After reading the comments on my previous post it is apparent that IM Bug will be busy for the first half of January but is happy to play Tomato Sauce once the game gets under way. So I will probably go with that. The game will begin at the start of the new year, give or take a few.
I anticipate there may be some teething problems with the “Ninja Monkey format”, so I am intending to play a game with IM Bartacus only but I will take things slowly until the (possible) teething problems are sorted out. For instance, I might ask IM Bartacus for the best move even for trivial decisions, or I might have longer breaks between individual posts. Not to mention the pandemic situation in South Australia might also have some impact on my blogging schedule. In any case, that would also mean giving IM Bug less catching up to do once he is ready to join the party.
An alternative idea I had was to start a game with 20 face-up cards instead of 10 (i.e. we are forced to deal 10 cards from the very start). This will ensure the initial decisions will (probably) be much more interesting. However, the main focus of that game will be teething problems with the Ninja Monkey format. I intend to abort the game on 14th of January (approx.) regardless of how well or badly the game is going. Once IM Bug is ready then I can start a proper game.
I’m expecting the first option is the way to go, unless both IM’s really like the second. The previous Among-Us shenanigans have taught me the simplest option(s) should often be given more respect than what I normally give.
Let me know what you think. Comments from new readers eager to show off their own Mad Spider Solitaire Skillz are especially welcome 😊
Edifying Thoughts of a Spider Solitaire Addict 
Both plans sound fine, and I am happy to go with the first one. The second one has a bit of “this is fun but it isn’t really Spider 4-suit”. And it just occurred to me (totally unrelated to the question at hand) …. if you’re playing with the Z key, would a sensible plan be to start with all 5 deals, make notes as appropriate, and then undo all of them? You’d get a lot of information in a hurry. Not sure the benefit of leaving even obvious decisions to me. That’s OK if it serves some goal of yours, but I’d be happy if you make all of the obvious decisions, and I can look them over and if there’s one I don’t think is obvious, I can ask you about it. Which will probably happen rarely but will keep the game moving along.
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