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Spider solitaire is a very well-known solitaire game, which has gained a lot in popularity since Microsoft have started shipping it free with windows. It is very hard though, and many people want to know how they can increase their chances of winning.

The aim of spider solitaire is to build an ascending suit sequence in the foundation zone. But this is easier said than done! Particularly when playing 4 suit spider, it can sometimes seem nearly impossible to finish the game.

But there are strategies you can use to dramatically increase your chances of winning spider solitaire. But before I go into that, a quick note. In this article, I assume you have a solitaire game that allows multi-undo, and that you don’t mind using it. Some people don’t have a solitaire program that supports multi-level undo, or feel that using undo is somehow “cheating”. These people can still get something out of this article, but not everything they read may apply.

So what is the golden secret to winning Spider Solitaire?

It’s simple! Empty-Columns are the key!

The first objective of spider solitaire is to get a vacant column. The objective after that is to try and get another vacant column. Once you have 2 vacant columns, the game starts to become winnable, but if you can, try and form yet another empty column. Once you get to 3 or 4 empty columns, you have a very good chance of winning, unless you get an extremely unlucky run of cards.

Getting The First Empty Column…

The first move you should make in the game is whatever the highest rank card that can play is. If given a choice, play from the stacks on the right hand side, as the 6 right hand stacks start with one less card.

From then on, play cards in this order or priority:

1) If a stack is closer to other stacks to being complete, play that card (if you can)

2) If you can’t play from the stack which is closest to being emptied, than play the card with the highest rank.

3) If 2 or more cards have the same high rank, and one of them can be played into a same suit sequence, then play that one.

Keep playing like this, until a column is emptied, or you run out of moves

Once a column has been emptied, the focus of the game changes a little. There are now 3 main objectives, “cleanup”, “re-arrange”, and “expose”.

An overriding principal at this time is to try and keep the empty columns. Vacant columns give you a lot more choices in the game, and whenever possible, you only want to fill your empty columns temporarily.

CLEANING UP

The first objective for the second phase of spider solitaire is “cleanup”. This is my term for re-arranging columns so that they become same-suit sequences.

For example, suppose you had 2 columns. The first one has:

-7 Diamonds

-6 Hearts

and the second one has:

-7 Clubs

-6 Diamonds

We can temporarily use the empty column, to rearrange the columns so that these columns become:

and:

We do this by moving:

-6 of Diamonds into the empty column

-6 of Hearts onto the 7 of Clubs

-6 Of Diamonds onto the 7 of Diamonds.

The main thing to note here, is that after we have finished cleaning up this sequence, the empty column is still vacant. This is critical, because we always need to keep our columns empty when possible.

RE-ARRANGING

After we have cleaned up any sequences we can find, the next objective is to re-arrange any columns. This is simply moving any sequences we can, to form longer sequences. If moving the sequence will expose a new card (or a card that is not part of the sequence), then we always move it. The rest of the time it’s a judgement call, based on whether the new sequence will be the same suit, as well as what other cards are holding up the game at the moment.

EXPOSING

Lastly, we try and expose new cards, whilst trying to maintain idn poker online our empty column. We do this by using multi-level undo:

-Move a card/sequence into the empty column, which exposes a new card.

-If the new card allows us to move the original sequence back do so.

If the new exposed card does not allow us to move it back, try moving a different card/sequence instead. If you can’t expose any new cards whilst keeping the vacant column, then try dealing some cards from the talon.

The most important thing is to create empty columns, and try and keep them empty! Now, will these strategies help you to win every game of spider solitaire? No, they won’t. Are there better strategies? Yes, and you’ll probably come up with some of your own as you play the game some more. But the strategies above should prove a good foundation to help you start winning more games.

Gone are the days of drab, underpowered gaming consoles with limited features. The Microsoft Xbox 360 is here! It doesn’t matter if you are a serious gamer or a mere hobbyist, the Xbox 360 that situs idn poker online Microsoft launched in November 2005 is suitable for all players. It claims to have taken into consideration all the facets of ultimate gaming experience with this much-improved version of the original Microsoft Xbox that came out in November 2001.

Check your budget. Depending on what you can afford, you may start with the very basic core system composed of the light console, the wired controller and the composite AV cable; and when your budget allows you to purchase other peripherals one by one for the enhancement of your total gaming experience, maybe you’d want to change your wired controller with the wireless model, or maybe you’d want to add in the Xbox Live headset for amplification of sound effects to a mind-boggling level far above what your normal TV speakers could provide.

On the other hand, if you are one of those to whom “money is no object,” you may just go ahead and buy the entire Microsoft Xbox 360 system, where everything is all in (i.e., the console with premium chrome finish, a wireless controller, the Xbox Live headset, component hard drive-AV cable, the Ethernet cable that allows you to connect with the other players, and the hard drive that contains an array of original Xbox games and allows you to download even more games. Since the Xbox 360 allows up to four wireless controllers operating on one console, it lets you play with three other players simultaneously for that added fun and challenge in live competition.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 gives you total digital entertainment. You may amplify and enhance your music and movies to a soothingly soft or to a ripping loud volume. Connect to the Internet and instantly stream your music, digital home movies, photographs and graphics or any other files stored in your hard disk, memory and other digital media that are Microsoft Windows XP-based PC that you want to share with others.

When attached to your TV, the Microsoft Xbox 360 takes advantage of the high-definition TV resolution in its full color and size that makes the game movie-like. Its anti-aliasing capability renders the animation flawlessly smooth and non-jerky, and the characters seem as though they are jumping out of the wide screen! When you are connected to the Internet via the Ethernet card, you have the Xbox Live headset, a facility that allows you to voice-chat with other players, thus combining active gaming with socialization.

