This guide is meant to help new players to Mystic Island that may not
be familiar with this type of software. We want to welcome you and I
hope that this will familiarize you with our site.
- Pokah
I've been told I have to pay to play here, is this true?
No, absolutely not true. Our game of "Parrot" is entirely free for everyone to play. There are no hassles of paying to play here. There are indeed certain perks that our community supporters receive, but nothing that would affect your game play. We offer both a 4-handed partnership and 3-handed cutthroat version of the game to everyone. Our supporters have done a tremendous job over the years helping keep the site going and we are still going strong.
I'm already playing Rook somewhere. What makes "Parrot" and your site any different?
We are an established gaming site that has been around for many, many years. Our site has been community-supported for several years and the owner is heavily involved in making sure the site remains one of the most fun places to play. We offer multiple variations of the game for 3 (cut) and 4 (partnership) players, a tournament system that provides constant competitive play, and the confidence that your game is not lost should you be disconnected from the internet unexpectedly. Our staff is extremely well-structured to make sure you have a good time here and are fair and honest people. We have some of the most competitive players around playing games such as Euchre, Spades and Pinochle. We hope to attract some of the best Rook players to continue to add to the talent that you can find at our site.
I was told the site is confusing, why is that?
Spend a few moments and you will find it one of the easiest pieces of software installed on your computer. We are essentially a simple lobby application with a toolbar that lets you navigate to the different sections of the site. There are no hidden features and we have people of all ages who use our software with ease.
Do you have spyware/adware in your program that I will be installing?
No. We never have and we never will use such lame tactics to make money. Our software is 100% entirely ours and what you see is what you get.
Will I have to pay after a certain time? I heard that any new games at Mystic Island were for paying players only.
The game of Parrot is being offered entirely free to all players and will remain free to all players permanently. This policy will not change.
1) The Basics
Mystic Island is a program that consists of a lobby (chat area), a park map (which is the way you navigate to the different game rooms around the site) and a table listing. The reasoning behind the park map is that our entire theme is based on the feel of a theme park oasis hidden somewhere out on a hidden Island. When you click an area of the park map, for instance "Spades", you are then presented with all the different rooms that are set up for Spades. For the most part, players congregate in the "main room" which is the standard rule set for the game with ladders. Players at Mystic Island have historically care little to play in rooms that aren't ladders.
2) How do I run Mystic Island?
First off, remember Mystic Island is not a program you run by just going to a link with your web browser. You download and install this software by going to http://www.mysticisland.net/download. You run Mystic Island just like you would run Yahoo Messenger, or Microsoft Word. Once you do, you are presented with a log-in screen that wants a name and password to log in. At this point you need to make sure you created an account, which can be done at: http://www.mysticisland.net/signup.
Be sure to use a valid e-mail address when you sign up, because you will be sent an automated validation e-mail that contains instructions to validate your account. If you do not respond to this e-mail within five days, your account will be automatically suspended.
Mystic Island will appear on your Start Menu along with all the other programs you have installed.
3) What are all of these icons by people's names? And how do I find Rook?
When you first log in, you likely will be overwhelmed with all kinds of colored chat, announcements and stuff you're not familiar with. But don't worry, you'll figure it out fast. All the icons by people's names indicate different status levels. We have players who are financial supporters of the Island, which is strictly optional, and they have certain icons. We have players who are Sysops (other sites might use the term "moderator"), they have special icons. We have VIP members who are close friends of the owner or are former Sysops, they have their own icon. After some use, you will quickly become familiar with what all they mean. In addition, we have player profiles, you can right click on any name in the lobby to see their player profile.
4) And where is Rook?
If you go to the PARK MAP by clicking the button the toolbar, you will see a section of the park called PARROT by a little pyramid. Click that and it will take to the rooms that are available for that particular game.
Hint: The toolbar at the top of your lobby is your key to getting around the site. Because we wanted to expand our site and add more content, we decided to create a second park map, which is in a pirate-themed area we call "Calypso Bay". How you get to that part of the map is to click the park map button a second time. You will notice if you click the park map button repeatedly, it will switch you between the two main maps. This is the way you can find all the games we offer.
5) What is Cut Rook?
We have implemented a 3-handed version of Rook in addition to the regular 4-player partnership. Cut Rook means you do not have a partner, however on any given hand, the person who wins the bid plays against the other two players who are in a temporary partnership. The two non-bidding players share the points earned for that hand and that hand only. In addition, players receive 12 cards each (or 13, if you include ones).
