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Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.12 (and more!)

September 2nd, 2010

A new version of our premier Solitaire for Mac OS X is released.

Pretty Good Solitaire iconThe autumn release schedule at Goodsol Development was kicked off with the release of Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.12 on August 17th.

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition is a Solitaire program that (currently) supports 200 different solitaire games.  PGSME 2.12 is a maintenance release that fixes a number of minor issues that have been reported by users.  You can download this free update here.  All registered users will be eligible for a free upgrade to PGSME 2.2, with 300 games, when it is released later this year, so Buy Now!

There is something for Windows users, too.

Of course, the flagship product is Pretty Good Solitaire (for Windows), so the same day also saw the release of Pretty Good Solitaire 12.4, which increases the total number of different Solitaire games to 750 (adding 10 new games).  You can purchase a copy here or download an upgrade/trial version here.  This release is the special 15th Anniversary Edition.

Unlike other Goodsol titles, these two versions of Pretty Good Solitaire are built from completely different code bases, in different languages, by different programmers.  I developed the Mac OS X version, and Thomas Warfield has been writing/improving the Windows version since 1995!  The dual release turned out to be almost double the usual work for a single “SKU” release (for Thomas, not me) so the upgrades are likely to be staggered going forward.

Even more is yet to come.

In the coming months, there are going to be releases every couple of weeks, with upgrades to all of the other major titles in Goodsol’s product lineup, including Most Popular Solitaire, Goodsol Solitaire 101, Pretty Good MahJongg, and even Action Solitaire.  Those who are paying attention will note that a “couple of weeks” have already passed, and true to this schedule, FreeCell Plus 4.02 was released two days ago.  I will write more about that next week.

Enjoy!

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Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition 1.0

August 5th, 2010

A favorite product is now available on a new platform.

This week, Goodsol Development released Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition 1.0, our very first published Apple Mac OS X version of this award-winning title.  Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition is a MahJongg solitaire game which has 160 different tile matching layouts, but also 32 original solitaire games played with MahJongg tiles, as well as a custom layout editor (only available in the full/purchased version).

The develoment of Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition took longer than originally anticipated, due at least in part to working on three different products for three different platforms simultaneously.  The end result, though is very satisfying, and this Mac Edition has all of the same gameplay features as the Windows version, including downloadable tile sets.  The next major update of PGMJME will bring the number of solitaire games (and tile matching layouts) even with its 8-year-old sibling, but that is in the (not too distant) future.  For the moment, I am looking for the expected 50% productivity gains on the other two major upcoming releases.

You can download a trial version of PGMJME 1.0 from the Mac Edition web site, and you can purchase Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition for only $24.95.  (Registered users of the Windows version can find a link for a discount coupon on the Goodsol web forum.)  What a deal!

I challenge anybody to catch me in Free Klondike (one of the original solitaire games in PGMJME, and my favorite) playing in climb mode.

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Most Popular Solitaire is #1!

May 5th, 2010

One of our solitaire games tops the Apple Downloads charts.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Apple had stopped updating the pages on its Apple Downloads site back in March, so Most Popular Solitaire, our solitaire title with 30 of the most popular games, was reliably in the top 15 on the (dynamic) ‘Top Downloads’ list on the left of each page but was not listed at all on the ‘Most Popular’ pages in the ‘Games’ category.  (As of this posting, Most Popular Solitaire 2.02 is #11 of all Apple downloads, including Apple’s own products.)

This morning, though, Apple finally updated the pages and Most Popular Solitaire is at the very top of all game downloads, listed as #1 on both the Games: Most popular and Cards & Puzzle: Most popular pages.  Sure, this position is likely to be fleeting, especially now that new submissions are being posted again, but it feels good for the moment.  Of course, some of those new submissions will be from Goodsol Development, so we will be looking to match this success and get more of our games to the top.

Thanks to Apple for finally getting this fixed.

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More than Just a Name

April 15th, 2010

Most Popular Solitaire is the most popular solitaire game for Mac OS X.

The Good News over the last few weeks has been that our solitaire title, Most Popular Solitaire, featuring 30 favorite solitaire games, has proven to be the most downloaded solitaire game at Apple Downloads.  Ever since the latest update, Most Popular Solitaire 2.02 has been receiving amazing numbers of downloads, even eclipsing the Windows version of Pretty Good Solitaire.

