Great Deal(NES) FAQ/Walkthrough version 1.0.0
by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting
much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and
I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I
could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if
you'd like to post it on your site.
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS AND POINTS
3. STRATEGY
3-1. CLEARING THE BOARD
3-2. WHAT YOU NEED TO SURVIVE
3-3. ADDITIONAL TRICKS
4. WALKTHROUGH AND SETUP
5. CHEATING
6. VERSIONS
7. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
Great Deal combines a pack of cards and Tetris. You could even play it as
solitaire, if you wanted, and I can't imagine it would be hard to program.
You must dispose of a 52-card pack(with joker) into a 5x5 well. At the end of
the round, you get a bonus if all cards are cleared, and you lose points for
each card not cleared. You also get a bonus for stoppage time remaining.
Pushing one button shuffles you between four cards, and pushing the other
lets you eat up any part of the two minutes' grace period the game awards you
per level. You can use it to make sure you drop something in the right place,
or to get an idea of what to move next. It's an innovative concept among
early Tetris games, trading time for points, and given the potential
complexity of the game, it offers a fair amount of relief without spoon
feeding the player. Great deal gives you points for 3 suits in a row, or any
straight, or 3 of a kind in a row or on a diagonal. You get big points for 4
or 5.
There are nine levels in Great Deal. After each one, you are forced to ante
up your earnings(based on the matches you make,) and if you do not have
enough, you lose. Each subsequent level causes cards to drop faster, and
there are more cards on the board to start with. This makes the basic
strategy for clearing the board a bit tougher to get to. My solution assumes
an empty board, and you can usually work it down if you are careful. And
while there are a lot of tricks to get combos or 4-in-a-rows, if you do a bit
of counting, there is a relatively straightforward way through to leave a
blank board at the end. The final level in fact forces you to leave a blank
board, but by then you probably have the process down. You just have to get
rid of 11 cards already awkwardly placed. And a much faster game.
Great Deal also employs a very satisfactory bend-but-don't-break scheme with
points. You have to get well ahead of the "house" early on or you will be
toast in the later rounds. It's easy to get into, but you can start running
around in circles trying to do all sorts of crazy stuff. Fortunately there is
a simple counting method that will lead to success, and that is what this FAQ
will address. It may cut a bit of the heart and the fun trial and error out
of the game, but then again, there's no sense in a walkthrough wandering too
much and saying "Oops! You don't quite do it that way."
The game's only weakness is that one slip can ruin things a few levels down
the road, as for the later levels, it is nearly impossible to ensure you will
make more points than you lose. So you may be keeping your head above water,
but that is not good enough. And with all this, you don't have a password to
record your progress after a particularly good game. You have to play all the
way through. Save states are recommended highly.
2. CONTROLS AND POINTS
Cards drop from the center, so you really only have a maximum of 5 moves to
make. Go right/left twice at most and rotate three times at most. You may
have to freeze things to move them to the right place, and it may take a few
games to get the hang of that.
You can move down to speed things up, which I do not advise unless your
strategy is on cruise control. Take a look at your hand and determine what
goes where.
START pauses the game but blanks the screen out. While only marginally
helpful in many block-drop games, this is nice for the elementary card
counting you need to do in the game. If you are struggling keeping it all in
your head, you can even have scratch paper at the side to label which numbers
you've zapped.
Of course you can also use save states, since the cards are always shuffled
in the same way.
I also recommend saving states before the final solve in each level, as
jokers can appear randomly on the bottom, giving you an interminable headache
as to what to do next, given my strategy.
10 points for a suit triple
100 points for a number triple/sequence
500 points for a straight flush of 3(ie 6h 7h 8h vs 6h 8h 7h)
100 for straight flush of 4(700 in order)
1000 points for 4 of a number
300 for straight flush of 5(2000 in order)
2500 points for 5 of a number(need joker in the middle). This is the most
lucrative, yet not so hard if you are patient.
Double, then triple, points for elements in a chain. Hard to get.
Doubles(ie 1 card causes more than one sequence) don't multiply in value
unless they were valuable in the first place. Still, the setup needed for
tricky stuff is not worth it if you need to sacrifice other things.
Placing 2 triples with a 5-in-a-row gets you 15050 total points. So it looks
like you can get a multiple of 6. It's hard to top that in practical play.
1000 points for clearing levels 1-3
3000 points for clearing levels 4-6
5000 points for clearing levels 7-8
A victory scene for clearing level 9. See below.
3. STRATEGY
3-1. CLEARING THE BOARD
We'll focus on level 1 first, with an empty board. How do we finish with an
empty board? I'd recommend practicing on level 1 until you have this down.