6) Include the Ones? Where are the play options? How do I set them?
At Mystic Island, when you join a table you will see a button in any empty seat that says "Take Seat". The south position at the table is the person who will control the play options for the table, and they also have kicking/muting powers. BEFORE the game starts, the player sitting in the SOUTH position can go up to VIEW menu and select PLAY OPTIONS. They can adjust and submit a change for the play options which will then be approved or denied by the server. (Some play options in certain rooms may be disallowed, for instance Mystic will not let you play 3-handed cut in a room designed specifically for partnership Rook).
7) So the south position has all this power, what if they kick me for no reason?
Our Sysop staff does not tolerate players disrupting the experience of others. Players who do this will either have their host ability banned (meaning they will no longer be able to sit in the south position) or just banned outright depending on the infraction.
8) The text is too small and I can't see the colors too well. Can I change this?
You can adjust almost every color and font used at Mystic Island from the lobby. If you look again at your toolbar, you will notice a button that looks like a life preserver, this is your preferences screen. In here you can adjust all your preferences to suit your needs. Keep in mind that if you change a color or font that is a table setting, you will need to re-open that table for the change to take effect.
9) So what if I leave a game because I got disconnected?
If you are disconnected, you can return to the table and the game will re-seat you back to where you were and the game will resume. In addition, other players can sit and fill in for you. Keep in mind that in a ladder match, if you leave early and someone else players for you, you still will be given the win or loss for that game regardless of if you are there or not.
10) Do you have tournaments?
Yes.
11) How do I play in a tournament? Where can I sign up?
On the Park Map you will see an area called "Tournament Arena". All events scheduled automatically open 90 minutes early and appear in this part of the park. We have a number of tournament groups that host events for all the different games and hopefully we will them all hosting Rook events. All you have to do is show up in the room and inform a tournament director you'd like to play.
12) A lot of these players here don't know how to play Rook!
Mystic Island has been around a while and not everyone here plays but one of the games on a regular basis. Based on the history surrounding Rook, it's popularity was only in certain areas of the world and is a game that still needs to catch on. Please be patient with those still trying to figure it out.
13) Can I be a Sysop (moderator) at Mystic Island?
The selection process for becoming a Sysop typically does not involve just submitting an application and hoping you are selected. The staff at the Island is extremely picky about those who are selected and they often approach people who aren't overly persistent in asking to become a Sysop. We recognize the need or new Sysops given that Rook will introduce a new crowd, however we have to be very cautious about our selection. We've had incidents in the past in which friendly people once placed in a position of authority take it a little too far and can run off people for the wrong reasons. We are very sensitive to this and want to make sure the people helping us are the right fit. So to answer the original question, the best way to become a Sysop is to mention your interest in helping -once- and then just be yourself. Our staff is always watching. :)
14) Can I have more than one nickname at Mystic Island?
Yes. You can create more than one account but it will require an additional e-mail address. Mystic Island restricts accounts to one nickname per e-mail. Also, you may have to wait up to 24 hours before creating a second account.
15) Can I say bad words, or fight with people in the lobby?
Please be sure to read our Terms of Use statement. We strive to maintain an atmosphere that is family-friendly, though at times we realize we can't always be 100% perfect. If speaking in public channels please use discretion by not saying anything you wouldn't want a young child to see. Even acronyms (STFU, WTF) are strongly discouraged.
16) Are you going to close down anytime soon?
Our game site is community-supported, which means our paying members assist in the expenses that we have to deal with to keep the site running. In the next 2 years, we are looking at considerable hardware upgrades which will be required to support the server-side games we are now designing. We have no intention to close down and will someday be proud to consider ourselves the longest running active game site on the Internet.
17) I don't like the site I used to play Rook at and I especially didn't like certain people. Can I talk bad about them here?
We'd prefer you didn't. Everyone has different tastes, and we do not want to be known as the place where all the disgruntled Rook players play. If you have issues with someone on a different site, please leave those differences out of our site. We respect the other game sites and people who run them and will not tolerate any attacks.
18) I'm still confused. Where can I find out more?
There are a few good sites to go to in order to obtain Mystic Island information:
http://www.missvjworld.com/indexmystic.html
http://www.mysticisland.net/faq
And if you have a technical issue you cannot resolve, please visit: