How to Play Acid Solitaire

• What is Acid Solitaire?
• Basic Solitaire Rules
• Getting Started
• How to Customize Your Game
• How to Win
• Tips & Hints

What is Acid Solitaire?

Acid Solitaire is based on the Klondike style Solitaire card game.

What makes Acid Solitaire so fun to play is that all Acid Solitaire games for Windows are winnable. Games are numbered sequentially in order by difficulty. Acid Solitaire includes 50,000 winnable Deal 1 games and 50,000 winnable deal 3 games.

Approximately one-third of traditional solitaire games are unwinnable. We've eliminated the impossible games and now it is up to you to win them. Although they may be winnable, they may not all be easy.

The goal of Acid Solitaire is to win every game. If you don't win the first time, undo your moves and try again. Acid Solitaire keeps track of every move you make. Advanced hint system allows you to cycle through possible moves and request hints as needed. Track various stats as you play and try to keep your Win Percentage at 100%!

Acid Solitaire starts with a step-by-step tutorial to walk through the basics. Perfect for beginners or anyone looking to improve their strategy.

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Basic Solitaire Rules

The goal of Acid Solitaire is to move all 52 cards to the four home cells in the upper right of the playfield.

Each of the four home cells in the upper right will hold a stack of one suit of cards. The stack must be made in order from lowest (Ace) to highest (King).

When a new game is started, the cards will be dealt into seven columns. Cards that are not dealt are available in the Deck Stack in the upper-left corner.

To move a card, single-click or double-click on it and it will move to the best destination. You can also drag and drop cards to where you want it to go.

You may move cards according to these rules:

1. A card from the bottom of the column or in the Deck Stack can move to a home cell stack. Remember, home cell stacks are one suit of cards. The stack must be made in order from lowest (Ace) to highest (King).
2. A card in the Deck Stack or from the bottom of a column can move to the bottom of another column. Moves to a column must be made in order of highest to lowest, alternating red/black suit color.

For example, if the bottom card on a column is the 9 of Spades (a black suit), the only cards that can be moved to that column would be the 8 of Hearts or the 8 of Diamonds (both red suits).

If a column has no cards in it, a King (or group of cards starting with a King) may be moved into the empty column.

Acid Solitaire includes deal one and deal three card game styles. Select game style from the main menu.

Follow the step-by-step tutorial and read through the in-game tips to learn more.

Enjoy Acid Solitaire - once you get the hang of it, it's hard to stop playing!

Getting Started

If you are new to Acid Solitaire, play around a bit until you learn how to move cards. Once you get the hang of it, you will find that Acid Solitaire is very addictive. As you click on cards they will strategically move to a useful position. Feel free to undo and redo moves as you like to work on your strategy.

View a Step-by-Step Demo

A step-by-step tutorial is available to provide information on how to play the game. To access the tutorial, click the Menu Button and then select show me how to play from the main menu.

The tutorial will walk through an in-progress game and explain how to play. Simply read each dialog box and click the show me button after each step to watch the demo.

To speed up the demo, you can click on the game screen and the cards will move faster.

Click or Drag to Move Cards

Acid Solitaire Collection offers three ways for you to move cards.

To change the move mode, click the Menu Button and then select options from the main menu.

Drag Only	Use your mouse to drag cards to the best location.
Double-Click	Double click on the card you want to move and it will automatically move to the best location.
Single-Click	Click once on the card you want to move and it will automatically move to the best location.

Undo a Move

Undo your last move or undo all the way back to the beginning of the game. You can set the number of "Undos Allowed" from none to unlimited in the Options menu. Every move, including undo and redo moves are saved. If you return to a game that you have already played, you can undo and redo your previous moves.

There are several ways you can undo a move.

1. Click on the undo button in the toolbar on the left side of the screen.
2. Press the up arrow on the keyboard.
3. Press the u key on the keyboard.
4. right click on the mouse.
5. Click the Menu button in the toolbar and select Undo from the menu list.

The goal is to finish every game. Undo is your friend. Undo your moves to get back on track if it looks like you are heading down a dead-end.

Redo a Move

You can redo every move that you have undone. Every move, including undo and redo moves are saved. If you return to a game that you have already played, you can undo and redo your previous moves.

There are different several ways to redo previous moves.

1. Click on the redo button in the toolbar on the left side of the screen.
2. Press the down arrow on the keyboard.
3. Press the r key on the keyboard.
4. Click the Menu button in the toolbar and select Redo from the menu list.

