T 'n' T: Card Tricks and Game Cheats Time-Wasting Fun for Fall Gregg Keizer
Mon 9/16/02 -- As if Windows itself isn't the biggest time-waster ever conceived, the goofs in Redmond had to go and bundle games with the operating system. Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, FreeCell, and Minesweeper have consumed more productive hours than an entire union of state highway employees.
But you gotta love 'em. I do -- when I need a break, they're the first place I turn. That's why this week's tips 'n' tricks tell you how to install, jump-start, and -- oh, come on, you know you want to -- cheat at Windows' built-in games.
Start games fast. Forget the mouse: A fast way to launch a game -- much faster than clicking on Start, then Programs, then Accessories, then Games -- is to use the keyboard. Press the Windows key and R to bring up the Run dialog, then type:
FREECELL for FreeCell MSHEARTS for Hearts SOL for Solitaire SPIDER for Spider Solitaire WINMINE for Minesweeper
(Of course, if you play Solitaire as often as I do, you've probably already dragged a shortcut from the Games menu to your desktop or the Quick Launch toolbar.)
Want to hide a game pronto? Press Windows key-M to minimize all windows, including the game's, to the taskbar.
Get games in Win 98. Appallingly, Windows 98 doesn't automatically install games. To manually install them, choose Settings from the Start menu, pick Control Panel, and then Add/Remove Programs. Click on the Windows Setup tab and double-click Accessories. Check the box beside Games, then click OK here and in the next dialog. You'll need your Windows 98 Setup CD to complete the installation.
Draw one, pardner. No need to sweat Solitaire when you're playing Draw Three, even when you're near the end and sure you'll never see the card you need. Press Shift-Alt-Ctrl while clicking on the deck, and you'll draw just one, not three cards.
Snatch FreeCell victory from the jaws of defeat. FreeCell game not going well? You can win in seconds by pressing Ctrl-Shift-F10. A window labeled "User-Friendly User Interface" pops up. Click the Abort button, then move a card. You've won! You cheater!
Minesweeper's metal detector. I get tired of losing Minesweeper. So I cheat. After starting the game, type xyzzy and press Shift and Enter at the same time. Move the mouse over the playing field and keep your eye -- and maybe a magnifying glass -- on the upper left corner of the Windows desktop. A single white pixel will appear when the mouse pointer is over a safe square, and turn dark when the mouse is over a mine.
Bonus baby. Finally, the guy who wrote Solitaire must be living large, right? Laying on some South Pacific beach, doing that Gauguin thing thanks to royalties from a gajillion copies of his game in circulation, right? Sorry to say, there's no happy ending. For the true story of Wes Cherry, the man who wrote Windows Solitaire (curse his productivity-sapping soul!), check this article.
