the Lost Continent of Atlantis! If you search long and hard, you may find your way to the cold and mysterious Tombs of the Icelandic Mariners!


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3.1  METAGAME
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You start in Central America in the Aztec ruins. When you have collected enough treasures to fill the warehouse there, you move on to Egypt, Atlantis, Phoenicia, and finally North America, filling warehouses full of treasure along the way. Each time you move Tex Carter across his treacherous path through the booby-trapped hallways you earn a treasure, along with Tokens and useful power-ups along the way. Tex will move a few steps closer to his goal every time you successfully complete a game of solitaire. If you lose... watch out Tex!


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3.2  SOLITAIRE
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3.2.1  Starting Layout

Tri-Peaks Solitaire begins with the cards in two groups: an upper group and a lower group. The upper group consists of 28 cards laid out in the playfield in four rows, making three triangles: the bottom row is ten cards, the next row nine cards, the next six cards and the top row three cards. The lower group consists of the other 24 cards in the draw pile.

In the upper group, the bottom row of 10 is always face up, with the other rows face down. In the lower group, only the top card is face up.


3.2.2  Objective and Gameplay

The object of the game is to remove all 28 cards in the upper group from the playfield. This is done by clicking on any uncovered face-up card in the upper group that is either one number higher or lower than the top card on the draw pile. Cards can be of any suit, as long as they're the right rank. Aces can be either high or low, and can wrap around -- in other words, an Ace can link to either a King or a 2, and vice versa. 

When cards are removed, they will reveal cards above them, which will also be available to be removed. If you can remove 5 or more cards simultaneously, you will begin a streak that can help lead to bonus points if you win the hand. If no card in the upper group can be removed, click on the draw pile to draw the next card. 

If your draw pile is empty and there are still cards on the playfield, a "New Hand" button will appear where the draw pile was. Click on that to try a new hand. Or, if a game seems hopeless early on, you can click the "New Hand" button in the lower-left corner at any time.


3.2.3  Undo

Clicking the Undo button will undo your last move. There is only one Undo allowed per hand.


3.2.4  Power-ups

There are four types of power-ups that you can earn as a reward from the treasure chests. They are:

1) The Amazonian Wild Card
The Amazonian Wild Card will stay next to the draw pile until you decide to use it. To use it, simply click on it. It will then jump to your draw pile, allowing you to place any other card you want on top of it.

You do not have to use your wild card to win a hand. You can hold onto it and keep it for the next hand, or the hand after that -- once you have a wild card, you'll never lose it (until you play it). Note that you can only have one wild card at a time.

2) The Face-Up Deal
When you get a Face-Up Deal, the next hand will play like normal, except all the cards will be dealt face-up. This allows you to play the next hand a little more strategically.

3) The Re-deal Card
The Re-deal power-up, when played, takes the stack of cards already played and recycles a portion of them into the draw pile. This is ideally used when the draw pile has been exhausted and there are still cards in the upper area, although it can be used at any time. (In other words, save it until you really need it!)

4) The Snake Charmer Card
This power-up allows you to lure the snake further up the bonus multiplier column -- you can see how much by referencing the ghosted snake image on the column. The music compels the snake to climb!


3.2.5  The Bonus Multiplier Snake

Every time you remove a card from the playfield, the Bonus Multiplier Snake moves up the column one notch. Every time you draw a card from the draw pile, he moves down a notch. So, to keep him moving up the column, try to make streaks of several cards in a row. If you can move him up to light up the 1.5x, 2x, 2.5x or 3x multipliers and you win the game, your final score will be multiplied by that amount. (Note that once the snake reaches the 3x mark, it will remain there until the hand is complete.)


3.2.6  Clearing Token Piles

As you remove cards from the playfield, Tokens will float up to the top of each peak. If you can clear out an entire peak, you'll earn a Token bonus for clearing that peak. The exact number of Tokens is determined randomly.