There are games that are rated “must-have” because they are simply sensational with the Microsoft Xbox 360. These include “Dead or Alive 4,” “Call of Duty 2” for the best WWII shooter, “King Kong” for great effects and “Need for Speed Most Wanted” for racing fans. For some odd reasons, some games that run with excellent audio and video effects using the first version of Xbox don’t run as well in the Xbox 360; these include “Madden NFL 06,” “NBA Live 06.” This must be given immediate attention by the Microsoft people because it is a source of great disappointment for hardcore gamers and, in some cases, could be a deal-breaker.

Pressure is on for movie makers and game programmers/manufacturers to properly and visibly indicate the appropriate rating of their products on the packaging to provide guidance for buyers. In this regard, it is an added attraction to parents that the Microsoft Xbox 360 has settings that allow them to control how it is used by their children. The box has Family Settings which enable parents to shield their children from unsavory or unwholesome contacts. Family Settings perform two functions on the Xbox 360 console-to allow or restrict access to offline games and/or DVD movies, and access to online contact and content via the Xbox Live environment.

ESRB is the regulating body that takes care of rating the propriety or impropriety of a game or movie based on age. ESRB’s restrictions on games are EC (early childhood) for children below 6 years old, containing no inappropriate materials at all; E (everyone) for children younger than 13, and these have minimal violence and comic mischief but are substantial for character building. Some Xbox 360 games with an E rating include Ridge Racer 6 and NBA 2K6.

The rest of the ESRB ratings are: T (teen), which may also contain minimal violence, mild-to-strong language and/or suggestive themes; M (mature 17 ) containing mature sexual themes or more intense violence and language; AO (adults only, for players aged 18 ), which may include more graphic sexual themes and/or violence; and RP (rating pending) for games that have not been officially released yet.

With the safeguard placed by the Family Settings of the Microsoft Xbox 360 console, the parent feels safe buying the system for their kids. So, whatever the gaming preference of the child – or the parent! — Microsoft Xbox 360 promises to satisfy them.

In part 1 we talked about online gaming and your children, including FPS games and exposure to violent content. We wrap up this week by talking about RTS games, MMORPGs and the additional threats of addiction and social predators.

RTS stands for Real Time Strategy. Strategy because these games generally take a much larger perspective, casting the player as a general or commander of an army or even the leader of a civilization rather than as a single person. Real Time because the action moves forward whether the player acts or not. The alternative to Real Time is turn-based strategy, where each player moves in turn, taking whatever time they need. Turn based games tend to have deeper strategic components and complex non-military progressions that make them less popular with children. RTS games are a relatively benign genre, as they abstract the violence and conflict out to at least the unit level, removing much of the graphic gore found in FPS games and reducing it to numbers and lost units. They also tend to have complicated decision structures, making playing them a good exercise in critical thinking. Those same quick, complex decisions make this type of game difficult to look away from, particularly if the player is competing online where there may not be a pause button. Due to the less graphic content, this type of game doesn’t require as intense parental scrutiny as some others may, but it’s a good idea at least to casually observe a game and possibly to learn what the loading screen looks like so you can tell when “Just a minute” means “I’m in the middle of something,” and when it means “I just don’t want to do whatever you want me to do.”

MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. They are descended from older, single player, RPGS. In idn poker online this context, an RPG is a game that tells an evolving story using characters defined by various skills, attributes, and professions. The Massively Multiplayer part of the name comes from the fact that there can be upwards of several thousand players in a game world that may have surface area to rival small states. It is difficult to express how large and complicated these games can be. Accept that your children will talk about things you don’t understand, often about equipment or items they’ve acquired or battles they’ve fought. Put on your best “That’s nice dear” face and let it go. While it never hurts to try out the games your children play, you wont get nearly as much benefit from logging on to a MMORPG for a bit to see what its like, as they require a sizeable time investment to even get a feel for what’s going on.

That time investment gives rise to one of the biggest problems with MMORPGs. A gaming writer once suggested that MMORPG should be pronounced Morgue, because once you go in, you never come out. If your children are starting to get heavily into this type of game, watch how they spend their time. The game will always present something new to do, some greater hill to climb, and it can be easy to get caught up. Talk with your kids, make sure they know the limits on how much of their time they can spend playing, and what they need to get done first. That said; understand that they are often going to be playing the game with other people, to whom they may have made some degree of commitment. Be flexible and use your judgment when deciding whether to let them keep playing. Generally, it’s better not to let them start if you aren’t sure then to try to get them to stop once they’ve begun. Lean toward get your homework done first over quit in time to get your homework done.

Playing a game with thousands of others will expose your children to a wide variety of people. Most of them will be harmless, some will be helpful and a few will likely come to be good friends. However, there are a select few with malicious intent, just as there are in any large group. The fear here is much like that felt in letting your children use chat rooms or instant messaging service. The good news is that the type of real social predator parents fear are far less likely to in a game world, because the game itself is much more complicated than simply logging on to a chat room. Make sure your kids know that the danger exists, that they shouldn’t let anyone know anything more than generalities about whom they are outside the game, that there are bad people in the world. Ask them about their friends online, see what they know about them, watch for the same warning signs you would with any stranger that spends a lot of time with your kids. Again, most players are harmless or better, but you’re far better off being informed and watchful than complacent and hopeful.

We’ve barely touched the surface of the possibilities of online gaming, but hopefully you are better informed about what your children may be doing. Gaming is as good as any hobby and better than many. It has a lot of positive developmental benefits, but as with any activity out of your control there are things to watch for. Make clear, knowledgeable decisions about what’s right with your kids and stick to them. In the long run, they’ll thank you for it.