Spider Solitaire Results
Pavel314
just to see what was happening. The results for 50 games are shown below and
are somewhat interesting.
Spider Solitaire is frequently part of the MS Windows game package but if
you don't have it, you can see what it's all about at:
http://www.funny-games.biz/spider-solitaire.html
The game is played with two decks; when you get a stack of all one suit,
from king to ace, that pack goes off the playing field up to the scoring
area. You therefore have a maximum score of 8 packs. I played the medium
game, half hearts and half spades.
Results:
Packs
Scored Occurrences
0 20
1 12
2 9
3 2
4 3
5 0
6 0
7 0
8 4
The lack of 5-6-7 score games seemed weird at first but after thinking about
it for a while, it seems more reasonable. For a score of 7, I don't believe
there is any way to have one pack left without being able to score. There
would have to be 13 cards, all the same suit, from A to K. With 10 cards
playable, there would always be plays to move one and create an open row,
allowing you to uncover another not currently playable and so on,
completing the game with a score of 8.
Scores of 5 or 6 should be theoretically possible. For 5, three packs are
left on the playing field. If the 10 cards showing are
2-2-4-4-6-6-8-8-10-10, with the second rank all not showing, the game stops
there. For 6, it stops at 2-2-2-4-4-4-6-6-6-8, next rank all not showing.
There are other dead-end positions but like the ones just shown, they are so
unlikely to occur in the normal playing of the game that I'm not surprised
that I didn't get any in only 50 plays.
Is it possible to come up with a theoretical distribution of game results or
is the game too complicated for that?
Paul
William Elliot
> I started playing Spider Solitaire again and decided to record my
> results, just to see what was happening. The results for 50 games are
> shown below and are somewhat interesting.
>
> Spider Solitaire is frequently part of the MS Windows game package but
> if you don't have it, you can see what it's all about at:
>
Oh baloney, I use cards. What's baloney about Microsoftshit is that it
doesn't have the 9, 7, 6 and 5 cards across versions nor the unique 8 and
4 across Box Spiter Solitary
> http://www.funny-games.biz/spider-solitaire.html
>
> The game is played with two decks; when you get a stack of all one suit,
> from king to ace, that pack goes off the playing field up to the scoring
> area. You therefore have a maximum score of 8 packs. I played the medium
> game, half hearts and half spades.
Does the pack go off the playing field immediately by stupid software or do
you have the option of removing when you wish? The rules allow removal of
a complete suit upon the player's choice. My experience has shown that
it can be of much value to not remove the complete suit are once.
> Results:
>
> Packs
> Scored Occurrences
> 0 20
> 1 12
> 2 9
> 3 2
> 4 3
> 5 0
> 6 0
> 7 0
> 8 4
>
> The lack of 5-6-7 score games seemed weird at first but after thinking
> about it for a while, it seems more reasonable. For a score of 7, I
> don't believe there is any way to have one pack left without being able
> to score. There would have to be 13 cards, all the same suit, from A to
> K. With 10 cards playable, there would always be plays to move one and
> create an open row, allowing you to uncover another not currently
> playable and so on, completing the game with a score of 8.
>
Correct.
> Scores of 5 or 6 should be theoretically possible. For 5, three packs
> are left on the playing field. If the 10 cards showing are
> 2-2-4-4-6-6-8-8-10-10, with the second rank all not showing, the game
> stops there. For 6, it stops at 2-2-2-4-4-4-6-6-6-8, next rank all not
> showing. There are other dead-end positions but like the ones just
> shown, they are so unlikely to occur in the normal playing of the game
> that I'm not surprised that I didn't get any in only 50 plays.
>
You've got 5 and 6 switched.
> Is it possible to come up with a theoretical distribution of game
> results or is the game too complicated for that?
>
Continue your sampling. Interesting point you bring up.
With the seven or less across, a loss with 5 out does occure.
Never though about it with 10 or 9 across. I'll give it some
experimential thought, so keep in touch.
Pavel314
"William Elliot" <ma...@hevanet.remove.com> wrote in message
news:Pine.BSI.4.58.08...@vista.hevanet.com...
> On Sun, 4 May 2008, Pavel314 wrote:
>
>> I started playing Spider Solitaire again and decided to record my
>> results, just to see what was happening. The results for 50 games are
>> shown below and are somewhat interesting.