You have 13 of each suit and 4 of each number, with a joker as well. The
easiest way to get cards off the board is a triple, and the easiest triple is
stacking cards on top of each other. Once you notice that finishing up like
this:
j
o
k
e
r
v
88 88
Would clear everything if you've had 12 other matches, you can see this would
be a good way to end each level. But how do you get there? Well, you want to
have 4 pairs of 3 cards of the same suit each. That doesn't get you a lot of
points in the setup, but the end payoff is great.
The steps:
1. establish 2 of the same number on the bottom, avoiding the center. Any
number you match with another suit before establishing the 2 should be
written off as NOT a candidate for the bottom bit. You won't be able to get
5-across then.
1a. shuffle liberally at the beginning to create rows that match up.
2. keep piling stuff on rows. If the number already on the bottom appears,
shuffle it to the back until a vertical match opens up a spot outside the
center.
2a. In an emergency, use the center if and only if you can drop 3 guys down
on it
2b. Also, do some cursory checking to make sure that you don't accidentally
get a match. There should be no diagonal or side matches, because you
shouldn't be clogging up the center. But I know I had an early problem with
placing, say,
<7d here, oops
8d 8h
Best to define columns that do not clash with the 8 at the bottom--for
example, clubs diamonds blank hearts spades here.
2c. Twiddle the joker if you get it early. It's best for you, or at least
most convenient, if the joker appears last. Less twiddling your cards.
2c. The numbers you match up at first don't really matter. However, if you
are able to get 3 numbers of one suit in a row, that's a nice bonus. If you
have 2 in a row and feel you have the board under control, you can wait a bit
to see if you have something that could give a straight.
3. Keep matching stuff. You should designate each column for a specific suit
and dump that suit there, unless it is the number you want on the bottom row.
Also note that if you have two squares on the bottom, there is ALWAYS a good
move. First, you can only have 3 of (8c, 8s, joker) (in the example above.)
That means the last one must be something you can chuck on a column. You may
have to shuffle a bit until you clear something, but if things were occupied
and you have 88joker, then you only need 3 black suits before something is
open and you can drop another 8 down the right. Once you have 3 8's down it's
even easier, as you have at most two cards to shuffle.
The first big thing to make sure of is that you don't get a threesome by
accident, esecially across suits. Then you'd need three more like it, leading
to more trouble than it's worth. This should not be a problem with a blank
board. But when other squares start popping up, you need to be careful.
You'll probably be able to scramble to get things right, but you can never be
too careful. Try to place dissimilar numbers of different suits next to each
other when you can. Use some time to pause before a match if things are going
too swimmingly. It only takes one mistake.
The second big thing is to get two of the same number at the bottom. After 14
squares drop on a blank board, there'll have to be two of them. Even assuming
you get the joker early, you still have three cards to twiddle. Let's say you
get 8h, 5s, 4d, 2c, joker. The number cards will be placed each in a separate
column. Now if, say, an 8 appears in the deck, see if there are 2 of any one
suit upcoming. There really should be. There's a small possibility, actually,
you could have 8s-8d-8c-joker in your pack, and in that case, just chuck two
of the 8's--d and c preferably. Then focus on another number, and it should
come by. Otherwise you can keep dropping non-8s until something pops up. You
only need 4 such cards, actually. The probability you get an 8-8-8-J or 5-5-
5-J or some such is really very low, as you have a 4*(7c3) / (46c3) chance.
That's assuming 8 is the 5th card. Then to get shut out you'd need this freak
occurrence to come again. I can't mathematically prove it'll never happen,
but it should almost never do so.
Even if you keep having to drop 3 of a number in different columns, you can
hold an un-matched card in reserve and eventually it will get a spot on the
bottom. You don't have to drop all 3 of them to make a row(which would be
disastrous) as new numbers will come up that you can place.
As the level goes on it is easy to decide what goes in which column. The
trick is, at the start, to remember what you've matched and then draw the
number from the bottom row from the rest. There actually may be a small
hiccup after you place bottom card #3--if there is an empty space next to it,
you don't want to put a heart there unless you have 3 hearts in the deck(easy
match.) But if you don't, you have at most one joker, leaving 1 of the other
cards with a place to chuck it. Place the odd suit out on top of your new
bottom-row card, by the way.
Also, don't get in a lull and forget which card is on the bottom. It's
happened to me. It's a bit embarrassing when you get to the end and realize
the cards aren't quite right.
By the way, all of one number may come down before the one you chose. No big
deal. Those are just the odds. In fact, once you get 2 of one number, be
prepared to wait more than usual cards for the next one. You probably got the
first two within the first 13, meaning you will expect 2 over the next 39--
positioned on average at card 13 and 26, while on the other hand 2 of similar
numbers will appear very early on since you are not looking for a specific
number. It's no different from having a pair and hoping for that 3/4 of a
kind in poker. Patience will pay off, and you do have a track of how many
cards are left.