3.2.7  Winning Score

If you win a hand, you earn all the Tokens you've collected, plus a Token for every card left in the discard pile. If you've won more than one hand in a row, you'll also get a bonus for that (5 points for 2 wins in a row, 10 for 3, 15 for 4, and so on). Finally, all of those bonus Tokens are added together and then multiplied by the amount you've earned from the Bonus Multiplier Snake. 


3.2.8  Losing Score

If you don't win a hand, you still get to keep the Tokens you've collected, but you won't get the Bonus Multiplier bonus.


3.2.9  Treasure Chests

As you win hands, Tex "Danger" Carter makes his way across the screen towards several treasure chests. If he reaches a treasure chest, you get the treasure inside (usually Tokens or a power-up, such as the Amazonian Wild Card). If you make it to the Gold Treasure Chest at the end, you earn a special rare artifact, along with a hefty Token bonus.


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3.3  WAREHOUSE
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There is a Warehouse for each of the first four locations on the map, that holds the treasures you've collected in those areas. When a Warehouse is filled, you will be able to move on to the next dig site. Clicking any treasure icon in a Warehouse will display the treasure and the date you collected it. There are "Warehouse" buttons on the main screen and within the menu popup window on the game screen. To view your treasure collections from other dig sites, simply click on the corner buttons to navigate to the desired collection. (Note: There is no warehouse for the final dig site.)


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4.0  ADDITIONAL FEATURES
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4.1  Game Options

Clicking the "Options" button on the main screen or from within the menu popup window in the game screen lets you view the Options screen. Here, you can change the volume of the background music and sound effects and change from full-screen to windowed gameplay mode.

In the Options screen you can also select different card backs from design patterns you earn as you play. Card backs are earned as treasures -- you get one at the beginning of each new dig site, and can win one more in each dig site for a total of 10 card backs.


4.2  Rules

Clicking the "Rules" button on the main screen will connect you to the internet and the rules section for the online Tri-Peaks game. 

4.3  Help

Clicking the "Help" button on the menu popup window in the game screen will display several help screens, detailing game objective and gameplay. 


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5.0  TECHNICAL SUPPORT
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If you are experiencing problems with Tri-Peaks To Go, you can contact us at: 

http://customerrelations.real.com/scripts/rnforms/tech_services.asp

If you can, including the following information along with a description of your problem will help us to help you!

	-Title of Game
	-Computer Manufacturer
	-Operating System (Windows 95, Windows Me, Etc.) 
	-CPU Type and Speed in MHz
	-Amount of RAM
	-Sound Card Type and Settings (Address, IRQ, DMA) 
	-Video Card
	-Mouse Driver and Version
	-A Copy of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Files 


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6.0  CREDITS
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Electronic Arts
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Original Game: Todd Kerpelman (producer), Bob Ting (art), Thomas Erickson (programming)

Producers: Dave Rohrl, Sean Clark

Associate Producer: Joe Cain

Game Design: Todd Kerpelman, Sean Clark, Dave Rohrl, Joe Cain

Assistant Producer: Lisa Zhu

Art Director: Justin Cooper

Conceptual Art: Chris Grun

3D Models/Environments: New Pencil Inc., MKP Productions

Additional Art: Brian Frederick, Shaun Pendergast, Bob Ting, Jem Geylani, Anselm Yew, Jeff Hunter

QA Leads: Derick Gapuz, Maya Bergstrom

QA Manager: Jane Fraser

QA Analysts: John Dimailig, Rob Harries, Stefan Hogan

Special Thanks: Andrew Pedersen, Hugh de Loayza, Lisa Dodge
 

Magellan Interactive  
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Executive Producer: Cathy Marshall  

Producer: Jen Alder  

Associate Producer: Cynthia Zotelo

Technical Director: Wes Gale  

Programming: Grant Yee, Marc Ederis

Graphics Technician: Gavin Goulden

 

Sound and Music by Greg Rahn

Legacy sounds by Jonelle Adkisson


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7.0  COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
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Tri-Peaks To Go (C) 2004 Electronic Arts Inc. 
All Other Copyrights And Trademarks Are Property Of Their Respective Owners. All Rights Reserved.