Get a Hint

Not sure what move to make? Sparkle Hints and EZ Play can help. You can request a hint at any time. The yellow sparkles will highlight a possible move.

sparkle hints are presented in order of usefulness, from best move to worst. You can request a Sparkle Hint repeatedly to see multiple hints. There are several ways to request a Sparkle Hint.

1. Click on the sparkle hint button in the toolbar on the left side of the screen.
2. Press the h key on the keyboard.
3. Click the Menu button in the toolbar and select Sparkle Hint from the menu list.

The number of Sparkle Hints used during a game is displayed in your stats.

ez play moves are presented from left to right, not in order of usefulness. There are several ways to cycle through available EZ Play moves.

1. Use the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard (press space bar to execute move)
2. Use the mouse scroll wheel (press scroll wheel to execute move).

Cycling through possible moves doesn't count against you. Use EZ Play whenever you want. It might even help you improve your strategy!

Start a New Game

You can start a new game at any time. If you exit a game in-progress you can always come back to it later to finish it. You will be able to pick up right where you left off and undo and redo your previous moves.

1. Click on the new game button in the toolbar on the left side of the screen.
2. Press the n key on the keyboard.
3. Click the Menu button in the toolbar and select New Game from the menu list.

If you start a new game before you finish your current game, it will be counted as a game played but not yet won. You can come back and finish it later.

Press Ctrl + N key to go to the last game played and not finished. This is a quick way to go back and complete the games you started and get your win percentage back up to 100%.

Restart Current Game

Want an fresh start? You can restart your current game at any time. Undo and redo moves are saved. If you restart your current game, you can redo all your previous moves.

1. Click on the restart game button in the toolbar on the left side of the screen.
2. Press the c key on the keyboard.
3. Click the Menu button in the toolbar and select Restart Current Game from the menu list.

If you've already started a game, try undoing your previous moves rather than restarting the game from the beginning. If you restart a current game, your current game will count as a loss.

Select Game by Number

To select a game by number, click on the menu icon in the toolbar and then, Select Game. Enter the game number. You can select a game by number at any time. Your current in-progress game will automatically be saved.

Games are numbered in order of difficulty. Higher numbered games are harder to win. The letter prefix indicates the game style (e.g. Acid Solitaire has two game styles Deal One Card (E), Deal Three Cards (D))

Challenge an opponent by playing the same game number.

Quickly Exit Your Game

Press the "Esc" key on the keyboard to quickly exit the game. Don't worry, your in-progress game will be saved and you'll be able to pick up the game where you left off.

The game clock stops immediately when you minimize the game to the task bar (click on the "minimize window" button in the upper-right hand corner of the screen) or close the game.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts make it fun and easy to play a number of different ways.

Esc Key	Quickly hide game
F1/F2	Change background
F9	Return to default screen size
H Key	Sparkle hint
U Key	Undo move
R Key	Redo move
Z Key	Undo move
Y Key	Redo move
N Key	Start a new game
Ctrl + N Key	Find next game not won
C Key	Restart the current game
Space bar	Execute a move
Up arrow	Undo move
Down arrow	Redo move
Left/right arrow	Cycle through possible moves
Home Key	Sparkle hint
Backspace	Undo move
Mouse scroll wheel	Cycle through possible moves
Scroll wheel button	Execute moves
Mouse right click	Undo move
0-9, J, Q, K	Locate specific cards

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How to Customize Your Game

A variety of game options are available from the main menu. From here you can turn sound on/off, set the number undo moves allowed, set the card transparency and even control the window fading effects (on the Windows version)

Change Background

Acid Solitaire Collection games come with several different built-in backgrounds to choose from. You can also use any JPEG image as a background image. To change the background image, click the Menu Button and then select select background from the main menu. Select a directory and click on an image. If the Preview Selection box is checked, you'll be able to preview your selection as you click on each image.

Add some of your own background images and have the backgrounds cycle after each win. It is a fun surprise to see the next image when you start a new game!

To quickly change the background at any time, press the F1 or F2 key on the keyboard to cycle through background images.

Resize Screen

Resize the game window at any time. The card size automatically adjusts when you resize the screen. For bigger cards, maximize the window. For smaller cards, make the window smaller. Drag the edge of the window (top, left, right or bottom corner) with your mouse to resize the window to make it larger or smaller. Click the tiny window icons in the top-right corner of the screen to maximize or restore down the window.

