FreeCell Plus 4.10

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Gregg

This is a collection with FreeCell and several related games.

Goodsol Development has published FreeCell Plus 4.10, a maintenance update to this inexpensive collection of FreeCell and related games, available for both Windows and Mac OS X systems.

FreeCell Plus includes 8 FreeCell-type games, including FreeCell itself, as well as several variations such as Sea Towers, a very popular game, Baker’s Game, the original game of this type, and Penguin, a challenging twist on the genre.

In FreeCell Plus, you can play these most popular “open” games, where every card is visible from the initial deal, putting an emphasis more on strategy, rather than luck, in solving these card puzzles. The first one million deals of FreeCell are identical to the version shipped with Windows, but our game extends this to 2 billion deals, and the other games with the same general layout, Baker’s Game, Spidercells, and Two Cells (as well as three of the bonus games) use compatible deals. Playing in climb mode, you can challenge yourself sequentially to each deal of this game that is winnable in more than 99.99% of deals (and play 11981 before reaching the first unwinnable one).

You can download a free 30-day trial version here for either Windows 8/7/Vista/XP or Mac OS X 10.4 or later (Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, Leopard, or Tiger). Buy a copy here for only $9.95, and receive 4 bonus games not available in the trial version. Note that there is also a “special code” purchase available to allow FreeCell Plus to be played on all (Windows or Mac) computers in your household.

FreeCell Plus is actually a reboot/replacement of an older version for Windows 3.1 that sold well (unchanged) for more than a decade. I recreated this version using our proprietary Goodsol Solitaire Engine (and none of the original code or resources), also adding the Quick Launch window. This is currently the smallest GSE game, with only 12 games in the full version (although there is another game in the pipeline with even fewer, but a more diverse selection), and the iOS version is in active development.

Most Popular Solitaire 2.10

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Gregg

This is a wonderful collection of favorite solitaire games.

Goodsol Development has published Most Popular Solitaire 2.10, a maintenance update to this collection of the most popular solitaire games for both Mac OS X and Windows.

Most Popular Solitaire contains 30 games, including the most common varieties such as Klondike (a.k.a., “Solitaire”), Spider, and FreeCell, as well as more unusual forms of patience such as Crazy Quilt. This version greatly improves the interface for selecting and organizing games.

In Most Popular Solitaire, you can play a wide variety of different types of solitaire, giving a taste for various forms of gameplay and allowing you to decide (and mark) your favorites. Here is a quick sampling: Pyramid is very popular, involving removal of pairs of cards to reveal other cards and clear the layout; Forty Thieves is enormously popular, involving the proper selection of cards and use of tableau spaces; Aces Up (which I learned more than 40 years ago as “Idiot’s Delight”) involves eliminating lower card ranks until only the four Aces are left; Canfield is a historical game with some cards needing to be unburied from a reserve; Golf is based on removing cards by building up and down on the waste pile; La Belle Lucie is a favorite game of mine of the Fan variety; Cruel is an interesting form of solitaire made popular in the (original) Microsoft Entertainment Pack; Scorpion and Yukon are solitaire games where entire columns of cards are moved regardless of sequence. I have mentioned fewer than half of the games in this collection; there is truly something here that will appeal to everyone.

You can download a free 30-day trial version for Mac OS X 10.4 or later (Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, Leopard, or Tiger) or Windows 8/7/Vista/XP. When you buy a copy here for only $16.95, you get both Mac and Windows versions for one low price. You also get access to 13 bonus games not available in the trial version. (The web site says that is less than 57 cents per game, but it could be less than 20 cents per game, considering both platforms and the bonus games.)

Most Popular Solitaire is another one of the games based on our proprietary Goodsol Solitaire Engine; in fact, MPSol 1.0 was the original source for GSE, as well as the first version of Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition. It was originally introduced, more than 7 years ago, as an alternative product for those solitaire players who were a little overwhelmed by the hundreds of games in PGS (for Windows); however, my design and programming approach (and tools) were enough different from the flagship product that, while the deals are the same, the playing experience is certainly different.

Pretty Good MahJongg 2.41 / ME 2.02

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Gregg

MahJongg Solitaire and Tile Matching for Windows and Mac OS X.

Goodsol Development has published Pretty Good MahJongg 2.41 and Pretty Good MahJongg Mac Edition 2.02, maintenance updates to this award-winning MahJongg game, featuring both original solitaire games and traditional tile matching puzzles, available for both Windows and Mac OS X.

