Citation: Canasta is Copyright ® 1993-1995 Harte Development


Index
Canasta for Windows

Index

The Game

Introduction to Canasta

The Rules of Canasta

The Canasta screen

Mouse Functions

Scoring

Frequently Asked Questions

The Menu

Game menu

Options menu

Register menu

Help menu

Shortcut Keys

The Shareware

Ordering Information

Product Support

Credits


What is Canasta
Introduction

Canasta is a card game, which has been played for many decades. It developed in Uruguay in the fifties at the Punta del Este beach, and has become popular all over the world. The word ´canasta´ is Spanish for basket.

Canasta is played with two decks of cards, with 54 cards each (52 standard cards, plus two Jokers). Canasta can be played with two to four players, but in this Windows version there are always two players: you and your computer.

A quick overview of the game

•	Your goal is to beat the computer by scoring more points than it does. You score points by melding cards, and making as many canastas as possible.

•	Each player starts with 15 cards in hand. Yours are visible at the bottom of the window.

•	Both players take turns in drawing one card from the draw pile, and discarding one card on the discard pile (in that order). Both players take turns in drawing the first card.

•	After drawing a card, a player may meld cards (melding is not obligatory). Cards are melded in columns of at least three cards; e.g. you can meld three Kings, or four Fives. You cannot meld rows like Four - Five - Six. Once a card has been melded, it cannot be taken back into the hand (except with the Undo meld option).

•	When a player has melded his cards, he ends his turn by discarding a card. At that point, his melded cards are checked to see if they conform to the canasta rules. Discarding a card is not necessary if a player can go out by melding all of his cards.

•	Instead of drawing a card from the draw pile, a player may take the entire discard pile. However, this is only allowed if he can directly meld the top card.

•	One hand is over when one of the players has no cards left in his hand, or when there are no cards left on the draw pile. The scores of both players are then computed, and a new hand is dealt.
A player can only finish a hand when he has at least one or two canastas (see Rule Options).

•	A game of canasta is over when either one of the players reaches 5,000 points.


Melding a card
Melding a card means playing it from your hand to the table, so that it becomes visible to the other player. It is done by left-clicking on the card.


Discarding a card
Discarding a card means playing it from your hand to the discard pile. This ends the turn, and is done by right-double clicking on the card (or by right-clicking, depending on the Options | Customize | Discarding a card setting).


Rules of Canasta
Rules

The rules in Canasta for Windows have been set by the National Canasta Laws Commission. The options mentioned below all refer to the Options | Rules window. The rules are defined as follows:

1.	If a certain kind of card is melded, there must be at least three cards of that kind on the table at the end of the turn.

2.	It is possible to add a wildcard to a column of cards of any kind on the table. The wildcard is then seen as a card of that kind (but the value remains unchanged). However, the restriction is that there may never be more wildcards than other cards within one column.

3.	At the beginning of a hand, the top card of the draw pile is automatically turned around and placed on the discard pile. If this card is a Red Three or a wildcard, the procedure is repeated until the top card of the discard pile is neither a Red Three nor a wildcard.

4.	When a new hand is dealt, the hands of both players are checked to see if they contain a Red Three. If there is one, that Three is then automatically melded, and an extra card is dealt to the hand out of which it came. This procedure is repeated until neither player has any Red Threes left in his hand.

5.	Black Threes may not be melded, except when the player can go out by melding a column of three or four Black Threes, or two Black Threes and a wildcard. These Black Threes must then be the last cards to be melded.

6.	The discard pile can be frozen by discarding a wildcard or a Red Three. A freeze is indicated by an asterisk ( * ) and means that both players are only allowed to take the discard pile if they can meld the top card using only the cards in their hand, as if they had no cards on the table.
For example, if the discard pile is frozen and the top card is a Seven, the pile may only be taken if the player has two Sevens in his hand, even though he has a column of three Sevens on the table. Also, no wildcards may be used in melding: if he has one Seven and a wildcard in hand - instead of two Sevens- he may not take the discard pile.

