      *AFFAIRS OF THE COURT by CR SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS*
		       *****TIPS*****
	   Representative: Robert McLaughlin
			   [75112, 2743]

When you first begin to play Affairs of The Court it pretty much seems like 
a totally random series of events.  One player described it as "The best 
random number generator I ever saw!".  I assure you, however, that there is 
a method to this madness!  We have play tested Affairs of The Court through 
hundreds of games.  What we found is that good players (i.e. those with a 
strategy) could consistently beat beginning players.  Due to the randomness 
of cards, however, even the earliest novice can beat an expert. 

This is the type of game we wanted.  One that required a good strategy to 
consistently win, but also offered an element of the "unbeatable" hand so 
that even novices had a chance.  We promise you, if you stick with this 
game, you will find a strategy to win.  Once you find a strategy to beat 
the novice, you will then be equally challenged to beat the intermediate, 
and eventually the expert.  We wanted to post this file to help you find 
"meaning in the madness".  Some of these tips are purposefully vague so as 
not to "give away" a strategy.  We have also learned, however, there is no 
one strategy to the game that works every time.  What you see here are 
certain elements of winning strategies we have seen.

Here are some basic guidelines:

1- Low numbered cards
	When given the chance, always make the lowest card in your hand 
	work for you.  Save your high cards for when you need to beat your 
	opponents high cards or for the bonus round were they cannot be 
	stopped.  Low numbered cards will only ADD to the damage your 
	opponent does if you do not make them good first.

2- How important is the bonus round?
	As you improve, your bonus round points should increase.  The bonus 
	round is the easiest way of avoiding bad cards and playing good 
	cards.  Kings and Affairs of The Court are what you need to get to 
	the bonus round.  A good goal in the game is to always be the one 
	playing the bonus...

3- What should I do with Hearts?
	When below 20... the better Heart hand tends to win!  Sometimes 
	a good defense is better than a great offense.  If you are always 
	playing to a draw, consider the role of Hearts in your strategy.

4- What should I do with Spades?
	Spades are the quickest way to a draw.  You should really evaluate 
	your strategy if it centers around Spades!  Just the opposite of 
	Hearts, when below 20... Spades can REALLY hurt.

5- Do you know the "dead card" of the deck?
	The Queen of Spades!  Queens REVERSE... but Spades affect BOTH 
	PLAYERS.  So the Queen of Spades REVERSES the affect of the 
	card... still leaving both players minus points.  In essence, the 
	Queen of Spades does NOTHING!  If you have the Queen of Spades... 
	you have the "dead card" of the deck.

6- Aces
	The Aces play a very important role in the game.  Learn what they 
	do and structure your strategy to accommodate them at the right 
	time.  You have to learn to both USE and DEFEND AGAINST the 
	"traitors of the court".  As your strategy improves, the Ace of 
	Diamonds and Clubs should become MORE important, and the Ace of 
	Hearts and Spades should become LESS important.  Many early games 
	are won by simply switching the score at the last moment, the 
	better players can defend against this.

7- Court Cards - a matter of timing
	Learn to play court cards at the RIGHT TIME... some are best lead 
	early, some should wait toward the end... (think... If I could 
	choose any card to play this on... what would it be?  Then structure 
	your strategy to make it happen!)

8- Numbered cards of the same suit
	When two numbered cards of the SAME SUIT are played together, the 
	higher card wins, BUT the two cards are ADDED TOGETHER to determine 
	the actual point value of the round.  This is the key to winning... 
	make your high cards beat the HIGHEST card they can... so you get 
	the most points possible for the cards you have.  If your strategy 
	can make this happen, you will be an expert in no time.


The other strategies to the game are for you to learn.  Is it better to be 
long in one suit?  How many court cards should I keep?  What court cards 
work the best when together?  How can I read my opponents hand?  Should I 
try to void myself of a suit?  How do I finish off my opponent?  How do I 
stay above zero when starting a round below 20?

Remember, the "novice" level in Affairs of The Court is modeled after 
beginning players.  DON'T LEARN FROM THIS PLAYER... this level makes several 
fundamental mistakes when it comes to strategy.  The intermediate player 
should beat the novice 80% of the time.
 
REGISTERING BENEFIT CLARIFICATION:
One question that has been asked and was not clarified in the on-line help 
is... Why doesn't the game save my settings when I exit?  The registered 
version of the game DOES save your settings, the shareware version was 
shipped before this was in place.  This feature should be added to the 
benefits of registering the program.

OPTIONS IN THE GAME:
The most useful option in the game is "QUICK PLAY".  This option takes away
the need to click on the deck to draw the next card.  Use this option as
soon as you are familiar with how cards are drawn and you will save 
yourself lots of time.  QUICK PLAY can be found under the OPTIONS menu
item.

FEEDBACK!:
We appreciate your comments about the game.  Good or bad... all feedback  
helps us to become a better shareware company.

