Tag Archives: Solitaire

More than Just a Name

Posted on by
1

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!

Most Popular Solitaire 2.02

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.11

Posted on by
Reply

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).

FreeCell Plus 4.00

Posted on by
1

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.

Goodsol Solitaire 101 Mac Edition 2.00

Posted on by
Reply

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?

Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition 2.10

Posted on by
Reply

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!

Most Popular Solitaire 2.01

Posted on by
Reply

A maintenance release of our popular Windows and Mac game is released.

Last week, Goodsol Development published Most Popular Solitaire 2.01, an update to this title available for both Windows and Mac OS X.  This update fixes a couple of bugs that were uncovered since the release of MPS version 2.00 back in May.

Most Popular Solitaire is a collection of 30 of the most popular solitaire games, including Klondike (a.k.a., Solitaire), FreeCell (same deals as Windows FreeCell), and Spider (plus the One Suit and Two Suits variants), as well as some more unusual games, such as Crazy Quilt.  There are 13 more bonus game variants for registered users, for whom this is a free (and recommended) update.

If you are looking for a fun collection of solitaire games, but feel overwhelmed when confronted with hundreds of different games, try Most Popular Solitaire.  You can download and try either the Windows 98/Me/XP/Vista/7 version or the Mac OS X 10.4+ version, or you can simply and safely purchase online for only $16.95 (with an optional CD for $7.50).

Note that the Windows and Mac OS X are compatible, such that all initial deals are identical, saved games can be exchanged between platforms, and they both use the same online high score tables.  This allows for result comparisons and discussion of games in the (active) Goodsol discussion forum.

(Yes, we have been very busy on the development side lately, and an even bigger release is scheduled for next week…)

Goodsol Solitaire 101 version 1.02

Posted on by
Reply

Another maintenance update for this Windows solitaire product is released.

Goodsol Development has published Goodsol Solitaire 101 version 1.02, an update to this popular solitaire title for Windows.  The product features 101 different types of card solitaire, as well as 34 more bonus games when the full game is purchased.

This free update fixes the few bugs reported since GS101 version 1.01, which was released back in April, and is recommended for all users.  Fortunately, there were no issues associated with the release of Windows 7, so the software is fully compatible.  (This should be the last Windows-only release of GS101, as the Mac OS X version is expected soon.)

For more information, please visit the Goodsol Solitaire 101 web site, or just download the trial version now and try it.  The program can be purchased now for only $19.95, with an optional CD available for $7.50 more.

No Magic Numbers

Posted on by
Reply

Action Solitaire 1.31 is now available for download.

After the last posting, we discovered a rather significant bug in Action Solitaire. It was fortunate that it was discovered in house, but unfortunate that it was not found during beta testing and, hence, required a public update. The problem caused two of the 65 games to behave incorrectly (or even crash) when large or huge card sizes were selected, either explicitly or implicitly through automatic sizing.

The problem turned out to be magic numbers in the code. We released the first version of Action Solitaire back in 2003, which was six years of coding experience ago and at a time when I felt under some (self-imposed) pressure to get the product finished. Unlike some of the other projects, the source code for this game has not been refactored, except to the extent necessary to make updates for Vista and add new games, so I never revisited these (working) games to see the problem.

For those who do not know, a magic number is an explicit and undocumented constant in the source code for a program, so named because the value works like magic, without any proper explanation. In this particular case, the width and height of an image buffer were set to constant values, calculated (manually) to accommodate an area based on the largest card sizes supported by the game at that time. Rather than actually letting the computer determine the necessary buffer size, based on named constant values (e.g., MaxCardWidth and MaxCardHeight), the code just used constant numbers directly. When the maximum card size increased, the buffer was too small and problems ensued. Such are the dangers of magic numbers.

It did not take long to find and fix the problem, but it should not have been necessary in the first place, especially since we had standards, even back then, that discouraged the use of magic numbers. I made an exception and got burned. Ouch.

Anyway, Action Solitaire can be downloaded here, and I guarantee ample opportunity to find other bugs in this product, but the game is fun (and addictive) as well.

Action Solitaire 1.30

Posted on by
Reply

Can you believe it? Another product release!

Goodsol Development has released Action Solitaire 1.30, continuing the string of product update releases in 2009. This latest version of Action Solitaire adds five more games and (belatedly) implements support for larger card sizes, including those provided in all of the newer downloadable cardsets. The new action games are:

  • Two Cells
  • Three Cells
  • Klondike Deal Three
  • Canfield Deal Three
  • Black Hole

One nice thing about these new games is that it creates 5 more opportunities for players to climb to the top of the standings (or ten, if one counts both tables for each game).

As this product was in beta testing, I noticed that, oddly, all of our Action Solitaire releases have been in odd years, starting in 2003:

  • Version 1.0 – December 9, 2003
  • Version 1.1 – April 18, 2005
  • Version 1.2 – May 24, 2007
  • Version 1.3 – June 16, 2009

Following this pattern, this would be the last update until the second part of July, 2011! However, a popular clambering for a Mac version would probably result in AS 2.0 well before that time.

Download and enjoy! [from here]