7.	If you have taken the discard pile but discover that you cannot use the top card, you can restore the pile by clicking on it. This carries a penalty of 50 points.

8.	It is never allowed to take the discard pile when the top card is a Black Three, a Red Three or a wildcard. Thus, Black Threes can be used as a refrigerator for a single turn.

9.	The first time a player melds cards in a hand, their value must be at least a certain minimum. When a player goes out in one turn (´goes out concealed´), this requirement does not apply.

10.	A player can only go out when he has at least one or two canastas, depending on the Canastas needed to go out setting. If a player has less than this number of canastas, and only has one card left that he should discard, he has to ´pass the discard´, i.e., he does not discard that last card.

11.	When there are no more cards on the draw pile, the player may choose to stop playing, or to turn the discard pile upside down and use it as the new draw pile.


Registering
Registering Canasta

Canasta is a shareware program. This means that it is not free, but you can use it without paying for a period of 30 days. After that, you can do one of two things: delete Canasta from your harddisk, or purchase Canasta by ´registering´ and earn the right to keep on playing it.

Please note that the shareware version of Canasta is not crippled: you are able to evaluate the full force of the algorithms that Canasta uses to give you as much opposition as possible. On top of that, all options for customization, rules, decks, sound, highscores etc. are fully functional.

If you like this game and support the shareware concept, please register.

The price of Canasta is $19.95 (US) or the equivalent in a European currency. See Prices for a pricelist in other currencies.

How to Register

Registrations should be sent to the following address:

Mark-Jan Harte

Cort v.d. Lindenlaan 84

1412 CB Naarden

The Netherlands

Registration can take place in the following ways:

1.	Dutch residents can transfer f29,95 to PostBank account nr 4375889. In Dutch: U kunt f29,95 overmaken op girorekening 4375889.

2.	Members of CompuServe can GO SWREG (the Shareware Registration Forum) and register Canasta electronically using their credit card. When prompted, enter 3124 as the product number.

3.	Credit card orders by phone, fax or mail are taken by the Public Software Library (PsL). See Registration via PsL for more details.

4.	Cash payments and personal checks for $19.95 (US, see Prices) through the mail are accepted. Checks must be made out to Mark-Jan Harte.
Checks must be in US dollars and drawn on a US bank. For all other checks, including Eurocheques, a premium of $10 must be added to compensate for extra bank charges.

When using method 4), please print and fill out the Registration Form topic in this Help file or the REGISTER.TXT file for easy registration. You can then use the printout to fold the money or check in, so that it is not visible from the outside.

When your payment is received, you will be sent a registration key for Canasta. You can use this key to register your copy and remove the 30 day limit.

See also:

Contacting the Author

Registration Form

Registration via PsL


How to Play
Canasta Screen

Click on the various parts of the Canasta screen to bring up information on their meaning.

See also: Controls


Definition of a Canasta
A Canasta is a column of at least seven cards of the same kind (e.g., seven Kings or four Kings and three wildcards). If all cards are non-wildcards, the canasta is called natural, otherwise it is called mixed.

A wildcard canasta made of seven wildcards is also allowed.


Definition of a Black Three
A Black Three is a Three of Spades or a Three of Clubs.


Scoring

Card Values and Bonuses

The cards have the following values:

Card	Value
Four, Five, Six, Seven, Black Three	5 points
Eight, Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen, King	10 points
Deuce, Ace	20 points
Joker	50 points
Red Three	100 points

The following bonuses are awarded:

•	A natural canasta is worth 500 points, a mixed canasta 300 points, and a wildcard canasta 1,000 points.

•	The player who goes out first gets a bonus of 100 points. If this player had no cards (except Red Threes) on the table directly before going out (´goes out concealed´), this bonus is doubled to 200 points.

•	If a player has all four Red Threes on the table, their score (400 points) is doubled to 800 points.

•	If a player goes out and his opponent has melded nothing but Red Threes, the value of those Red Threes is deducted from his opponent´s score.

