Solavantage Newsletter #6

Hello Solavant players!

I have several pieces of news this month, so I've written them separately below. Thanks to everyone who has written to me. If you have any ideas or comments about Solavant, please write!

– Tom Cain, Smallware

Solavant 2.0 in production

Solavant 2.0 is coming along. Thanks to everyone who has written me with ideas and requests! Many new features are already in and I still have a few bigger ones left I'd like to add. I'm going to get as many as I can in for this version, but I don't want to hold off on the release for too long since things can be added in 2.1, 2.2, and on into the future.

There are some things in version 2.0 that are going to require some testing. Before the final release, all Solavant customers will be able to download a beta version of Solavant 2.0 and give it a try. This will help a great deal in making sure version 2.0 works correctly for everyone. If you are willing help out with the test, a notice with instructions will be sent to Solavantage members when it's ready.

Universal Binary commitment

Many people have asked me about a Universal Binary version of Solavant for the new Intel Macs. This will be done. We have an Intel Mac here and although Solavant runs great without being a Universal Binary, I think it's important that we produce one. I have not done it yet because the tools I used to create Solavant aren't yet able to produce a Univeral Binary application. They will be able to in the near future. Once that happens, Solavant will be released as a Universal Binary. The upgrade will be free for customers like all other upgrades.

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Featured game - Invasion

Invasion is an original game created specifically for Solavant. I like this game mostly because it is unlike any other solitaire game I've played. The card movements are difficult and tedious to play on a table with real cards, but with Solavant this tedious movement is automatic. The metaphor for this game is of protecting an ancient land from an invading army by subverting the invaders to your side before they cross the sea.

The rules may look complex at first glance, but they are actually simple once you've played a few times. The goal is to build the foundations on the right from Aces to Queens regardless of suit. (The rules incorrectly state Aces to Kings, this will be corrected in the next version.) The foundations are the Homeland that you must protect from the invading Army.

The four Kings on the left are not in play. They represent the invading leaders and are just for show.

Between the Kings and Homeland are rows that make up the Sea. Cards of the Army are dealt 4 at a time from the stock pile into the rows at the leftmost side. Any cards already in the rows are automatically moved to the right one space as they sail closer to the Homeland. If any of the four rows is completely filled, cards cannot be dealt from the stock.

The rightmost card of any row may be built onto any foundation pile that can take it. This is the "subversion" process.

Only one move is allowed within the Sea rows. If the rightmost card of a row has a space beside it, you may move a card that is one lower in rank into the space. The card you move can be any card in the Sea. The gap from the moved card is automatically closed leftward, except if the gap is the leftmost space in a row, then it is filled from the stock.

The game is lost if any row is completely filled and you cannot create gaps in it because no more cards can be dealt from the stock. The Army will have successfully invaded the Homeland.

Invasion strategy

Building the 2, 3, and 4 cards into foundations is a high priority. The Sea looks like it has a lot of spaces but they will fill up quickly. It is therefore important to get the foundations started as soon as possible.

You should not build every card available right away. You will need cards in the Sea to move other, lower cards to the ends of the rows. For example, if you have a 3 at the right of a row that can be built, leave it there so that any 2's that come up can be moved to the right of the 3 and then built. Once all 2's have been built, it is safe to build the 3.

Don't be afraid to let a row go all the way across the Sea if you think it necessary. It's usually possible to pull a card from a filled row and move it to another row. Since gaps close to the left, you'll open a space and the game won't be blocked.

Cards that are moved from the leftmost end of a row are replaced from the stock. This is the only way to get stock cards into play if you can't or don't want to shift the rows. I point this out because there will be many times when you can use this to your advantage.

It is better to not build any one foundation too far ahead of the others. The game is harder when this happens. However, you also have to remove cards from the Sea to keep the rows from filling up. It's often necessary to build a foundation ahead of the others to create these spaces. Balancing these opposing forces is part of the strategic challenge of Invasion.

Final Invasion thoughts

Invasion is an interesting strategy game once you get used to the unusual card movements. This actually isn't difficult because of the automation. Once you've got it figured out, you'll enjoy the different strategic thinking the game requires.

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Random Solavant tip

Sometimes you might forget how a pile, column, or space works in a game. Move the mouse cursor over anything on the game screen and a short explanation of how it works will appear at the bottom of the window.

Thanks for playing Solavant!