Version 3.3.14.2 Released

This version fixes a problem introduced in 3.3.14.1 (completely unrelated to the fix for the Gaps game) that would crash in Solitaire/Klondike when you placed a card from the waste pile.

I did a lot of re-factoring work between 3.3.13 and 3.3.14 and this one problem got passed my testing. Hopefully this version is back on track. It has a few subtle improvements in the graphics and layout that you will appreciate.

Check it out.

Oops!

There is a problem with 3.3.14.1 (not related to the fix for gaps) that did not show up in my testing.

I have reverted back to version 3.3.13.1 temporarily until I can fix it.

Version 3.3.14.1 Released

This release fixes a small issue in the Gaps game that would occasionally loose one card after the re-deal. A number of users had reported this problem so thanks to them for their input.

Pile Card Counter

Squared piles of face-down cards, such as waste and discard piles, should have a 'badge' that displays the # of cards remaining in the pile since it's not always obvious from the 2-D display.

In addition to the convenience factor this feature will somewhat make up for the removal of the score box in previous releases. Knowing how many cards are in a discard or waste pile gives you the information you need to keep score on your own.

It never ceases to amaze me how much work is involved in adding a feature that seemed like a quickie at the time. I've had to rework a lot of the underlying infrastructure to get this working reliably. It's all good though since the infrastructure desperately needed the work anyways.

Canfield

The next game I want to add is the ever popular Canfield. This game is very difficult to win due to it's roots in gambling (the house always has the advantage).

I'm using Canfield as a test-bed for my new infrastructure work. Let me know if you have any favorite solitaire games you would like to see available in Quick Solitaire.

Bigger Cards (3.3.0)

Just finishing up the details to support more card sizes. With screen resolutions and pixel densities increasing all the time the game needs to support more and larger card sizes to use the screen real-estate more effectively.

Just released version 3.3 with the new graphics engine that can render card images in a much wider array of sizes to fit any display.

Enjoy.

Welcome

Welcome to my Quick Solitaire for Windows blog.

I plan to use this blog to report on features and updates for Quick Solitaire and, more importantly, receive feedback from you.

Quick Solitaire used to be known as Bicycle Solitaire, also written by me, published by Swfte, Intl in the 80's and 90's. At that time we had a version for DOS and Windows 3.x. After publication of those versions stopped I converted the code to 32-bit Windows and have been updating it since then.

I use Quick Solitaire as a proving-ground for my entire suite of Quick games since it exercises all of the functionality of the graphics and user interface.

In this blog I hope to present new ideas and features I'm working on and you can add your comments and opinions directly to the postings. This keeps you, the user, in the loop and keeps me focused on the features you want most and it's easier and more targeted than email correspondence.

I am currently working on updating the out-dated infrastructure so that I can more easily adapt to newer platforms (.NET, WPF, Web, etc.) and add many more games.

It's just a lot of fun trying to keep up. So here goes.