Total Score

At the end of a hand, the total score is calculated as follows:

1.	The sum of the values of the cards on the table forms the initial score value.

2.	Bonuses for canastas, going out and Red Threes are added to the score.

3.	The values of the cards in hand are deducted from the score.

However, if you have selected Yes in the ´Canasta required for positive score´ option in the Options | Rules dialog, this calculation is only valid if you have at least the number of canastas as it is shown in the ´Canastas needed to go out´ setting ! If not, a negative score results consisting of the sum of the values of the cards in your hand and on the table. It is therefore always wise to get a canasta quickly, so that you don´t run the risk of holding a large collection of cards if the computer goes out.

If you have selected No, the above does not apply.

Minimum

The first time in a hand that a player melds cards the sum of their values must be at least a certain minimum. This minimum depends on your current score in the following way:

Score	Minimum

Less than 0	15
Between 0 and 1495	50
Between 1500 and 2995	90
3000 or More	120
Note 1: The values of any Red Threes and Canastas on the table do not contribute to the required minimum score.

Note 2: If you turn off the option ´Top card counts for initial meld´, you must add the value of the top card to the minimum needed when taking the discard pile. E.g., if the minimum is 50 and you took an Ace from the pile, you must have 50 + 20 = 70 points on the table to get the rest of the pile.

Note 3: If you took the top card of the discard pile but you discover that you cannot use it, you can put it back by clicking on the pile again. This carries a penalty of 50 points.


Definition of a Red Three
A Red Three is a Three of Diamonds or a Three of Hearts.


Definition of a Wildcard
A wildcard is either a Joker or a Deuce of any suit. There are four Jokers and eight Deuces in the game, so there are twelve wildcards in total.


Game Menu
Game

The Game Menu has the following items:

New

This item starts a new game; the scores are set to 0, and a new hand is dealt. Use this if you want to change the rule options: they are disabled during a game. Starting a new game will allow you to change them.

Load...

This item lets you resume a game of Canasta that you saved earlier. Your current game will be lost.

Save...

This item lets you save your current game of Canasta. The suggested name is the first eight characters of the name of the player taken from the Options | Customize dialog plus the extension .can.

Canasta games have a default extension of .can. The default directory is your canasta directory.

HiScores...

This item brings up the highscore window.

Win Ratio...

This item shows you the win ratio statistics for a player.

Undo Meld

This item moves the last card you melded back into your hand.

The number of melds undo ´remembers´ is limited only by memory size, however due to the rules of Canasta you cannot undo the following things:

1) Discarding a card.

2) Melding cards that you were obliged to meld to get the discard pile.

You can undo taking the discard pile by clicking on it again.

Undo All

Selecting this item undoes all melds in this turn.

Exit

This item exits from Canasta. If you set the option ´Save on Exit´ in the Customize dialog, your game will be saved automatically. Otherwise, your current game will be discarded. If you want to keep it, press F4 before exiting to save the game to disk.


Options Menu
Options

The Options Menu has the following items:

Customize...

This item brings up the Customize dialog in which you can personalize your copy of Canasta.

Deck...

This item brings up the Cardback dialog, with an overview of the predefined cardbacks in Canasta.

Sound...

This item brings up the Sound dialog where you can customize the sounds that Canasta uses.

Rules...

This item brings up the Rules dialog in which you can set and view the rules for Canasta.


Customize Options - Screen tab
Customize

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Customize Options - Player tab
Customize

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Customize Options - Level tab
Customize

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Customize Options - Misc tab
Customize

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Rule Options - General tab
Rules

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Rule Options - Discard Pile tab
Rules

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Rule Options - Red Threes tab
Rules

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Help Menu
Help

The Help Menu has the following items:

Index

This item brings up the index of the Canasta help system.

Search...

This item start the Search feature of the Canasta help system.

Using Help

This item brings up general information on using Windows Help.

Rules

This item brings up the help topic about the rules of Canasta.

