CAGD 170 - Funny Solitaire: The Joker's Funhouse

Group 2 - Alex Chapman, Seth Oller

Funny Solitaire: The Joker's Funhouse

Game Summary:

Funny Solitaire is a single player game, like Solitaire, but with a slight twist. Jokers are involved.
Their initial purpose is to hinder you, and later to help you beat the game. Players should enjoy
puzzle solving, and strategizing. They may fall under the “Achiever” type. Ages should be eight
and up.

Problems:

(Note that problem-solution numbers match).

1. Some of the players had difficulty navigating through the Rule Sheet. However, once they

understood the rules, they quickly figured out the intricacies of the game.

2. When you use the Jokers as a wildcard, sometimes it was difficult to remember which card the

Joker represents after use.
3. If one Joker was deep within the Tableau, it was really punishing, yet uncontrollable as the Player. 
4. Solitaire on its own has this problem: Typically in the mid-game, players (or at least bad Solitaire

players like me) get stuck in shuffling through the Stockpile over and over again, unable to progress.

Solutions:

1. I intend on going back and updating the Rule Sheet, so that some parts are more clear. I especially

want to focus on the events that occur with the Joker, since that seemed to be the most confusing.
2. I would like to discuss this issue with Seth, but I have a list of solutions for this:

a. Include pencil and paper with the game, so players can keep track of what the Jokers can be

used as.

b. Disallow players from using the Jokers more than once. (Meaning once they are replaced by

the proper card, they will be removed from play).

c. Allow players to use the Jokers more than once as any card they wish, rather than a single suite

and number.

3. In Solitaire, randomness is part of the game and inevitable. From the games that I have seen, this

has not caused problems, and I do not think anything should be changed to resolve it.

4. I mentioned this last issue because I believe our modification to Solitaire does a good job

resolving this problem. Once the two Jokers are found, players have another way to progress.

Changes Going Forward…

Overall, there are only slight changes that need to be made to finalize our version of Solitaire.

There is one aspect of the game I believe should be looked over. Once you find two of the Jokers,

they become a resource to the player. They are treated like a wild card, meaning they can take the

place of a card you need (until you find the proper card). For example, if I needed a red-five card to

complete a column, I could use one of the Jokers as that red-five until I find a real one. 

However, in our Rule Sheet it says that once you use the Joker as the red-five (or whichever card

you choose), that Joker can only be used as red-fives. This has not created any issues, but there are

other ways to treat this portion of the game that may be more fun. For example, maybe you can

continuously reuse the Joker as you’re replacing them. This would fix the problem mentioned earlier,

where sometimes people forget which card the Joker represents. However, that may be too easy. Or,

maybe you can not use the Joker again-- not even as a red-five (or whichever card you choose). (That

may be too hard). This is something worth exploring going forward.

The Rule Sheet will be revised and condensed into less pages, so that it is easier to understand. I am

considering creating another section in the Rule Sheet called ‘Events.’ Rather than piling all of the

special Joker properties up in the Rules section, I think creating an entire section dedicated to when the

Joker can do ‘this and that’ will help players understand the unique aspects of the game faster.