>>
>> Spider Solitaire is frequently part of the MS Windows game package but
>> if you don't have it, you can see what it's all about at:
>>
> Oh baloney, I use cards. What's baloney about Microsoftshit is that it
> doesn't have the 9, 7, 6 and 5 cards across versions nor the unique 8 and
> 4 across Box Spiter Solitary
When you're playing at the office, it's much easier to click off a window
when someone walks in as opposed to trying to hide an arrangement of 104
cards covering your desk. What you lose in flexibility is made up in job
security. It would be interesting to see what impact the introduction of
software solitaire has had on physical playing card production and sales.
>> http://www.funny-games.biz/spider-solitaire.html
>>
>> The game is played with two decks; when you get a stack of all one suit,
>> from king to ace, that pack goes off the playing field up to the scoring
>> area. You therefore have a maximum score of 8 packs. I played the medium
>> game, half hearts and half spades.
>
> Does the pack go off the playing field immediately by stupid software or
> do
> you have the option of removing when you wish? The rules allow removal of
> a complete suit upon the player's choice. My experience has shown that
> it can be of much value to not remove the complete suit are once.
They all fly up to the top immediately on completion of the suit. I'm
curious; under what conditions would it be a good strategy to leave a
completed suit on the table? Doing so either blocks the card below from
being put into play or, if there's nothing beneath the king, occupies an
otherwise empty row which could be useful in play. Since nothing can be put
on the ace, I can't see where leaving the completed suit on the table would
ever be an advantage.
Right.
William Elliot
> >
> >> Spider Solitaire is frequently part of the MS Windows game package but
> >> if you don't have it, you can see what it's all about at:
> >>
> > Oh baloney, I use cards. What's baloney about Microsoftshit is that it
> > doesn't have the 9, 7, 6 and 5 cards across versions nor the unique 8 and
Of course for these versions, the layout is altered beyond the number of
columns and for 7, 6 and 5, progressive relaxation of some rules are made.
Another point about the software and it's adherance to the rules is does
the software insist that before you can deal the next hand that no column
can be a space?
> > Does the pack go off the playing field immediately by stupid software
> > or do you have the option of removing when you wish? The rules allow
> > removal of a complete suit upon the player's choice. My experience
> > has shown that it can be of much value to not remove the complete suit
> > are once.
>
> They all fly up to the top immediately on completion of the suit. I'm
> curious; under what conditions would it be a good strategy to leave a
> completed suit on the table? Doing so either blocks the card below from
> being put into play or, if there's nothing beneath the king, occupies an
> otherwise empty row which could be useful in play. Since nothing can be put
> on the ace, I can't see where leaving the completed suit on the table would
> ever be an advantage.
>
Unless there's some useful plays to be had by removing the suit, or even
before you remove the suit, a completed sequence or nearly complete
sequence can be use to help consolidate other sequences.
Say you have a space and a complete suit of clubs. Also you have a heart
under a club and above the club some diamonds. Now you can switch the
diamonds with clubs in the suit and be able to move the heart and the
clubs. Afterwards you can reverse the switch and maintain the suit.
Now say you have a complete suit of clubs on top of a bunch of stuff and
you also have a king of clubs at the head of a column. If you can
continue the play without removing the completed suit to where the king
has no cards on top of it, then you can move the queen on down onto the
lone king and create another space.
If you see this possibility and also that there are no useful moves to be
had from removing the completed suit, then you have the option of keeping
the complete suit for the next hand. It won't get in the way because you
can always remove it when it shows and just maybe it could be of some use.
Anyway, if there's no cards beneath the completed suit that are needed for
more plays, there is no loss, and some possible gain in keeping them.
Microsoftshit is to be faulted for cheap software that doesn't give you
the option, allowed in the rules, to remove a completed suit at player
choice.
Pavel314
> On Tue, 6 May 2008, Pavel314 wrote:
>> "William Elliot" <ma...@hevanet.remove.com> wrote in message
>> > On Sun, 4 May 2008, Pavel314 wrote:
>> >
>> >> Spider Solitaire is frequently part of the MS Windows game package but
>> >> if you don't have it, you can see what it's all about at:
>> >>
>> > Oh baloney, I use cards. What's baloney about Microsoftshit is that it
>> > doesn't have the 9, 7, 6 and 5 cards across versions nor the unique 8
>> > and
>> > 4 across Box Spider Solitary
>
> Of course for these versions, the layout is altered beyond the number of
> columns and for 7, 6 and 5, progressive relaxation of some rules are made.