Screen Layout

This item brings up the help topic about the screen layout and mouse control in playing the game.

Controls

This item brings up the help topic with an overview of the mouse controls.

Scoring

This item brings up the help topic about the scoring rules used in Canasta.

Registering

This item brings up the help topic explaining how to register your copy of Canasta.

About

This item brings up a dialog which gives information about the author of Canasta and shows your name, if you have registered the game.


Shortcut Keys

The following keys can be used as shortcuts for items in the game menu and help menu:

Key	Menu Equivalent
F1	Help | Index
F2	Game | New
F3	Game | Load
F4	Game | Save
Del	Game | Undo meld
Ctrl+Del	Game | Undo All


Credits

I would like to thank the following people, who have helped me in various ways with the development of Canasta:

	Thank you for :
Raymond Arts	Testing
Wim Bax	Introducing me to Canasta, Testing & Sound
Eva Bendix	Testing & Design
Arjan de Gast	Testing
Ger & Mieke Harte	Financial and moral support
Paul Johannsen	Suggestions, Distribution & Hardware Supply
Silvia de Kloe	Testing
Sacha Prins	Technical advice
Stuart Williamson	Having a great time

Of the numerous people who made suggestions, I want to mention the following:

Lee Deuell, who did his best to get me some .wavs (but failed miserably);

Michelle Hébert, who teaches me French (but will fail miserably);

Paul Johannsen, my American Godfather (but who won´t get an Oscar).

To you, and to all the others who made a contribution: Thanks, people!

Mark-Jan Harte

November 29, 1995


Register Menu Item
Registration

Enter here your User Name and Registration Key that you receive when you register Canasta (see Registering). If the key fits the name, your copy of Canasta is automatically upgraded to the registered version. The key only has to be entered once.

The Register menu item is removed after a successful registration.


Contacting the Author
Product Support

If you:

•	Have a question about Canasta;

•	Want to report a bug;

•	Have a comment or suggestion;

•	Want to convince yourself of the existence of product support;

•	Want to send me a birthday card (September 26);

You can contact me in the following ways:

My name:	Mark-Jan Harte

Regular mail:	Cort v.d. Lindenlaan 84

1412 CB Naarden

The Netherlands

CompuServe:	100407,2632

Internet:	mharte@inter.nl.net

MSN:	MJHarte

If you report a bug, please include the version of Canasta you are using and all options that were enabled when the problem occurred. This makes it easier to find the error in the program.


Registration Form
Harte Development

Cort v.d. Lindenlaan 84	Internet: mharte@inter.nl.net
1412 CB Naarden	CompuServe: 100407,2632
The Netherlands	Microsoft Network: MJHarte
___________________________________________________________

Canasta 3.0 for Windows Registration Form

Date _____________

First Name ____________________ Last Name ____________________

Address ____________________________________________________

City __________________________ State/Country ________________

Zip/Postal Code _______________    Fax*________________________

E-mail address*_____________________________________________

please print clearly

Where did you get Canasta ?*__________________________________

Registration at $19.95…………………………………………………____

$10 Premium for checks that are not in US dollars or

not drawn on a US bank, including Eurocheques………………………………………_____

TOTAL AMOUNT	____

* : not required

You can state your suggestions or comments in the space below.


Fequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: When will there be a version for more (4) players? Playing in pairs is fun!

A: I know, but the answer is lack of space. There´s already a problem fitting two hands on the screen, let alone four.

Q2: When will there be a network version?

A: I have absolutely no idea. Currently I don´t have enough time for this feature, so it´s unsure when (if at all) a multi-player network version of Canasta will be released.

Q3: When will there be Samba (consecutive) Canasta?

A: I know about it, and a version is planned. However, this is a long-term project and not scheduled for release before 1996.

Q6: Are you an American living in Europe?

A: Nope, I´m Dutch born and raised. My language has downgraded from Dutch to English after watching too many American movies and reading Stephen King novels :-).


