*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.