Press the F9 key on the keyboard to return to the default window size.

If you add your own background images, you can preserve your original image without cropping or tiling it. Select match image aspect ratio option on the Select Background screen.

Try playing in super tiny mode. Resize the screen as small as it will go. In super tiny mode, we recommend using your mouse scroll wheel or the arrow keys to move cards.

How to Win

The goal of Acid Solitaire is to win every game. And, although every game is winnable, that doesn't mean they are all easy. Acid Solitaire is packed with features to help you play and improve your game.

Games are numbered in ordered by difficulty. Start at game #1 to play the easy games or jump to a higher game number for more of a challenge. Every move you play is saved. You can undo and redo every move made. Even if you quit the game, play another game and return to the previous game, your original game will be saved. If you aren't able to win the game today, you can come back to the game at any time.

Use EZ Play

EZ Play offers a variety of ways for you to play in addition to traditional drag and drop, single click and double click card movement. If you are looking to relax, try EZ Play using the mouse scroll wheel to cycle through useful moves. Press the scroll wheel to execute your move and right click using your mouse to undo previous moves.

For more excitement, try playing using the arrow keys on your keyboard. The left and right arrow keys cycle through possible moves, press the space bar to execute each move. Use the up arrow to undo previous moves and the down arrow to redo moves.

Use Intellimove

IntelliMove incorporates intelligent, intuitive game play movement that knows what you are thinking (almost!) IntelliMove won't bother you with moves that won't get you anywhere in the game. Your cards will move effortlessly to where they should go.

To take full advantage of Intellimove, select either single-click or double-click move mode from the options menu. When you click or double-click on a card, the card will move to the best location available.

Track Your Statistics

Acid Solitaire Collection games track several fun statistics. To view your statistics, click the Menu Button and then select show stats from the main menu. Try to keep your win percentage up!

Today Won/Played	Games won/ Played and not yet won
Total Won/Played	Total games won/played and not yet won
Win Percentage	Total games won divided by total played
Current Win Streak	Number of games won in a row since last game lost
Best Win Streak	Number of the most games won in a row
Best Lose Streak	Most games finished and not won in a row
Minutes Played	Total time game has been played to date
Minutes Today	Total minutes played today
Best Slack Day Hours	Most hours played in one day (midnight to midnight)
Fastest Game Seconds	Fastest game played
Best Game Total Moves	Quickest number of moves to win game
Last Game Hints Used	Number of hints used in the last game
Current Game #	Displays current game number

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Tips & Hints

Acid Solitaire is packed with big and small features to make the game enjoyable for everyone. To learn how to play and how to take advantage of all these features, we recommend that you follow the step-by-step tutorial and pay attention to the Acid Tips as you play.

Here are some basic game tips to get you going.

1. Cards will automatically move to their home cell when possible if they are no longer strategically valuable. If all four Aces are in their home cells, for example, twos will jump to their home cell if they can.
2. It is sometimes possible to move more than one card at a time. You can select a group of cards in a column if they are in the proper order. Tap on the highest card in the group to select the group.
3. If you can't make any useful moves, you lose the game.
4. Acid Solitaire will warn you when there is one useful move left. This means it has detected that, while there may be a few places to legally move, only one of those moves has any potential to move the game forward. If you get this warning, you may be on the verge of losing the game.
5. If you get into trouble, you can restart the current game from the beginning or undo as many of your previous moves as you like. Or, you can always re-shuffle and start a new brand new game.
6. To see all cards of a certain value, type the key on the keyboard. Enter 0-9, A, K, Q and J.
7. If you quit a game, your stats will show it as a game "Played". If you don't win a game, you can replay until you win. The game is only counted as "Played" once.
8. Acid Solitaire will keep track of your progress as you play multiple games. Try to win every game!
9. Play head-to-head against an opponent by playing the same game number. Use the Select Game option to choose a game by number. You can see the number of the current game in the Show Stats screen.
10. Use Ctrl + N to select a game that you have played and not yet won. This is a great way to go back and complete all the games you started and get your win percentage up.
11. You can also use the arrow keys and space bar to move cards.
12. Another fun way to move cards, try using the scroll wheel on your mouse to cycle through possible moves. Press the scroll wheel to execute a move.
13. Remember when you are cycling through possible moves they are presented from left to right and not in order of usefulness.
14. If you want to know the most useful move to make - use Sparkle Hints.

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