Win Ratio

This window shows the following statistics for the currently selected player:

Wins:	The number of won matches.

Losses: 	The number of lost matches.

Win Ratio: 	The percentage of won matches.

For example, if you´ve won three matches and lost one, your win ratio is 75%.

The Reset button sets the Wins and Losses counters to zero.

Note that the win ratios depend heavily on the computer level (and, to a lesser extent, the rule options). If you change these, you may want to reset the statistics to keep their informative value intact.


Mouse Controls
Controls

The mouse buttons have different functions, depending on the area of the Canasta window the cursor is placed over. They are listed here for reference:

Area	Left click	CTRL + left click	SHIFT + left click	Right click
Card in hand	Meld one	Meld three	Meld all	Discard*
Melded card	Add wildcard		Add wildcards until canasta
Melded red three				Discard**
Draw pile	Draw card
Discard pile	1- Take pile 2- Undo taking pile

*: This is a double right click if you set the ´Misc - Discarding a card´ setting in the Options | Customize dialog to ´Double right click´.

**: This is only allowed if you set the option ´Red Three options - Freeze discard pile´ in the Options | Rules dialog.

Melding a column of two cards will automatically cause a wildcard to be added (if available).

There are keyboard equivalents for the mouse actions:

Key	Action
F6	Draw card
F7	Take discard pile
F8	Meld card
F9	Add wildcard
F10	Discard card


Card Decks
Card Back

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning.


Prices

Canasta can be paid for with most common Western currencies. The preferred currency is American dollars, but the following are also acceptable:

Currency	Canasta Price
American dollars	$19.95
Australian dollars	$24.95
Canadian dollars	$24.95
Dutch guilders	ƒ29.95
English pounds	£12.99
French francs	FF99.95
German Marks	DM 29.95


Registration via PsL

You can register Canasta by calling PsL, the Public Software Library. This established organization takes credit card orders for 800+ shareware authors, at no extra cost to you. The following instructions on how to use their service are provided by PsL. Please follow them closely:

CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY

You can order with MC, Visa, AMEX, or Discover from Public (software) Library by calling 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 or by FAX to 713-524-6398 or by CIS Email to 71355,470. You can also mail credit card orders to PsL at

P.O.Box 35705

Houston, TX 77235-5705

Please supply the cardholder's name and billing address EXACTLY as they appear on the credit card. This will ensure a speedy processing of the order.

The office hours of PsL are the following:

Monday - Thursday: 	7:00 AM to  6:00 PM CST

Friday: 	7:00 AM to 12:30 PM CST

Please refer to product # 11671 when ordering Canasta for Windows. If you want to use the PsL service from outside the USA, please add the international access code prefix for the USA to the telephone numbers given above.

THE ABOVE NUMBERS ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY.

Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc., must be directed to:

Mark-Jan Harte

Cort v.d. Lindenlaan 84

1412 CB Naarden

The Netherlands

CIS: 100407,2632

Internet: mharte@inter.nl.net

MSN: MJHarte

PsL will notify us the day of your order and we will send the registration key directly to you.


Highscores

This window shows separate top ten highscores for each difficulty level (Beginner, Advanced and Expert). The scores are recorded for both single hands and whole matches, and are the difference between the scores of the player and the computer. So in your quest for the highest score, don´t let the computer get too many points!

The Clear button will delete all entries in the current table, so be careful using it.


Draw pile

The cards which have not been used yet.

At the beginning of your turn, you can take a card from the draw pile by left-clicking on it with the mouse.

Above the draw pile is a number that indicates how many cards there are on it.


Discard pile

The cards which have been discarded.

At the end of your turn, you must add a card to this deck by right-double clicking on the card you want to discard (or by right-clicking, see Options | Customize).

Below the discard pile is a number that indicates how many cards there are on it. An asterisk ( * ) before this number means that the discard pile is frozen, i.e., there is a wildcard or a Red Three in the discard pile.

At the beginning of your turn, you can take the entire pile by left-clicking on it.

