<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//KDE//DTD DocBook XML V4.5-Based Variant V1.1//EN" "dtd/kdedbx45.dtd" [
  <!ENTITY i18n-lskat "Lieutenant Skat">
  <!ENTITY lskat "LSkat">

  <!ENTITY % English "INCLUDE" >
  <!ENTITY % addindex "IGNORE">
]>

<book id="lskat" lang="&language;">
<bookinfo>
<title>The &lskat; Handbook</title>
<authorgroup>
<author>
<firstname>Martin</firstname>
<surname>Heni</surname>
<affiliation><address><email>kde@heni-online.de</email></address></affiliation>
</author>
<author>
<firstname>Eugene</firstname><surname>Trounev</surname>
<affiliation><address><email>eugene.trounev@gmail.com</email></address></affiliation>
</author>
<othercredit role="reviewer">
<firstname>Mike</firstname><surname>McBride</surname>
<contrib>Reviewer</contrib>
<affiliation>
<address>&Mike.McBride.mail;</address></affiliation>
</othercredit>
<!-- TRANS:ROLES_OF_TRANSLATORS -->
</authorgroup>

<date>2021-10-05</date>
<releaseinfo>1.50 (KDE Gear 21.08)</releaseinfo>

<legalnotice>&FDLNotice;</legalnotice>

<abstract>
<para>This documentation describes the game of &i18n-lskat; version 1.50</para>
</abstract>

<keywordset>
<keyword>KDE</keyword>
<keyword>kdegames</keyword>
<keyword>game</keyword>
<keyword>playing cards</keyword>
<keyword>card game</keyword>
<keyword>arcade</keyword>
<keyword>card</keyword>
<keyword>skat</keyword>
<keyword>lieutenant</keyword>
<keyword>LsKat</keyword>
<keyword>two players</keyword>
</keywordset>
</bookinfo>

<chapter id="introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>
<note><title>Gametype:</title><para>Card, Arcade</para></note><!-- Game genre. Use as many as necessary. Available game types are: Arcade, Board, Card, Dice, Toys, Logic, Strategy.-->
<note><title>Number of possible players:</title><para>Two</para></note><!--Number of possible players. It can be: One, Two,..., Multiplayer-->
<para>
<literal>Lieutenant Skat</literal> (from German <foreignphrase lang="de">Offiziersskat</foreignphrase>) is a fun and engaging card game for two players, where the second player is either live opponent, or built in artificial intelligence.
</para>
<para>
The game is played using a single deck of cards. Cards are shuffled and distributed amongst the players in such a way that half of them are face down and half of them are open. Each participant plays one of the open cards per turn. As soon as all the cards are played the round ends and points are calculated and awarded.
</para>
</chapter>

<chapter id="howto">
<title>How to Play</title>
<note><title>Objective:</title><para>Score more than 60 points in a single game.</para></note>

<para>Once dealing is finished each player ends up with 16 cards each. Cards are
displayed in two horizontal rows - four cards per row. Half of the cards are face
down and half are face up. As a player you can see the cards of your opponent
as well as your own. You can make a move then by clicking on any of your cards
which are currently face up. The opponent has to reply by choosing a
corresponding card form his/her own stack.</para>

<note><para>If your opponent is artificial intelligence, its cards will be chosen automatically.</para></note>

<para>Once the exchange is finished values of the played cards are evaluated and
either you or your opponent is awarded points. The game is complete in 16
rounds (when all of your and your opponent's cards have been played). After the
game ends your score is being compared to that of your opponent and the player
with the higher score wins the round.</para>
</chapter>

<chapter id="rules_and_tips">
<title>Game Rules, Strategies and Tips</title>

<sect1 id="screen">
<title>Game Screen</title>

<screenshot>
<screeninfo>&i18n-lskat; default game screen.</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="lskat_screen_01.png" format="PNG" />
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>&i18n-lskat; default game reference screen.</phrase>
</textobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>

