This is a great time to be a Solitaire Coach ...

[Reginald Rutledge]

up North and on the eastern seaboard.

You know, the solitaire category use to did not get much respect and I am happy it is getting its share now. I get emails and talk to solitaire coaches and other coaches who are thinking of doing some solitaire play.

There are even those who see the enthusiasm generated and think "Maybe I should give it a second chance". I think one of the problem that some coaches may have with solitaire is they feel there is no good way to challenge yourself.

I beg to differ. There are many guys who came up with their own systems that seem to work fine. My system is simply based off the Shootout Rule System with the addition of a playbook calling the offensive formations and the defense lines up in whatever scheme I want before the offensive team does.

In this method, I get in 100 plays. I love what happens here because this is the system I had been running since elementary years and the system/rules still work. The greatest addition I had to the system was "The Box" (thanks to Roddy Garcia and "The Playbook" (www.fastandfurious.com from Tomkat I think). With these type of additions, it gives me really no interest in playing others. That's just a personal thing for me. For the solitaire coach though, I would always recommend playing in leagues because it test your skills that you may have acquired through solitaire play on a competitive level.


For coaches up north and on the eastern seaboard, right about now, you are gettin' smacked with snow. I know that some of you are so hyped up about playing the game but may not have an outlet. Some of you are in leagues that probably play on Sundays but because you are snowed in under blizzard conditions, that just may not happen. What better time than now than to be playing a game anyhow all alone?

These are days I use to live for. Take your mind off your worries, get you a cup of cocoa, turn on the NFL network, and get you two great teams from history lined up to play.

Just think Deacon Jones rolling down on Jim Brown, or OJ slashing (sorry _)through the Steel Curtain defense or Fran Tarkenton rolling out to throw deep to John Gilliam against the Miami Dolphins. Sometimes, when you just want to go back in time and recapture the good in the game, solitaire offers a great avenue.

Yesterday, I sold 16 bags of figures to a guy who said he's gonna do a solitaire league. He was pumped up about the game! He sees it as a way to hone his skills. Plus, he's in West Virginia, where the snow is coming down hard. He sits, stirs out the window, and wish the rays of spring and summertime was upon him but because it is not, he looks at an alternative. He's pumped up about the game and the possibility of watching players from yore.

Oh how the snow has given him a new perspective on solitaire. It's not for everybody and for those that have issue in these things that I write, why waste your time reading? For those that may be interested in looking inward, be inspired by the beauty of the snow of playing right here, right now because it only takes you to play.

Reg