If it is frozen, or if you have no cards on the table of the same kind as the top card (e.g., the top card is an Eight, but you have not played any Eights to the table yet), you will first only receive the top card.

When you have added two cards from your hand to the top card (so that there is a column of at least three cards), you receive the rest of the discard pile.

However, if you had zero points on the table before taking the discard pile, you must have melded at least the minimum amount of points.

If you left-clicked on the discard pile by mistake, you can put the top card back by left-clicking on the discard pile again. However, this is only possible if you have not yet received the rest of the pile in your hand, and it carries a penalty of 50 points.


Cards in Players Hand
Cards in Player´s hand

The cards you have in your hand.

These cards are not visible to the computer (trust me, it does not cheat).

Melding a card is done by left-clicking on it. If you want to undo your last move, use the Undo Meld option in the Game menu.

You can meld a complete column of cards by holding down SHIFT while left-clicking on one of the cards. This saves you the trouble of clicking five times to meld five cards.

Holding down CTRL while clicking melds as many cards as needed to have a column of three cards on the table. This is useful if you want to meld, but also want to keep some cards in reserve.

Discarding a card is done by right-double clicking on the card. This ends your turn.

Adding a wildcard to a column of cards on the table is done by left-clicking on a melded column. Pressing SHIFT while clicking will add as many wildcards as necessary to create a canasta (if possible).

Note that adding a wildcard to a column is only possible if this column is non-empty.


Cards in Computers Hand
Cards in Computer´s hand

The cards the computer has in his hand. You can sneak a peek at them with the special key combination Ctrl+F11.


Area for Players Cards
Space for Player´s cards on the table

The area of the screen where your melded cards are placed.


Area for Computers Cards
Space for Computer´s cards on the table

The area of the screen where the melded cards of the computer are placed.


Discarding

Indicates whether discarding a card should be done by a single or a double right click.

If you are having problems with the mouse buttons, and sometimes press the right mouse button when it should be the left one, you should select ´double right click´.

If you never press the wrong button, you can select ´single right click´ to speed up the game.

The default setting is Double Click.


Level of Computer
Computer Level

Sets the intelligence level of the computer to Beginner, Advanced or Expert. The level cannot be changed during the game.


Background Color

Select your favorite color for the background of the Canasta window. The default color is Dark Green.


Melding Speed
Computer Melding Speed

Sets the speed with which the computer melds cards.


Save on Exit
AutoSave

Check this option to save your game automatically when you exit the game. It is saved as ´autosave.can´ and will be automatically loaded next time you run Canasta.

When this option is not checked, the existing autosaved game (if any) will be erased.


Window Size

Sets the size of the Canasta window.

The first number is the horizontal, and the second number the vertical screen size, in pixels. If your video driver does not support a particular resolution, it will not be available. E.g., if your current video driver is 800x600, you cannot select 1024x768.

If you chose not to install High Resolution Support during Canasta Setup, the 800x600 and 1024x768 options will not be available.


Canasta Required
Canasta needed for positive score

Indicates whether Canastas are needed to make the value of the cards on the table count positively, when a hand is finished.

If you select No, the cards on the table will always add to the score, regardless of whether you have made a Canasta or not.

If you select Yes, the cards on the table will only add to your score if you have made at least the number of Canastas indicated by the ´Canastas needed to go out´ setting, otherwise their value will be deducted from the score.

The default setting is No.


Canastas needed to go out

Indicates whether one or two canastas are needed before a player is allowed to finish a hand.

The default setting is One.


Cards drawn each turn

Indicates how many cards each player must draw in each turn.

The default setting is One.


Draw extra card

Indicates whether it is allowed to draw a second card from the draw pile, when the first drawn card is a Red Three.

The default setting is Yes.


Freeze discard pile

Indicates whether it is allowed to use a Red Three to freeze the discard pile as with a wildcard. Discarding a Red Three is done by right-clicking on it, as with an ordinary discard.

The default setting is No.


