Patience Game - 2

Hi,

I've downloaded the game, but this particular one is locked so I cannot play to confirm that it is exactly the same. For some reason you have completed 16 of 16 and I have never completed it - perhaps there is a difference?

True - but you have missed one vital part of my algorithm - REPEAT

No quite- you only had 'repeat' at the end of the algorithm. You never said to deal another row of 4 cards on top of the previous piles. Although many (myself included) are familiar with the game (which is alternatively known as Idiot's Delight), if I never played it before I might have been confused by your

I think this just about covers it?

Hi,

I have checked the rules to Idiot's Delight and it isn't the same solitaire games.

?

Your description sounds extremely similar except possibly for the order in which the cards get restacked. I was going to copy the description of the game from the BVS help text, but then it also says 'No portion of this help file may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of BVS Development' so I won't.

I notice that only one person has logged an official score on the BHS stats <http://www.bvssolitaire.com/stat/Perpetual_Motion.htm> , Sesto Fiorentino played 20 games and won 18.

Hi,

I have search for Perpetual Motion and found the rules, but the only section I cannot find is the way the cards are got together ready for a new deal (after exaustion).

However, it does appear to be the same game, with a success of 75% - which is weird as in over 100 games I have never completed it.

bash-2.05b$ ./4piles.pl more Lose - period 2 : 2 2 2 8 2 8 8 8 Lose - period 4 : 13 13 11 11 11 11 9 9 9 9 13 13 Lose - period 2 : 8 8 8 2 2 2 2 8 Win! Lose - period 14 : 5 5 10 10 5 12 12 12 10 10 12 5 Win! Lose - period 4 : 6 6 5 5 3 3 5 5 3 3 6 6 Win! Lose - period 2 : 6 6 6 4 6 4 4 4 Lose - period 2 : 5 5 12 12 5 12 12 5 Lose - period 1 : 4 4 12 12 12 12 4 4 Win! Lose - period 14 : 6 6 8 6 2 2 2 8 8 8 2 6 Win! Lose - period 2 : 2 2 4 4 2 4 4 2 Lose - period 4 : 12 12 10 10 11 11 10 10 11 11 12 12 Lose - period 4 : 5 5 10 10 10 10 3 3 3 3 5 5 Lose - period 4 : 12 12 9 9 2 2 2 12 12 9 9 2 Lose - period 2 : 7 7 7 4 4 7 4 4 Win! Lose - period 2 : 6 6 6 1 6 1 1 1 Lose - period 4 : 10 10 11 11 2 2 2 10 10 11 11 2 Lose - period 4 : 12 12 3 3 3 3 12 11 11 11 11 12 Win! Lose - period 4 : 3 3 13 13 1 1 13 13 1 1 3 3 Win! Lose - period 4 : 13 13 9 9 9 9 13 8 8 8 8 13 Win! Lose - period 4 : 13 13 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 13 13 Lose - period 2 : 2 2 5 5 2 5 5 2 Lose - period 4 : 3 3 7 7 10 10 7 7 10 10 3 3 Lose - period 1 : 6 6 11 11 11 11 6 6 Win! Lose - period 1 : 8 8 13 13 13 13 8 8 Lose - period 4 : 9 9 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 9 9 Lose - period 1 : 8 8 13 13 13 13 8 8 Lose - period 14 : 6 6 13 6 9 9 9 13 13 13 9 6 Lose - period 14 : 3 3 3 2 2 7 7 7 2 2 7 3 Win! Lose - period 1 : 9 9 3 3 3 3 9 9 40 games, 11 wins, 29 losses

Larger sample - 400 games, 104 wins, 296 losses Larger sample - 4000 games, 1045 wins, 2955 losses

One loss left >=24 cards, but I didn't manage to capture its state, alas)

No choice, no skill, no fun at all.

Why not just draw a random card, and if it's a spade you win.

According to 'The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games,' (1966 publication, (c)1949) there are three distinct games that are often called Idiot's Delight. This is one of them. As mentioned in another post, this is sometimes called 'perpertual motion'- However there is another game, called 'Rondo' which is also sometimes called 'perpertual motion' And there are two other games- 'King Albert' and 'Aces Up' which are sometimes called 'Idiot's Delight' For this particular game (the one this thread is talking about), my books lists the odds of winning as 1 in 4 games.

Hey... I tried that it works real well. Just the right ratio of wins to losses that it doesn't seem too easy, yet you can't get it every time.

Excellent game Phil!

I forgot to mention double points for the Ace of Spades.

Anyway, I had inteded to post my silly little perl script for simulating the original game: (beware potential line wrap)

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

sub shuffle {

{

# print('$rn/',$#discard+1,' : $discard[$rn]n';

}

my $game=0; my $wins=0; my $losses=0; while($game<4000) { ++$game; shuffle();

my $period=0; my $stalesize=52; my %stales=();

my $rounds=0;

{ ++$rounds;

{

# print('Deal: $a $b $c $dn'; my $change=0; if($a