# mcfreecell

`mcfreecell` is a terminal-native FreeCell game with a systems-theme twist.

It has two flavors:

- a modern curses build with Linux-themed suits and richer terminal rendering
- a legacy branch aimed at very old Python and curses environments, including Python 1.5.2-era machines

The project started as a novelty FreeCell prototype and grew into a playable, keyboard-driven curses card game with legal multi-card moves, visual stack selection, and lightweight move hints.

## Features

- FreeCell rules with 8 tableau columns, 4 free cells, and 4 foundations
- legal multi-card tableau moves with proper FreeCell move-capacity limits
- keyboard-driven play in a curses interface
- visual stack selection mode
- lightweight `?` hint system for suggesting a good next move
- responsive layout for wider terminals
- legacy branch compatible with old machines and older Python/curses behavior

## Controls

- `Arrow keys` / `h j k l` - move cursor
- `v` - enter or exit tableau selection mode
- `y` - pick up selected card or stack
- `p` - drop held card or stack
- `Enter` / `Space` - alternate pick up / drop
- `u` - undo the last completed move
- `?` - show a suggested move
- `f` - quick move selected card to a free cell
- `d` - quick move selected card to foundation
- `Esc` - cancel selection or restore held cards
- `q` - quit

## Branches

### Main branch

The main branch targets modern Python 3 and modern terminals.

This version includes:

- Linux distro themed suits
- modern curses layout and highlighting
- Nerd Font-oriented suit glyphs
- richer visual presentation

Current main-branch suits:

- Debian
- Gentoo
- Arch
- Slackware

These are split into two alternating-color groups for FreeCell rules:

- red group: Debian, Gentoo
- black group: Arch, Slackware

The main branch uses special glyphs for suit rendering. If your terminal or font does not display them well, Nerd Fonts can be downloaded for free at `https://www.nerdfonts.com/font-downloads`.

### `leg-py1.5.2` branch

The `leg-py1.5.2` branch is a backport for very old systems.

This version is written in a Python-1.5.2-friendly style and avoids relying on modern Python features or modern terminal niceties.

This branch includes:

- ASCII-only suit tags
- compatibility fallbacks for weak or incomplete curses implementations
- visible ASCII cursor and hint markers for monochrome terminals

Legacy-branch suits:

- Debian (`Deb`)
- Red Hat (`RHt`)
- Solaris (`Sol`)
- HP-UX (`HPx`)

These are split into the two FreeCell color groups as:

- red group: Debian, Red Hat
- black-equivalent group: Solaris, HP-UX

On legacy terminals, the non-red group may render as blue, cyan, or plain monochrome depending on curses support.

## Running

### Modern branch

Run with Python 3:

```sh
python3 linux-freecell.py
```

### Legacy branch

On the legacy branch, run with whatever Python interpreter is available on the target machine:

```sh
python linux-freecell.py
```

For very old systems, terminal and curses support may vary. The legacy branch tries to fall back gracefully when color, standout attributes, or newer curses APIs are missing.

## Suit Theme Notes

`mcfreecell` is not trying to be a generic casino card game. The suit sets are themed around operating systems and Unix history.

The modern branch leans into playful terminal-native Linux theming.

The legacy branch uses a more period-appropriate late-1990s / early-2000s mix of Linux and proprietary Unix systems to better fit older hardware and software environments.

## License

This project is released under the GNU General Public License, version 2 only.

See `LICENSE` for the full license text.

## Status

This is a small personal curses game project, but it is playable and actively being shaped into both:

- a fun modern terminal FreeCell
- a practical legacy-machine FreeCell

## Possible Future Work

- packaged releases for modern and legacy branches