Add top card to canasta

Indicates whether it is allowed to take the discard pile by adding the top card to a canasta you have made on the table.

The default setting is Yes.


Top card counts for initial meld

Indicates whether the value of the top card of the discard pile counts for the required minimum, when you use the pile to create your first meld in a hand (see Scoring).

The default setting is Yes.


Initially frozen

Indicates whether the discard pile is frozen, when a new hand of cards is dealt. This is regardless of whether there is a wildcard or Red Three in the pile!

If you have set this option to ´yes´ (so there is always an asterisk in front of the pile counter), you can see if there are wildcards in the pile by looking at the counter. If it is larger than one, there must be some ´hidden treasure´.

If you have set this option to ´no´, the pile will only be initially frozen if there is a wildcard or Red Three in it.

The default setting is Yes.


Natural pair required

Indicates whether a natural pair of cards is required to take the discard pile. That is, you cannot take a Nine from the pile if you have one Nine and a wildcard in your hand.


Statusbar
Show Statusbar

Check this option to show messages about menu items, errors and other information on the game in progress at the bottom of the window.


Score Statusbar
Score Status

The current score is expressed with four numbers. From left to right:

1.	Your current meld. You can see the minimum meld for your current score by moving the mouse pointer over this area of the score statusbar.

2.	The computer´s current meld.

3.	Your current score.

4.	The computer´s current score.


Current Cardback

This is the currently selected cardback.


Cardback Type

Select the type of cardback:

•	Solid Color:	A solid color cardback.

•	Standard Pattern:	One of the ten predefined cardbacks.

•	Custom pattern:	Any bitmap that you can select yourself. It will be automatically resized to fit the card size.

Press the ´Change...´ button to change the current selection.


Draw First Message
Who Draws First Message

Check this option to enable messages on who draws first this hand.


Highscores
Show Highscores

Check this option to show new highscore entries during a match.


Current Player

The name of the current player.


Player List

The list of all players.


New Player
New…

Create a new player.


Rename Player
Rename…

Edit the selected player.


Delete Player
Delete

Delete the selected player.


Reset Statistics
Reset Stats

Reset the win ratio statistics for the selected player.


Set as Current Player
Set as Current Player…

Make the selected player the current player.


Aggressiveness

Sets the aggressiveness of the computer. You can set this value to match your own style. Aggression is expressed by fast melding and quick going out. Try different settings to see what you like best.

The setting works as follows: at the beginning of each hand, the computer determines whether it should play aggressively or not. The chance for aggression is given by the scrollbar. During the hand the style does not change; the computer will not suddenly switch from aggressive to non-aggressive.


Card Animation

Sets the speed with which cards are moved across the screen. Check ´No Animation´ to disable card animation.


Sound Options - Sound tab
Sound

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Sound Options - Music tab
Sound

Click on the various items to bring up information about their meaning. Click on a tab to switch to it.


Music Enabled

Enables the playing of background music.


Music Type

Select ´Single Music File´ to play one song repeatedly, or select ´Jukebox Directory´ to play all songs in that directory in random order.


Enable Sound

Enables the sound effects of Canasta.


Canasta Event

Shows all events that can occur in Canasta, and that can have one or more sounds associated with them. Scroll through the list to see all of them.


Associated Sounds

Shows the sounds that are currently associated with the event that is selected in the ´Canasta Events´ list box. The sound file shown here will be played when its associated event occurs. When there is more than one sound file, one of them will be picked randomly. A maximum of three sounds may be associated with any event.


Add button
Add...

Brings up a file dialog where you can browse your disks for .wav sound files. Canasta will only play .wavs, not other types of sound files.


Remove button
Remove

Removes the currently selected sound file from the association list. It does not erase it from your disk. It is allowed to remove all sounds; in that case no sound will be played when the event occurs.


Play button
Play

Plays the currently selected sound file.


Default button
Default

Resets the association for the current event to the default. Pressing this button affects only the current event, not the other ones.