Later on you may get a joker in the starting deck. This is a very nasty
obstacle to overcome, but it is doable. Basically, you need to make 2 4-in-a-
rows. There are two possible distributions from such a start. I am assuming
you only make a triad at the start, although if you make a tetrad it may make
things easier. At any rate, pause if you see the joker and determine what
will get zapped. If it is in the deck, restart your save state, or get rid of
it immediately. And if you do wish to play, don't get a double.
12-12-13-13: make 4 of 1 suit, 4 of another along the bottom. If you have a
joker and are able to steer to this(2 of the same number next to the joker
and not 2 of the same suit,) this will be a bit easier, since suits are
easier to match than numbers.
11-13-13-13: match up 4 of 1 suit, 4 of 1 # down the line. Keep track of
which suits/#s you need to match up, because this gets tricky. A 13x4 grid
can help. Basically, use the same tactics as above, but you can cut them down
because you only need 4 columns instead of 5. So you can dump pieces in one.
3-2. WHAT YOU NEED TO SURVIVE
Here is the big picture with points. Basically, perfection is recommended
unless you get a bit lucky(next section,) but with the pause feature, it is
doable. We are assuming no lucky tricks with cards, as they don't make any
difference.
Clearing all 8 boards should be more than enough. You really need to hit the
big 2500 bonus at the end.
Each level gets you 2500(5-match with joker)+160(16 3-matches)+1000(clear
board)+1200 points(well, maybe a little less, but for the sake of argument,
let's use that) = 4860 points.
Total chips gained before final level = 8 * 4860 = 38880. Even with little or
no bonus for the last 6 levels, that is 31680 points.
Total points lost to antes = 1000 + 1500 + 2000 + 3000 + 4000 + 5000 + 6000 +
7000 + 8000 = 29500, so you have 2180 points to spare--at most 9380 ie you
MIGHT be able to mess up once, depending on how fast you are at later levels.
Also, because you loose (ante/10) points for each card left on the board,
it's worst to leave a card on the final level. And you can weigh the relative
risks of losing time(just under 2 1/2 seconds per card pause on level 1, but
some of them will be obvious or in a row--for instance if you get 3 hearts in
a row, and besides, on later levels, have more cards already in place, making
fewer to drop and more time per card--so invest early) versus a big mistake.
Take your time and use the pause liberally, especially when you need to plan
things out at the start. Flip to the right card.
There may be chances to get 3 of the same suit in a row that make a straight.
That gets you 500 points, but you'd need several of them to make one clean
board(2500+1000+no points lost for cards.)
By the way, you are probably playing this with an emulator, so I recommend
saving in s lot 1 after completing a level and in slot 2 while completing a
level. Card order is fixed once you start the level, too, so if you really
want to bend the rules, you can see what is coming up and plan things out
based on that.
On level 9, you don't lose any points to ante, so it is really a quick rehash
of level 1.
3-3. ADDITIONAL TRICKS
If you are able to put the 5-in-a-row with a diagonal 3-in-a-row(numerical,
not suited,) then you will get 7800 points instead of 2500. That is best on
the lower levels, because with the pattern above, you will use up two cards.
That leaves four on the board. So if you get this to work on level 1, the
change in score is (assuming pause bonus stays equal):
7800-2500-1000-4*100-20=3880
On he next levels, the difference is:
7800-2500-1000-4*150-20=3880
7800-2500-1000-4*200-20=3480
7800-2500-3000-4*300-20=1080
7800-2500-3000-4*400-20=680
7800-2500-3000-4*500-20=280
7800-2500-5000-4*600-20=-2120
7800-2500-5000-4*700-20=-2520
So getting cute past level is risky and gives dubious returns, and it's a
flat out bad idea in levels 7 and 8.
This may happen by accident, or if you get the 4 placed at the bottom before
the joker, you can maybe shuffle any numbers 1 or 2 greater/less than it to
the back of the pack and then place them on a diagonal when you get the
chance. If you are really ahead of schedule, maybe you can place things the
other way, and I don't know how many points you'd get for that. But it would
be a whopper and well worth it. The first can happen once or twice a game,
but the second is a pipe dream.
4. WALKTHROUGH AND SETUP
Level 1 is blank. I recommend retrying it until you are able to blank it out
at least half the time.
Level 2 has 4 cards to place.
....
....