Pretty Good MahJongg contains 300 tile matching layouts, an integrated layout editor, and 55 solitaire and puzzle games, most of which are original and unique, including Pyramid of Wild Dragons, which was designed exclusively for this product by Thomas Warfield.

In Pretty Good MahJongg, you can play 10 different types of solitaire and puzzle games, including MahJongg FreeCell, Crazy Quilt, MahJongg Klondike, MahJongg Spider, and MahJongg Gaps, playing card solitaire games adapted to only 3 suits with 9 ranks, plus extra tiles (such as Dragons). In Pyramid of Wild Dragons, you build pyramids from a hand of tiles. In Great Wall, you match tiles to remove them from a grid and then the tiles above fall down to fill in the gaps. In Pelmanism (Memory), you play a classic game of memorization and recall. In Four Rivers (Shisen-Sho), you remove proximate pairs of tiles until the tableau is cleared, while in MahJongg Stones, you add single tiles to a zen garden until all of the tiles rest in harmony and balance.

Of course, PGMJ also features standard tile matching, and it ships with 300 layouts, including “Standard” (the most common layout); you can play more than 2 billion deals of each layout, and these deals can be (by default) guaranteed winnable. However, registered users also get an integrated layout editor that allows them to create and play custom layouts, using up to 4 full MahJongg sets (576 tiles!), alongside the other layouts. You can share these layouts with your friends or even share them with all other players. You can download more tile sets (for both solitaire and tile matching games), and with any image editor you can create your own custom tile sets.

You can download a free 30-day trial version for Windows 8/7/Vista/XP or Mac OS X 10.4 or later (Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, Leopard, or Tiger). For only $24.95, you can buy PGMJ 2.41 for Windows or buy PGMJME 2.02 for Mac, and receive all of the above, including the integrated layout editor. (That is only 7 cents per game/layout!)

Pretty Good MahJongg just celebrated its 10th birthday in October! This was the first full game that I (solely) wrote to be published by Goodsol, and it remains the one game that I still play almost daily a decade after its initial (1.0) release. I also flexed some quasi-artistic muscles and generated three tile sets myself, including two (Simple Tiles and International Marine Signal Flags) which ship with the game, and the other, Playing Card Tiles, which is currently the most popular downloadable tile set. Active development continues, as version 2.5 with even more games and layouts is scheduled for 2013.

Goodsol Solitaire 101 version 2.12

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Gregg

This is a great collection of solitaire games with a nice interface.

Goodsol Development has published Goodsol Solitaire 101 version 2.12, a maintenance update to this collection of the most played solitaire games for both Windows and Mac OS X.

Goodsol Solitaire 101 contains 101 games, including Klondike (a.k.a., “Solitaire”), FreeCell, Spider, and many other favorites. This version has an updated game selection interface that makes it quicker to find games and easier to organize them as desired.

In Goodsol Solitaire 101, you can play any of more than 2 billion deals for each game, and the program keeps track of your score and time on each deal, as well as other statistics. Better yet, you can play in climb mode, where deals are played in ascending order for a total score, for direct comparison with other players. The game list can be arranged according to any of the statistics, and automatic groups let you select from, for example, games you have not played yet. Of course, all scores can be reported to the online high score server, which shows results for individual games and lets you compare your results against other players (even those on other platforms or using different Goodsol products). You can also customize your experience by using different free card sets, such as the Halloween Card Set, perfect for the current season.

You can download a free 30-day trial version for Windows 8/7/Vista/XP or Mac OS X 10.4 or later (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion). When you buy a copy here for only $19.95, you get both Windows and Mac versions for one low price. You also get access to 34 bonus games not available in the trial version. Note that this is the largest current Windows version that supports climb mode (unless you apply to be a beta tester on the Goodsol Solitaire Forum); Mac users may want to consider Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition as well.

Goodsol Solitaire 101 is one of the games based on our proprietary Goodsol Solitaire Engine, for which your humble blogmaster was the sole programmer and primary designer (with Thomas Warfield). GSE currently runs under Windows and Mac OS X, obviously, with a version for iPad in the testing phase, and it is regularly being improved to provide additional features (and, for some products, even more games).

Action Solitaire 1.50

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Gregg

Save $7 on this arcade-style game of solitaire against the clock.