Most Popular Solitaire appears on the ‘Top Downloads‘ list on the left side of every Apple Downloads page, and has consistently done so since shortly after its release.  Charting as high as #7 and only dropping off for a single day.  (As of this writing, MPS is ranked at #12.)  Note that this is for all downloads from Apple’s site, including such packages as iTunes, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox.  At times, our solitaire game has been ranked higher than QuickTime, and no other solitaire game has appeared on the list.  In fact, we have regularly had the most download game (period).

Now comes the Bad News.  Whether it is due to some oversight in the midst of the iPad excitement, or related to the recent change to remove the ‘Downloads’ link from the main Apple page (in favor of “iPad”), or just a run-of-the-mill screw-up, the ‘Most popular’ pages for each category are not being updated, and this problem has lasted for three weeks now, which means that these pages show the top downloads from just before our game update was released.  It is clear that Most Popular Solitaire should be ranked #1 on the Cards & Puzzle: Most popular page, and probably no lower than #2 on the Games: Most popular page.

Now we still have the problem that traffic is falling off due to the lack of updates, and assuming that the problem will be fixed (hopefully soon), there will probably be a frenzy of product submissions, especially with those already in the pipeline, and our products could become lost in the noise.  Since Apple Downloads is a very important distribution point for Mac OS X titles, this issue is already impacting our marketing.

Despite this inconvenience, development for this platform is continuing apace, and there should be an official announcement about Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition in the very near future, as well as one for a related platform, hinted at the end of the most recent post at A Shareware Life.

In any event, I am currently enjoying an absolutely beautiful day, with summer temperatures, bright sunshine, and the stress-free knowledge that all of our business and personal taxes have long since been filed.  Happy Tax Day!

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Most Popular Solitaire 2.02

March 25th, 2010

Our entry level product for Mac OS X and Windows is updated.

This week, Goodsol Development released Most Popular Solitaire 2.02, a maintenance release of this popular solitaire title.  The product contains 30 of the most popular solitaire games, including FreeCell, Spider, and Klondike (known to many as simply “Solitaire”), plus 13 more bonus variants (not available in the evaluation version).

Ostensibly, this update contains a few bug fixes and does not change much about the product itself, though internally it takes a sizable step forward.  This version brings the code up to the latest (properly tested) version of the Goodsol Solitaire Engine, so future updates will be easier to build and maintain (on multiple platforms).

Most Popular Solitaire is available for only $16.95 via secure server, and trial versions are also available for Windows and for Mac OS X.

More is yet to come.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to challenge myself to completing three products in three weeks.  I have been sequestered in my office, for the most part, since then.  As much as I would like to proclaim the two Most Popular Solitaire 2.02 SKUs as two of those, the truth is that they were not even considered, so there are still three products (and SKUs) yet to come, albeit not next week.

My status is that the first priority, a full Mac OS X port, has taken longer than originally anticipated, but it will be announced shortly.  The second project, extending a recent product to operate on a new platform, has been forcibly pushed back for at least 9 more days.  (You figure it out; I cannot talk about it.)  The final product in this group, Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.20 (with 100 more games and a few new features), is making good progress but…  there is only so much we can do at once.

Finally, although I have not had any time for Facebook during my challenge, I will tell you that you — yes, you! — can now become a fan of Pretty Good Solitaire.

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Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.11

February 15th, 2010

An update to our primary Mac product is published.

Goodsol Development released Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.11 last week.  This updated version is a maintenance release that adds no features, but fixes a number of issues that were discovered in the previous version, including a couple of obscure crash bugs.  It is definitely a recommended update, and it is free to all previous PGSME customers.

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition features 200 different types of solitaire games using standard playing cards, plus an additional 45 bonus games in the full (purchased) version.  You can download an evaluation version, or just purchase via secure server for only $24.95.  For more information on the product, please visit http://www.goodsol.com/mac.

This is our third or fourth product release in 2010 (depending on how one counts), and the regular release schedule should continue for a while yet.  Upcoming releases will include Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition, the first version of our MahJongg solitaire game for Mac OS X, and Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.20, which will increase the game count to 300 (plus even more bonus games).  We also have some other titles planned in the near future, so stayed tuned for more announcements (soon).

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FreeCell Plus 4.00

January 25th, 2010

A new FreeCell solitaire game for Mac and Windows

Today, on the 14th anniversary of version 1.0, Goodsol Development published FreeCell Plus 4.00, a major update to its basic collection of FreeCell-type solitaire games.

FreeCell Plus 4.0 is an entry-level collection of 8 solitaire games, including the original FreeCell (with compatible deals), plus several similar card solitaire games, including favorites such as Sea Towers and Penguin.  The registered version includes 4 more bonus variants, all for only $9.95.  As with all of our products, one can download trial versions from the FreeCell Plus web site (or for Windows or for Mac OS X directly).