<segmentedlist>
<segtitle>1</segtitle>
<segtitle>2, 3</segtitle>
<segtitle>4</segtitle>
<segtitle>5</segtitle>
<segtitle>6</segtitle>
<segtitle>7</segtitle>
<segtitle>8</segtitle>
<seglistitem>
<seg>Active player indicator</seg>
<seg>Card stacks for player one and player two</seg>
<seg>Stack of won cards (if any)</seg>
<seg>Gameplay area</seg>
<seg>Score board with player's name, points in the current game, the overall score of the player, and the amount of wins per game</seg>
<seg>Player's controller (Human/PC)</seg>
<seg>The <quote>trump</quote> in the current game</seg>
</seglistitem>
</segmentedlist>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="rules">
<title>Rules</title>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Every player owns 16 cards. 8 of them are face down 8 of them are face up.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>A face down card can only be opened after a face up card covering it has been played.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Each game has a randomly chosen <quote>trump</quote> card [8].</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>All four Jacks are counted as trumps and do not belong to their suits.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>If a color (&eg; heart) is selected as <quote>trump</quote> all seven hearts as well as all four Jacks count as trumps, making 11 trump cards.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Jacks beat each other in order (greatest to least): Cup->Spade->Heart->Diamond.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The sequence of cards for a trump color: Jack of clubs, Jack of spades, Jack of hearts, Jack of diamonds, Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Nine, Eight, Seven.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The sequence of cards for a non-trump color: Ace, Ten, King, Queen, Nine, Eight, Seven.</para></listitem>
<listitem id="card-values"><para>The values of the cards (highest to lowest):</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<tbody>
<row><entry>Card</entry><entry>Value</entry></row>
<row><entry>Ace</entry><entry>11</entry></row>
<row><entry>Ten</entry><entry>10</entry></row>
<row><entry>King</entry><entry>4</entry></row>
<row><entry>Queen</entry><entry>3</entry></row>
<row><entry>Jack</entry><entry>2</entry></row>
<row><entry>Nine</entry><entry>0</entry></row>
<row><entry>Eight</entry><entry>0</entry></row>
<row><entry>Seven</entry><entry>0</entry></row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>A special <quote>trump</quote> game is called the Grand. In this game no suit is trump and only the four Jacks count as trump. This game type is indicated by the symbol of a Jack's head [8] on the score board [6].</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>If player starts the round he has a choice of cards to play with, either a card from a suite or a <quote>trump</quote> card.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Only the face up cards from the player's own stack can be used to play the round.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Player who wins the round starts the next one.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The player who wins the round adds values of the cards played in that round to his/her score.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Player with more than 60 points wins the game.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>If both players finish with 60 points each the game ends in a draw.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>For each game a certain amount of victory points is awarded and added to the overall score.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<informaltable>
<tgroup cols="2">
<tbody>
<row><entry>Points</entry><entry>Score</entry></row>
<row><entry>60</entry><entry>1</entry></row>
<row><entry>61 to 90</entry><entry>2</entry></row>
<row><entry>91 to 119</entry><entry>3</entry></row>
<row><entry>120</entry><entry>4</entry></row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="strategies">
<title>Strategies and Tips</title>
<para>
When the game starts, the starting player should play any of the face up cards from own stack.
If the second player currently has face up cards that are of the same suit as the card played,
he has to reply with one of those cards. If, however, the second player does not have a card
of the same suit, he can play with any other card including a <quote>trump</quote> card.</para>
<para>If there is at least one <quote>trump</quote> card, the highest <quote>trump</quote> wins both cards.</para>
<para>If there is no <quote>trump</quote> card, the highest card of the suit played by the starting player wins both cards.</para>
<para>If the replying player has no card of the requested suit and no <quote>trump</quote> card, he has to play
any card and the starting player wins both cards.</para>

<para>The player who wins the round leads the next one.</para>
</sect1>
</chapter>

<chapter id="faq">
<title>Frequently asked questions</title>

<qandaset>
<qandaentry>
 <question><para>Can I play with a different deck of cards?</para></question>
 <answer><para>Yes. Refer to <link linkend="deck_change">this</link> section of 'Interface Overview' for details.</para></answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
 <question><para>I have made a mistake. Can I undo? </para></question>
 <answer><para>No. This game does not have an <quote>Undo</quote> feature.</para></answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
 <question><para>Can I use the keyboard to play this game? </para></question>
 <answer><para>No. This game cannot be played using keyboard.</para></answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
 <question><para>I cannot figure out what to do here! Are there hints? </para></question>
 <answer><para>No. This game does not have a <quote>Hint</quote> feature.</para></answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
 <question><para>I have to quit the game now, but I am not finished yet. Can I save my progress?</para></question>
 <answer><para>No. This game does not have a <quote>Save State</quote> feature.</para></answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
 <question><para>Can I change players' names?</para></question>
 <answer><para>Yes. To change the names displayed on the right hand side of the game screen refer to <link linkend="name_change">this</link> section of 'Interface Overview' for details.</para></answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandaset>
</chapter>

