The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Brain Jam Solitaire

The writer has considered dozens of computer solitaire card games, and considers that Brain Jam is the best of them all. In general, Brain Jam is attractive (even addictive) because it offers many more choices during play than other solitaires, such that much of the skill needed lies in balancing the results of any given choice against those of any other. Brain Jam has been under development since its principles were described in Martin Gardner's page in Scientific American in 1968, and the current issue is version 9.2. It appears to be offered freely, and has fans world-wide.

Brain Jam resembles Free Cell, a 1998 program which comes with Windows 98. Free Cell is easier, for it allows moves across suits, which Brain Jam does not. All games offered by both programs are solvable. In earlier Brain Jam versions, only about sixty per cent of games were solvable, and this probably reflected the result of random deals, but those which were not solvable have been adjusted such that they now are. Also, Brain Jam has a more attractive presentation, and all sorts of drop-menu help windows.

The game presents all cards in eight columns (four of seven, four of six). The illustration shows the screen when a game is ready to play. The aim is to build sequences from aces up by moving cards (point and click left mouse button) to four "build stack" spaces (top left). Cards at the bottom of the columns which do not fit the "build stack" spaces may be moved to or from four "scratch" spaces (top right). Sequences of the same suit may be built within the columns by moving cards. The program allows only legal moves. The right mouse button reverses the previous move.

Brain Jam offers 1,500 different games. The program writes the player's achievement to a solutions file. A table of the best known solutions for these games, together with an acknowledgement of the solver, is provided. The writer confesses that he is unable to match these scores, and has the paranoic suspicion that the admitted expert (Krawitz Moti) obtained them by means of a computer program of his own, though an optimum strategy must still be defined. This shows what a massive challenge Brain Jam is. Best scores seem to follow a normal distribution with a mean of about ninety and a standard deviation of about ten moves. Games derived from random deals are also available using an appropriate suffix to the filename (e.g. /GA), but not all these will be solvable.
 

Obviously the theoretical minimum score is 52 (at all points at least one direct move to a "build stack" space is possible). High score games (assuming efficient moves) result when long suit sequences are built up in several columns so as to box in other cards, and must be cleared with multiple moves using "scratch" spaces towards the end of the game. The theoretical maximum (but very rare) best solution might be about 208 (most cards to a column sequence, then to a "scratch" space, then to a column containing a sequence only, then to a "build stack" space). A game may have many solutions, and more than one value for the best solution.

The writer employs this strategy throughout a game. Make all possible moves to "build stack" spaces at any point. Then, using "scratch" spaces:

1. Choose a column which allows the best prospect of both access to cards for "build stack" spaces, and of clearing the whole column for building a sequence in it. Probability of success increases as the number of randomly distributed cards decreases and their accessibility increases.
2. If possible, avoid building column sequences which box in low cards of the same suit, or indeed any low cards at all.
3. Keep as many "scratch" spaces free as possible at any point in a game.
4. If a column is cleared and "scratch" spaces contain cards in sequence, use these first in the cleared column.
5. Avoid moving a king to a "scratch" space if possible, unless a column has been cleared to move the king to it to head up a sequence, lest it block the "scratch" space and significantly reduce the efficiency of the game.
6. If no moves are possible, backtrack (right mouse button) to a point where two "scratch" spaces are clear, and resume from there; else restart the game from the drop menu.

Reprinted from the April 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

[ About Melbourne PC User Group ]