This particular update has been interesting because the previous version, FreeCell Plus v3.0, was released way back in 1998, for Windows 3.1!  Aside from being a less expensive product for FreeCell lovers, this title makes two new games available on the Mac side (and in Windows climb mode): Two Cells (standard) and Three Cells (bonus game).

We are just getting ramped up for a very productive year, with two releases already, plus three or four more in the pipeline for the next couple of months.

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Goodsol Solitaire 101 Mac Edition 2.00

January 16th, 2010

A new product release for the New Year

Last week, Goodsol Development released Goodsol Solitaire 101 Mac Edition 2.00, as our first new product for 2010.  Now equivalent versions of Goodsol Solitaire 101 are available for both Windows and Mac OS X.

Goodsol Solitaire 101 is a collection of 101 of the most played solitaire games the world over, plus 34 bonus games for customers, and it includes support for climb mode.  You can download the product for Mac OS X here (or for Windows here) and purchase the game now for only $19.95 here.

In the several days since its release, Goodsol Solitaire 101 Mac Edition 2.0 has (as of this writing) taken the #4 position in the Cards & Puzzle category at Apple Downloads, which translates into #9 in the general Games category.  (Most Popular Solitaire 2.01 is still hanging in there at #15 of the 20 games on the first list, too.)

This release is the first of many expected throughout 2010, including some new products, major upgrades, and probably support for a new platform as well.  There are already two more products scheduled for publishing in the next few weeks.  This New Year is starting out to be as strong as last year ended, and I hope only to build on this momentum.

Beatles-style sweep of the top 3 positions, anyone?

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10 Years!

December 30th, 2009

One whole decade in the ASP.

On this date back in 1999, I joined the ASP (Association of Shareware Professionals), so this is the 10th anniversary of my membership in this important trade organization.  (As a side note, through some game playing, it is also the 5th anniversary of the second company membership for Sherry.)  I was the last member to join in the 1900s, having taken almost ten years to join in the first place, and I immediately regretted not joining earlier.

In the past 10 years, I spent nearly half of that time in a volunteer position, mostly the 4.5 years during which I was a Director, including two stints as ASP Chairman of the Board.  I do not currently hold any official job, concentrating on developing our company and products, but I still strongly believe in the value of membership for access to the private newsgroups alone, nevermind other benefits.  In fact, I am now a Lifetime Member to be sure to always have this wealth of information and experience available to me.  (Anybody who fails to join just because of the “shareware” word in the organization name is making a very poor business decision.)

Clearly, one of the biggest benefits of ASP membership to me was to network with successful shareware publishers, which led directly to our association with Goodsol Development, which involvement has now lasted more than 8 years and could easily have paid for annual ASP membership dues into the next millennium.  That is only one contact I have made, but I have both learned and profited from many of the other members of the ASP.  Join Now!

Speaking of Goodsol, in wrapping up the year, I had a chance to review the products we shipped during 2009:

That is not too bad a list for year, but I bet that we can beat that in 2010!  (We already have three products on the publishing schedule, and 5 more big projects in the immediate pipeline.)

[Note to self:  Press the 'Publish' button when the article is finished and proofread.]

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Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.10

December 20th, 2009

A major update to our best-selling Mac solitaire game is published.

Last week, Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.10 was released by Goodsol Development, capping a very successful period of development.

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.10 adds 99 new games since the previous version (2.0), bringing the total to 200 games, nearly double the previous count.  The full (purchased) version includes a few more bonus games, so our Mac users now have access to 245 solitaire games, and this is a free upgrade to all previous PGSME customers.

What makes this particular release special is that, for the first time, Mac users have access to game features that are not (yet) available to Windows users.  In particular, PGSME includes climb mode for all of the 200 (+45) supported games, which gives users of this title access to 99 (+11) climb mode online high score listings that are not yet accessible from any of our products for Windows.  (Goodsol Solitaire 101 supports climb mode for all its games, though.)

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.10 is available for only $24.95 and can be ordered via secure server, and you can get the (optional) CD for only $7.50 more.  A 30% discount is available for registered Pretty Good Solitaire [Windows] users.  Of course, as with all of our game products, a trial version is available for download.

But wait!  There’s more!! PGSME 2.20, with 300 games, has already been announced for release in 2010, and it will be a free upgrade for everybody who purchases the current version.  Buy now!

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