Goodsol Development has published Action Solitaire 1.50, a significant (and long awaited) update to this arcade Solitaire game for Windows.

This version of Action Solitaire adds 5 more games, bringing the total to 75 games. The new games are ForeCell, Seven by Five, Seven by Four, Double Klondike Deal Three, and Scorpion II.

In Action Solitaire, you play rounds of Solitaire against a timer for points; earn enough points and you advance to the next level. Strategy involves not only deciding which moves to make, but also consideration of tradeoffs between actions that cost points (like undoing a move) and acceptance of a suboptimal result, as well as determining when to just accept the current bonus points versus continuing to play. A wide variety of different games, with varying lengths of play, provide an addictive challenge for any player. All games have two online high score charts (recent games and all-time scores) so you can compare/compete with hundred or thousands of other players around the world.

You can download a free 30-day trial version here, and you can buy a copy here for the reduced price of $19.95. Wait! There’s more! If you act now you can save $7 on Action Solitaire, which is less than 18 cents per game; however, I do not know how long this offer will last, so you should stop waiting and start playing.

Action Solitaire was programmed entirely by yours truly, and it has now been around, actively maintained and supported, for 9 years, though it is only available for Windows at the moment. If it gets a little extra outpouring of appreciation, we should be able to justify versions for Mac OS X and iOS (iPad). If you want this to happen, please let us know!

ISVCon 2012: Success!

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Gregg

This conference reboot was the best in years.

We have returned safely from ISVCon 2012, which was presented last week in Reno, Nevada [USA] with a mixture of physical exhaustion and mental exhilaration, as is often the case with great conferences. ISVCon was a relaunch of the old Software Industry Conference, and the consensus was that this was the most beneficial event in several years. The content was geared towards microISVs (Independent Software Vendors), software companies with just a few people (often, only one person), and the networking/socializing was with others who are facing the same challenges (as well as those who provide services to help).

The main question: Why were you not there?

Before our departure for Reno, I added the Twitter box [edit: formerly] on the right of this blog, and I was “live tweeting” as much as possible throughout the conference, as well as during our journey (and quasi-vacation). If you follow my personal account at @GreggSeelhoff, you can still see the updates, as well as more going forward.

In the coming days, I will review the highlights of the conference, and I have it on good authority that the Association of Software Professionals (new conference owners) will be making some or all of the session videos publicly available for viewing.

Prior to all that, however, I must give a HUGE shout out to Susan Pichotta of Alta Web Works, who deserves most of the credit for bringing this fantastic 3.0 version of the long-running conference together, and without whom ISVCon would never have happened. Plans are already in the works for next year, and I really look forward to being there in 2013.

URGENT: ISVCon 2012 is almost here!

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Gregg

Register NOW and save with our discount code.

ISVCon 2012 takes place July 13-15, which is only a couple weeks (!) away. ISVCon is the spiritual successor to (or, in entertainment terms, reboot of) SIC, the Software Industry Conference, which I have attended numerous times, and which has always been a great investment. This conference brings together scores of independent software publishers (or “vendors”, hence ISV) to discuss and learn about the industry It is a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with many other people who share similar business challenges; I now call lots of them “friends”.

ISVCon will be taking place in Reno, Nevada (USA) at the Atlantis Casino Resort.

Here is the catch: Time is running out!

Step 1: Register (at a discount)

First, register for ISVCon before the prices go up. As an incentive, we at Digital Gamecraft can offer you this 10% discount code: “Gamecraft2012“. Limited time only; prices increase July 1st.

Step 2: Get your hotel room (at a discount)

Next, make your hotel reservations now (using that link) to receive discount pricing and no resort fee. Offer ends in only a couple of days!

Step 3: Attend ISVCon 2012

Join us in Reno for the conference. We will be arriving before the Welcome Reception on Thursday evening, during which we will be able to have a drink or two, socialize with friends and colleagues (both long lost and brand new), and switch from travel mode into conference mode.

The conference sessions take place Friday, July 13, through Sunday, July 15, and specifics can be found on this complete conference schedule. Note that the Friday sessions are Power Sessions, while the Saturday and Sunday sessions provide a couple of options for each timeslot. There is so much content at ISVCon that we are sending most of the staff (okay, just two of us) to make sure that we can have full coverage of the relevant topics. Additionally, the networking value and information exchange between (and sometimes during) sessions is possibly even more valuable than the speakers.

