Radio Shack FX2 Owner's Manual

Color FX2™ Spades 60-2701.fm Page 1 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

Preparation ................................................. 4 Installing Batteries ................................... 4 Rules of Spades ...................................... 6 Bidding and Scoring ................................ 8 Blind Bidding ....................................... 9 Underbidding/Sandbags ................... 10 Nil Bidding ........................................ 10 Big Moe and Little Moe ..................... 11 Two for Ten ....................................... 11 Boston .............................................. 11 Turning the Game On/Off ...... ...

game combines the intensity of a bidding card game with the convenience of a hand-held game. The game has three levels of difficulty, which is perfect for both beginner and advanced players. You can use the easy-to-understand “Rules of Spades” on Page 6 as well as the convenient “Glossary of Terms” on Page 16 to learn the game. You can take your Spades game anywhere with you on the go! 60-2701.fm Page 3 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

(not supplied) for power. For the best per- formance and longest life, we recom- mend RadioShack alkaline batteries. Cautions: • Use only fresh batteries of the required size and recommended type. • Do not mix old and new batteries, different types of batteries (standard, alkaline, or rechargeable), or rechargeable batteries of different capacities. 60-2701.fm Page 4 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

the battery compartment cover’s screw, then lift the cover off. 2. Place the batteries in the compart- ment as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and –) marked inside. 3. Replace the cover and secure it with its screw. When the display dims, the sound be- comes weak or distorted, or the game stops operating properly, replace the bat- teries. Warning: Dispose of old batteries promptly and properly. Do not burn or bury them. Caution: If you do not plan to use the game for a week or longer, remove the 60-2701.fm Page 5 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

that can destroy electronic parts. Note: When you replace the batteries, all game memory is lost. RULES OF SPADES You (PLAYER) play spades with your vir- tual partner (PARTNER) against two computer opponents (COMP.1 and COMP. 2). The object of the game is to win as many tricks as your team bids to outscore your opponents. After the game shuffles the deck, teams bid how many tricks they think they can win. There are a total of 13 tricks for each hand. You can bid from 0 (nil) to 13 tricks. 60-2701.fm Page 6 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

you. The first player opens the hand with a high card to attempt to win the trick. Each player in turn must play a card in the lead suit, if they have one. The player who plays the highest card in the suit wins the trick for their team and begins the next trick by leading a card in the desired suit. A player may choose to cut the hand if he/she does not have cards in the lead suit. If a player breaks a suit with a spade, that team wins the hand for their team, no matter what the value of the spade the player plays (as long as no other player cuts with a higher spade). You cannot lead spades until they ...

from the 2 to the Ace. BIDDING AND SCORING After all of the 13 tricks in a hand are played out, the game compares the num- ber of tricks each team has won with how much they had bid. The higher you bid the more you can win (or lose). If a team equals or exceeds their bid, they get 10 points for each trick they bid plus 1 point for each extra trick. For example: A team bids 5 and wins 8 tricks: 5×10+3 = 53. That team gets 53 points added to their score. If a team is set (fails to meet their bid), they lose 10 times the amount they bid from their score. 60-2701.fm Page 8 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:0 ...

tricks: –5×10 = –50. That team loses 50 points from their score. Blind Bidding You can try to guess how many tricks your team can win before dealing the hand (bid blind). The game prompts you to select this option when you are 100 points behind the computer players. If a team makes their blind bid, they get twice their bid multiplied by 10 added to their score. For example: • A team bids 5 tricks blind and wins 5 tricks: (5×2)×10 = 100. That team gets 100 points added to their score. 60-2701.fm Page 9 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

amount of tricks bid blind is twice as much as a normal bid: (5×–2)×10 = –100. Underbidding/Sandbags If you bid four tricks but win seven tricks, your score is only 43 (as opposed to a possible 70). You then have three sand- bags. For every 10 sandbags a team has, that team loses 100 points from their score. Nil Bidding If a player feels that a dealt hand is par- ticularly bad, the player may choose to bid nil (0 tricks). That player’s team wins an additional 100 points if they can keep from winning tricks. However, the team loses 100 points if they take any tricks. 60-2701.fm Page 10 Tuesday ...

