Notes and Comments on Solitaires

["Electronicwaffle" <electronicwaffle@...>]

I like to get the ball rolling when comps come out. (I had the main 
game of berlin done within 24 hours of the Announcement for History 
Rpeats). I tried playing with the bits of my paper piecepack for 
this comp I and got to thinking.

I love Playing Card Solitaires/Patience (is their a plural to this 
GB phrase?). What I like to get cought up in is the sheer amount of 
card movement. Freecell and Clock seem to do this alot, It gives a 
sense that the game is moving along. I also love the "Eureka" effect 
(or "cleaning up" phase) in Solitiares where you know you have won, 
but you have to still complete the play.

Taking this into effect, I sense that this comp will challenge the 
Piecepack in new ways. I was not around for Time Marches On, however 
I assume the theme was to have things done by a certain time...  I 
feel the solitares will need some timing mechanism... the overall 
thing or objective to beat. In multiplayer games where repitition is 
allowed.. a game could last for ever. Limiting the players to one 
allows for all the bits to be "owned" by that player...  As 
mentioned in other posts, I think the dice will see new methods of 
use. 

It would seem that a board being premade could help differeniate the 
solitares here with playing card solitaires. Im sure some people 
here have experimented with the "near complete" playing card deck 
the tiles and coins approximate. (I think Multzo does this... I 
havent played it, but I recall it was billed as a poker game??)

I also wonder if this comp will introduce puzzles instead of 
games... solitaire seems to blur this line. Sam Lloyd and Ernesto 
(?) Rubik made puzzles... but some call these games. 

One thing seems to be common to solitaires....  I would assume more 
than just one piecepack stack (exactly one fourth of a PP) will be 
used in all of the games submitted....  so piece movement will be 
heavy. Once we can step outside the challenges of multi-player 
gaming for this comp, the ideas will come...    The step is a long 
and difficult one to make in short time. For me at least. Then 
again,, its 3 months off.