| News from DreamQuest Software
 | Happy Spring! Finally, the cold weather seems to have moved out and warmer days are here again. There are flowers blooming, birds singing, and the grass is growing! All are wonderful things to enjoy as the weather gets warmer and we spend more time outdoors.
Be sure to check out our CD Bundle Blowout sale this month, brush up on your Euchre tips, and take advantage of the special discounts we've arranged just for our newsletter readers! |
Championship Rummy Pro now in beta
Be the first to play our newest game of 2006! Available for Windows, Palm, and Windows Mobile, Championship Rummy Pro is now in beta and we're eager for your feedback.
Join the cast of DreamQuest signature characters as you race to be the first to accumulate the most melds, runs, and layoffs.
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Learn how to play with the interactive Rummy 101 tutorial, improve your skills using undo, hint, and reply, and master your game using detailed history and statistics. This soon-to-be favorite currently includes popular variations such as Rummy and 500 Rum. Kaluki, Michigan, and Reverse Rummy will be supported in the official release next month, so stay tuned!
We want to know what you think! Put our game through it's paces and let us know what needs fixing. Download the beta version from http://dqsoft.com/beta.html and be the critic. If you come across a bug or a bad play, just use the "Send bad play/bug report" from within the game and email the file to rummy@dqsoft.com. Thanks for your help!
Hearts and Spades now available for Mac OS X
| Available Now!.
Now Mac users can join the tables of the dastardly Chuckles and the rest of the DreamQuest signature characters as you race for the win in these two exciting games!
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Enjoy Championship Pro Hearts and Championship Pro Spades comfortably on your Mac computer! Try to Shoot the Moon in Hearts as you compete against our expert characters that will challenge you for the win! Be sure to cover your partners and collect your tricks in time during Spades!
*Does not include online play.
Note that Mac versions are available only for current Mac OS X operating systems and will not run on Classic Mac systems
CD Bundle Blowout
 | This month's special offer features our DreamQuest Games CD with handsome case, sent to you FREE when you purchase our Championship Bundle for just $39.99. That's just $13.33 a game! Pick three of your favorites or try something new. It's also a great gift idea for Mother's Day coming up on May 13th. |
No downloading required
Take advantage of this great offer and pick three of your favorite games to own on CD and stored in a retail quality DVD case forever! No downloading hassles with this permanent copy for safe keeping.
Hurry, this great offer expires soon!
Get your CD shipped to your home free through May 5th.
Euchre Tip of the Month - Combination in Trump
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This month we return to our friend and card expert, Joe Andrews for a hot topic in Euchre. Joe is former National Hearts champion and author of many books on playing cards including "Win at Spades" and "Win at Hearts" and others available on Amazon.com.
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You can find these and other Euchre tips on our Euchre Tips & Strageties Page at http://dqsoft.com/euchretips.html
You have named the trump (by picking up the turned card). There are only seven trump in the deck. It is really not difficult to watch which trump fall on the first lead. Then you can plan your play accordingly.
It is assumed that you have at least three trump in your hand, and perhaps a side Ace. A "two-suiter" is ideal. Let's look at a selection of hands. You are the Dealer in a new game (score of 0 - 0), and three passes come around. You have two hearts and a void. Here is your hand after you discard a low spade. The opening lead is the Ace of spades, and partner plays the Jack, while the player on your right drops the spade Queen. What is your plan for each of these hands?
Hand A
Let's start simple. What should we trump first?
Hand B
This time we will go a bit further, with some more information. You have picked up the Ace of Hearts. In case, you discard a low spade. Here is your hand after the discard, and the Ace of Spades is led, as all players in front of you follow.
Hand C
You trump low, and your Ace of Hearts lead is followed with the 10 of hearts, the 9 of hearts by partner, and the Right Bower. Your opponent plays the Ace of Clubs. You drop the Queen. He continues with the King of Clubs. Now what?
Hand D
In this borderline holding, you trump the spade Ace with the nine. Now you lead the Ace of Hearts, and it fetches the Right Bower from the fellow on your left side, your partner's Queen, and the King. Out comes the Ace of Clubs, and it wins, as everyone follows. Now the King of Spades appears. Partner follows, and the fellow on your right dumps a small diamond. Now what?