That said, let me draw your attention particularly to Paradise Room A on Saturday from 1:45pm to 2:45pm, for my presentation, Quality Assurance for Small Software Publishers, and on Sunday from 9:00am to 10:00am, where I will serve on a panel of game developers for the session, How Games are Different. The answer to your question is: I will be there and awake at 9am because, with the time difference, that will be noon back home. (Also, I never work the B room.)

We will there at the conference through the After Hours MeetUp on Sunday evening, before beginning our (more) lengthy journey back to the office. From experience, this will involve an odd mixture of being physically spent, but mentally energized, full of plans and ideas. Honestly, attending ISVCon 2012 is probably one of the best ways to spend a few days improving your business; I strongly recommend it for any ISV.

Follow me on Twitter @GreggSeelhoff for live conference updates. See you there!

Software Marketing 101

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Gregg

An outstanding resource to online marketing

I admit it: I am not the best at marketing. This is why I am always looking for resources to help me learn more, get better, and ultimately sell more software. On my system, I keep a large list of bookmarks to pages I need to read, and the ‘marketing’ folder includes, literally, scores of links to pages from DP Directory.

If you, like me, can use all of the marketing resources you can find, you will find their encyclopaedic Software Marketing Glossary very useful. [In fact, I recently created a new ‘Resources’ category for it, on your right, beneath the blogroll.] However, there are also more than one hundred articles about online marketing on the site as well. Specifically for game publishers, they also provide a game press release writing and submission service (which has been used in the past for some of our games, and will be again).

DP Directory is a small company run by Al Harberg, who has decades of experience in the field and provides personal service to clients. I first interacted with Al through the Association of Software Professionals, where he often dispenses advice (freely) to other members, and I first met him in person at SIC (now ISVCon) 2000 in Tampa. Interestingly, I recently stumbled across a DP Directory mailing (to our company) from the late 80s, which shows that Al is not new to this game. He actually offers a service whereby you can Rent Al’s Brain and tap (almost) directly into his many years of expertise.

This week, Digital Gamecraft has begun realigning some internal responsibilities [see opening sentence], and our prospective Director of Marketing/Business Development will be starting her transition by reading the DP Directory website, plus a couple of marketing books originally recommended by Al Harberg. I am very hopeful…

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.34

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Gregg

A free update is now available.

This week, Goodsol Development released Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.34, a maintenance update that fixes a few bugs (introduced by yours truly) in the previous release version. This is a free update for any customers who have purchased the downloadable version of Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition (ever). [This version is functionally equivalent to PGSME 2.33 from the Mac App Store.]

As a refresher, PGSME is a Solitaire program for Mac containing 350 different games, plus 50 bonus games, with over 2 billion deals of each. It runs on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and higher, including both Intel and PPC systems. You can download a trial version, and you can purchase a copy for only $24.95 US.

This is the latest product in a long series of upcoming game releases from Goodsol. Next up: Look for an upgrade to Action Solitaire (free to anyone purchasing the game between now and then).

Pretty Good Solitaire 13.2

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Gregg

Goodsol’s flagship Windows game gets even bigger.

This week, Goodsol Development released Pretty Good Solitaire 13.2, the leading Solitaire program for Windows. This new version now includes 780 (!) different Solitaire games, including all of your favorites, such as Klondike (a.k.a., “Solitaire“), FreeCell, and Spider, as well as many games not available anywhere else.

Pretty Good Solitaire 13.2 is available for download here, and it is a free upgrade for any customers who have purchased since version 12 (i.e., in the last 4 or 5 years).

The 10 new games in this update are:

Alloway Kirk
Five Pirates
Kettle Hill
McCarver
Open Peek
Pyramid Rank
Richard’s Patience
Undercover Aces Easy
Weddings
Yukon Two Suits

Aside from a little bit of play testing, I actually did no development work on this product; this is actually a triumph because our GDcard playing card library, which still runs the display of cards, symbols, and backgrounds, as well as the card animations, continues to work flawlessly. Thomas Warfield (Goodsol) did all of the development work for this update.

Of course, now that Thomas has added yet another 10 games to the Windows version, it is now time for me to retaliate on Mac OS X, so look for a Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition update, with 400 games, coming soon to an internet near you!

Gamecraft

All about the craft of making games

Tag Archives: software