....
x...x
x...x
You will want to get rid of some of these cards early, and it is pretty easy
to do so. However, they also provide a ready-made opportunity to start a pair
in either corner. If you have 8 cards, note that the probability no two have
a similar face value is
(48/51)*(45/50)*(42/49)*(39/48)*(36/47)*(33/46)*(30/45)=21.6%. That's pretty
good news for you. You may already have a match then. Even if, say, you have
(Ah2c3s4d)
8h...7d
5c...6s
If you place the ace on the 8 and get another 8, you can place the 8 3R of
the other and work on the clubs horizontally at first, if clubs pop up. If
not, don't try any trickery(unless you can clearly see you can play club/2
hearts to make a diagonal,) as if you don't see any good options, you could
just try again with another number. This trickery is great if it works, but
you should rapidly devolve what you have to what was like the blank board.
After your first two matches, you should have cut things down to where you
can drop them in columns. Above, the c and s can go horizontal for a suit-
triad at first. Whichever is matched first, goes to the column 3 off. That is
its column. Then you can work on a candidate for the bottom. Working the
horizontal angle should be only temporary.
Level 3 has 6 cards.
....
....
x.x.
x.x.
x.x.
Here you need to look at the bottom level for possible horizontals and the
top bits for possible verticals. You should have several possibilities for
colors, and if not, you will be able to drop stuff down the columns for
matches until you get the suits you need.
Level 4 has 9 cards.
....
....
xxx.
xxx.
xxx.
Take 10 seconds if need be here to get your bearings. This is where things
get tricky. You need to collapse columns as quickly as you can. There's a
good chance that you will have a match along the diagonals or the bottom,
from the corner. But you have to make sure you don't get two matches in a
row. It's a bit trickier to note what's been used, since some cards are
already on the field, and you may have to flip from what's been used to what
is left to use. I generally focus on one number that hasn't been used yet and
go with it, although you can also use something that slipped to the bottom
when there is nothing else of the same number on the board. Things are a bit
fast here. But fortunately you can plan your moves ahead a bit by looking at
the "next." And the computer rounds down the number of seconds you pause
while being able to view. You can even shut down the screen to count things
in your head.
There is so much here that could happen by accident that, if the board gets
unwieldy and you have to use a horizontal/diagonal match, you might want to
pause to make sure it doesn't get in the way. Your safety precautions make
you run out of time, but one bad match means certain defeat.
Level 5:
.x
.x
x.x.x
xxxxx
I recommend saving before this, because otherwise there is no way really to
clear off everything. On these levels you may begin to have a problem with
jokers appearing. In that case you can really only hope to bail out by
tracking things carefully.
Level 9:
....
x...x
x...x
x...x
xxxxx
Again tough to start but I bet you can pick away at the sides. Note carefully
what's already out there and if you can maybe collapse a pair of numbers on
the board already to the bottom. Then go at it as before.
Man opens door to the limo. "Well done!! You have finished all levels. Please
have a rest. We welcome your challenge any time." (fade to by beach on palm
trees, out of that rubbish brown work-a-day suit) "And ... a super rich man"
Sort of lame, but at least it's not a pit boss come to intimidate your card
counting self from coming back in the future. Given the cover screen with the
cocktail waitress, though, I expected better.
5. CHEATING
There's always trying a few squares and going back to where you were. You can
make it a game of survival by setting 0x41e and 0x41f in memory to 0x7f.
Those signify your score, low byte and high.
Cards are contained in 1 byte. High nibble = suit, low = card.
10=hearts, 20=diamonds, 30=spades, 40=clubs
Ace=1, 2-9=2-9, 10=a, jack=b, queen=c, king=d
0xd1 = joker
If you want to see the order the cards are in, they start at 0x458 and go
backwards. There are fifty-three, of course. Number of cards left is at 0x22,
but I see bad things happen if you mess with that.
0x45f = your current card
0x460 = next when you shuffle, 461=next after that, 462 = next after that
0x4c8 = pause time. Do not set the high bit(ie make it > 0x80) as the game
will see that value as negative. Then you get no pause.
0x4ca = level
Data for the well starts at 0x500 It is an 8x8 box with the irrelevant bits
being assigned 0x80 and that's that. The top row is not used. There are six
rows of the following:
0x80 . . . . . 0x80 0x80
With this you can muck around in the well and see what super bonuses you can
get. Remember not to go up, but left 8 bits, for the next actual row up. You
do not need to buffer cards with cards below, but it may cause weird things
to happen later. It is best to edit this while the game is paused. That does
not refresh the screen right away, but you can use trial and error to get
what you want.
End of FAQ Proper
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6. VERSIONS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 11/9/2007(PM) complete
7. CREDITS
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they
are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done.
Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow
Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and
others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message
board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of
mine.
Thanks to the NES Completion Project folks for keeping it going.
Special thanks to odino for notifying me about this game.