Answers:
Hand A: Trump the spade Ace with the nine. Table the Ace of Hearts, hoping to bring the Bowers together, or to find partner with at least one of them. The idea is to protect that diamond Ace. This is a thin hand; however, three trump is always a plus, and a side Ace is a bonus. You will need to be lucky to bring this hand in!
Hand B: Now the trump suit is much better. Trump the spade lead with the heart ten. Do not touch trump! If the guarded Left is held by an opponent, you will be forced to hope for a trick from partner. The club suit must be played (there are those who will not lead the club suit on trick #2, and will try to drop the Left with the Right; this is a crapshoot). You are trying to set up your hand for an endplay (a lead from your Left hand opponent into your Right: Ace of trump)!
Hand C: Trump with the Queen, and lay the Ace of hearts down. Once again, you are trying to promote another trump, and/ or protect the top diamond.
Hand D: This hand is a lot shakier. Win the first trick with your low trump. Now shift to the King of clubs. You are hoping that your Left hand opponent will win this trick. (If the King walks, your bid is secure.) If the King is trumped or loses to the club Ace, you must now rely on a favorable split in trump. Now you will push another trump, and try to use the nine of clubs to force out a trump (if necessary).
Basic trump play
You hold the three trumps after picking up the turned card. Suppose that you hold this combination in trump: Right - King - Ten. You trump an opponent's side-suit Ace with your ten spot. Now you lead the Right. If the Ace and the Left drop, your King is good. No problem. If the Ace drops, but the Left does not (or vice-versa), you must shift to another suit, hopefully an Ace. DO NOT chase the Master trump here.
Once again, you hold three trumps. This time you have the Left - King - Queen. You use your Queen to trump an enemy side suit Ace. Now you lead the Left. It fetches the Right but not the trump Ace. You are thrown in with your own side Ace. DO NOT chase the Master trump. As a matter of fact, it is rarely good technique to chase the Master trump.
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| In this Issue |
New Contest - April Fool's Day Trivia
In honor of April Fool's Day earlier this month, we're going to test your 'fool'-ish knowledge!
Question: The tradition of playing tricks on April Fools originated in which country?
Romania
Sweden
France
Belgium
Canada
Three correct entries chosen at random will receive a deck of DreamQuest Software playing cards. Submit entries to contest@dqsoft.com by May 3rd.
Last Month's Contest - Presidential Trivia
Question: Who was the first of only two presidents to be impeached?
Answer: Andrew Johnson
Contest Winners:
- Bob Wise
- Ron Pennsyle
- Geoffrey Davies
Congratulations! You will be contacted shortly with details on how to receive your prize. Thanks for playing.
Check out Bits du Jour
Special Offer - PocketTunes by NormSoft
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- Broad range of supported music files - MP3, WMA, PCM WAV, etc.
- Listen to Internet radio.
- And lots more!
Our good friends at NormSoft are offering DreamQuest Software newsletter readers a special price on this top seller, so get your copy today!
Use these special links for this incredible offer:
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Product Review -
ClipMate 7 by Thornsoft
Development
Is "real work" intruding into your gaming time? This
powerful clipboard manager can help you be more
productive and get you back to gaming in no time. By
remembering everything that you cut or copy, ClipMate saves
time and actually makes copy/paste useful, efficient, and
FUN! It can hold thousands of "clips", for easy
pasting. You can print, re-format, edit, and it even
includes a spellchecker.
(The optional "ClipBar" integrates right into the Windows
Taskbar, giving you quick access to your clips)
Features:
- Automatically captures all clips from the clipboard,
in any format.
- Holds thousands of clips.
- Powerful editing and formatting features.
- Built-in screen capture, including "area" capture
mode.
- Great for any kind of research, data entry, passwords/logons,
game cheats, URLs, forum moderation, or as a
personal database.
Download
your free trial here.
Read
more -
Screenshots
Buy it now for just $34.95
(Only $24.95 if you use the $10-off coupon code:
DreamQuest10)
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Windows Mobile
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