If a team takes the first six tricks in a hand, they get an extra 50 points added to their score (Little Moe). If they take the first eight tricks in a hand, they get an ex- tra 100 points added to their score (Big Moe). Two for Ten Any team that bids 10 tricks and makes it gets an extra 100 points (for a total of 200 points) added to their score for the hand. Boston If a team wins all 13 tricks in a hand, they get an extra 300 points added to their score. 60-2701.fm Page 11 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

OFF To turn on the game, press ON/OFF. The game automatically turns off after about 4 minutes if you do not press any keys, to conserve battery power. To turn the game off sooner, press ON/OFF. The game stores the current game status and score in memory. To resume the game where you left off, press ON/OFF again. TURNING THE SOUND ON/ OFF The game is preset to sound a tone each time you press a key. To turn the sound off or on at any time, repeatedly press SOUND. appears when the sound is on. 60-2701.fm Page 12 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

ˆ Playing the Game 1. Press ON/OFF to turn on the game. (If you have played the game before, the display shows where you left off in the last game.) 2. Repeatedly press MODE to select the desired game level (BEGINNER, EXPERT, or PRO). 3. Press START/BID/ENTER to enter the setting. 4. Repeatedly press RIGHT or LEFT to increase or decrease the bid from 0 to 13. 60-2701.fm Page 13 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

5. Press START/BID/ENTER to enter the setting. 6. Press START/BID/ENTER again to start a new game. Each player gets 13 cards, but you can only see your own hand. Once all the cards are dealt, they appear in order (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades), with the cards in each suit arranged from low to high, right to left. Press RIGHT or LEFT to move the blinking arrow to a card you want to play. Press START/BID/ENTER to play the de- sired card. Play continues until all 13 tricks have been taken. The game shows the number of tricks each player bids and takes. You 60-2701.fm Page 14 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

(PLAYER) and your virtual partner’s (PARTNER) scores are counted together for the team score. COMP. 1 and COMP. 2 scores’ are counted together toward their team total, as well. The winner is the team that reaches 500 points. Or, if one side keeps losing (up to –999 points), the other team wins the game. Notes: • BLIND BID flashes whenever your team is 100 points behind the other team. Press BLIND BID to bid how many tricks your team can win with- out first looking at your hand. • A scoreboard keeps track of the score, the number of bids each team makes, and the number of tricks 60-2701.fm Page 15 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 ...

each team wins for the current game. The game also shows the number of underbids, sandbags, and points each team won (or lost) on previous games, when you press SCORE. ˆ Glossary of Terms B bid, 6 — how many tricks you think your hand can win. Big Moe, 11 — taking the first eight tricks in a hand and winning 100 points. blind bid, 9 — bidding without first look- ing at your hand. Boston, 11 — winning all 13 tricks in a hand and earning 300 extra points. 60-2701.fm Page 16 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

breaking a suit, 7 — playing the first spade (of a hand) when you do not have the dealt suit. C cutting the hand, 7 — playing a spade when you do not have the dealt suit (see also “breaking a suit”). H hand, 6 — a round of play in the game. L Little Moe, 11 — taking the first six tricks in a hand and winning an extra 50 points. N nil, 6 — a bid of zero tricks. S sandbag, 10 — underbidding; the amount by which a hand is underbid. 60-2701.fm Page 17 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

set, 8 — bidding a certain amount of tricks and not making the bid. suit, 7 — the four different sets of cards that make up a deck: hearts, clubs, dia- monds, and spades. T trick, 6 — the individual round within a hand of cards; also, the card that wins a hand. Two for Ten, 11 — bidding and winning 10 tricks, for 200 extra points. W winning a hand, 6 — playing the high card in a trick. RESETTING THE GAME If the game stops operating properly, re- move and reinstall the batteries. If the game still does not work properly, use a 60-2701.fm Page 18 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

pointed object (such as a straightened paper clip) to press RESET on the back of game. CARE Keep the game dry; if it gets wet, wipe it dry immediately. Use and store the game only in normal temperature environ- ments. Handle the game carefully; do not drop it. Keep the game away from dust and dirt, and wipe it with a damp cloth oc- casionally to keep it looking new. Modifying or tampering with the game’s internal components can cause a mal- function and invalidate its warranty. If your game is not performing as it should, take it to your local RadioShack store for assistance. 60-2701.fm Page 19 Tuesday, June 27, 2000 2:04 PM ...

Limited Ninety-Day Warranty This product is warranted by RadioShack against manufacturing defects in material and workmanship under normal use for ninety (90) days from the date of purchase from Ra- dioShack company-owned stores and authorized RadioShack franchisees and dealers. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack MAKES NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DU- RATION OF THE WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES CONTAINED HEREIN. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBIL- ITY TO ...