Radio Shack Color FX2 Spades User manual

Owner’s Manual Please read before using this equipment.
Color FX2™Spades
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2
ˆ
Contents
Introduction ................................................ 3
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 ...................... 12
Turning the Sound On/Off ..................... 12
Playing the Game ..................................... 13
Glossary of Terms .................................... 16
Resetting the Game .............................. 18
Care ...................................................... 19
©2000 RadioShack Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks
used by RadioShack Corporation.
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3
Introduction
ˆ
Introduction
Your RadioShack Color FX2 Spades
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!
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4Preparation
ˆ
Preparation
INSTALLING BATTERIES
Your game requires four AA batteries
(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.
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5
Preparation
1. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove
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
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6Preparation
batteries. Batteries can leak chemicals
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.
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7
Preparation
Play your turn when the game prompts
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 are
broken.
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8Preparation
Each suit is ordered lowest to highest,
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.
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9
Preparation
For example: A team bids 5 and wins 4
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.
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10 Preparation
• The penalty for not winning the
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.
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