>
> Another point about the software and it's adherance to the rules is does
> the software insist that before you can deal the next hand that no column
> can be a space?
Right, no deal with an empty column. Verboten!
Funny thing, when I was a kid (1950's) they used to say that someone was so
honest he wouldn't even cheat at solitaire. Now you can't cheat, Mr. Gates
beeps at you if you try.
Thanks for explaining; makes sense in certain situations.
Paul
William Elliot
> >> >
> >> >> Spider Solitaire is frequently part of the MS Windows game package but
> >> >> if you don't have it, you can see what it's all about at:
> >> >>
> >> > Oh baloney, I use cards. What's baloney about Microsoftshit is
> >> > that it doesn't have the 9, 7, 6 and 5 cards across versions nor
> >> > the unique 8 and 4 across Box Spider Solitary
> >
> > Of course for these versions, the layout is altered beyond the number
> > of columns and for 7, 6 and 5, progressive relaxation of some rules
> > are made.
> >
> > does the software insist that before you can deal the next hand that
> > no column can be a space?
>
> Right, no deal with an empty column. Verboten!
>
> Funny thing, when I was a kid (1950's) they used to say that someone was
> so honest he wouldn't even cheat at solitaire. Now you can't cheat, Mr.
> Gates beeps at you if you try.
>
Flush the Microsoftshit out of your computer. We'll all be
happier when the whole world does. Go Linux.
> >> I can't see where leaving the completed suit on the table would ever
> >> be an advantage.
> >>
> > Unless there's some useful plays to be had by removing the suit, or even
> > before you remove the suit, a completed sequence or nearly complete
> > sequence can be use to help consolidate other sequences.
> >
> > Say you have a space and a complete suit of clubs. Also you have a heart
> > under a club and above the club some diamonds. Now you can switch the
> > diamonds with clubs in the suit and be able to move the heart and the
> > clubs. Afterwards you can reverse the switch and maintain the suit.
> >
> > Now say you have a complete suit of clubs on top of a bunch of stuff and
> > you also have a king of clubs at the head of a column. If you can
> > continue the play without removing the completed suit to where the king
> > has no cards on top of it, then you can move the queen on down onto the
> > lone king and create another space.
> >
> > If you see this possibility and also that there are no useful moves to be
> > had from removing the completed suit, then you have the option of keeping
> > the complete suit for the next hand. It won't get in the way because you
> > can always remove it when it shows and just maybe it could be of some use.
> >
> > Anyway, if there's no cards beneath the completed suit that are needed for
> > more plays, there is no loss, and some possible gain in keeping them.
> > Microsoftshit is to be faulted for cheap software that doesn't give you
> > the option, allowed in the rules, to remove a completed suit at player
> > choice.
>
> Thanks for explaining; makes sense in certain situations.
>
Not only that but even partially completed suits can be useful
as described above in the first part.
Prai Jei
continuum:
> Not only that but he doesn't allow you to make acceptable moves.
> Flush the Microsoftshit out of your computer. We'll all be
> happier when the whole world does. Go Linux.
The Linux version (included in a suite of patience games) plays by the same
rules as the Microthingy version does. But you get the full *source* with
Linux so if you are a programmer you can fix it up.
Though I agree with your sentiments. I have already quit using IE and
Outlook and am browsing the web and emailing entirely from within Linux.
This message is brought to you by KNode running under SuSE Linux 9.1.
--
ξ:) Proud to be curly
Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply
William Elliot
> William Elliot set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time
> continuum:
>
> > Not only that but he doesn't allow you to make acceptable moves.
> > Flush the Microsoftshit out of your computer. We'll all be
> > happier when the whole world does. Go Linux.
>
> The Linux version (included in a suite of patience games) plays by the
> same rules as the Microthingy version does. But you get the full
> *source* with Linux so if you are a programmer you can fix it up.
>
> Though I agree with your sentiments. I have already quit using IE and
> Outlook and am browsing the web and emailing entirely from within Linux.
Dos 5.0 was the best Microsoft ever did.
> This message is brought to you by KNode running under SuSE Linux 9.1. --
Let's here it for the end of Microsoftshit.
> @#:) Proud to be curly
>
Huh?
Prai Jei
continuum:
>> @#:) Proud to be curly
>>
> Huh?
Evidently you are not geared up for Unicode. My hair doesn't look like
*that* - yet. It's supposed to be a lower-case Greek letter xi before the
smiley, which does convey the desired impression.
--
ξ:) Proud to be curly