<chapter id="interface">
<title>Interface Overview</title>

<sect1 id="file-menu">
<title>The Game Menu</title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<shortcut>
<keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap><anchor id="new_game"/>N</keycap></keycombo>
</shortcut>
<guimenu>Game</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem></menuchoice></term>
<listitem>
<para>
<action>Starts a new game.</action>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<shortcut>
<keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;&End;</keycombo>
</shortcut>
<guimenu>Game</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>End Game</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem><para>
<action>Ends a running game.</action>
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<guimenu>Game</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Clear Statistics</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem><para>
<action>Clears the all time game memory.</action> This statistic is
saved when the game ended and shows the overall score and the amount of
played and won games per player. This is cleared with this menu
item.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<shortcut>
<keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>Q</keycap></keycombo>
</shortcut>
<guimenu>Game</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Quit</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem><para><action>
Quits the program.</action>
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="settings-menu">
<title>The Settings Menu</title>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Starting Player</guisubmenu></menuchoice></term>
<listitem><para>
Selects whether player 1 (top) or player two (bottom)
begins the next game.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Player 1 Played By</guisubmenu>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Chooses who should play for player 1 (top). The player can
be either controlled by the local player with the mouse or
the computer will control it.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term><menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Player 2 Played By</guisubmenu>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Chooses who should play for player 2 (bottom). The player can
be either controlled by the local player with the mouse or
the computer will control it.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry id="theme_change">
<term><menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Theme</guisubmenu>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Chooses a visual theme. This changes the appearance of the game but not
of the cards. Card decks are selected with their own menu item.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry id="deck_change">
<term><menuchoice>
<shortcut>
<keycap>F10</keycap>
</shortcut>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Select Card Deck...</guimenuitem></menuchoice></term>
<listitem><para>
<action>Choose the face and back of the card deck used for playing.</action> You
can select these in a preview dialog showing all card decks installed.
</para>
<note>
<para>
Some card decks or card sets are marked as scalable graphics (&SVG;) in the dialog.
Choosing them will display better quality of the graphics when the game is
scaled or enlarged. Fixed size graphics will loose quality when resized different
than their original size.
</para>
</note>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry id="name_change">
<term><menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Change Player Names...</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice></term>
<listitem><para>
<action>Change the names of the players.</action>
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>

</variablelist>

<para>
Additionally &i18n-lskat; has the common &kde; <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> and <guimenu>Help</guimenu>
menu items, for more information read the sections about the
<ulink url="help:/fundamentals/menus.html#menus-settings">Settings Menu</ulink> and
<ulink url="help:/fundamentals/menus.html#menus-help">Help Menu</ulink> of the &kde; Fundamentals.
</para>

</sect1>

</chapter>

<chapter id="credits">
<title>Credits and License</title>

<para>
&lskat;
</para>
<para>
Program copyright 2000-2007 &Martin.Heni; <email>kde@heni-online.de</email>
</para>
<para>
Graphics copyright 2007 Eugene Trounev <email>eugene.trounev@gmail.com</email>
</para>
<para>
Documentation copyright 2000-2007 &Martin.Heni; <email>kde@heni-online.de</email>
</para>
<para>
Documentation converted to &kde; 2.0 by &Mike.McBride;
&Mike.McBride.mail;
</para>

<!-- TRANS:CREDIT_FOR_TRANSLATORS -->

&underFDL;
&underGPL;

</chapter>

&documentation.index;
</book>
<!--
Local Variables:
mode: sgml
sgml-minimize-attributes:nil
sgml-general-insert-case:lower
sgml-omittag:t
sgml-shorttag:t
sgml-namecase-general:t
sgml-always-quote-attributes:t
sgml-indent-step:0
sgml-indent-data:nil
sgml-parent-document:nil
sgml-exposed-tags:nil
sgml-local-catalogs:nil
sgml-local-ecat-files:nil
End:
-->



