(M.J.E. / Writings / Games / Patience / Single-Pack Rules)
Rules for Single-Pack Patience Games
NOTE ABOUT GAME RULES PAGES:
The subsidiary pages within the game rules section of this web site may be
subject to change as the section grows; if you want to bookmark a page, I
suggest you instead bookmark the parent page Rules for
Games, which is very unlikely to change. (The link just given goes
directly there.)
NOTE ABOUT THIS PAGE ON SINGLE-PACK PATIENCE GAMES - Saturday, 28 July, 2001:
Later on I plan to expand the section of my web site that deals with
Patience games, going from just this one page to a whole series of interrelated
pages, covering more Patience games and including an Introduction to Patience
and a Glossary of terms frequently used in in Patience. This material will
likely be added gradually over a long period of time as I can make it ready, and
at some stage this page will very likely be completely rewritten and/or subsumed
into the new system of pages, and its material possibly split over two or more
new pages.
The current accounts are self-contained, in that they can be read and
understood easily without reference to anything outside individual game
accounts; the new accounts will be less self-contained, and will make free use
of terminology that will not be explained in individual accounts, but which will
be defined in a Glossary of terms. (Links to the appropriate place in the
Glossary will be provided.) This is because many terms come up in Patience
rules again and again, and it is wasteful to describe the meaning each time they
occur in a particular game. This means that the game rules will be less easy to
understand if you don't consult the Glossary and if you don't know the meaning
of the terms. But if you read the Glossary, or if you know the terms anyway, it
will make rules more concise and quicker and easier to read and understand.
If you particularly like the current account of the Patience games on this
page, I suggest you save a copy for your own reference, because I cannot
guarantee that it will remain intact once revision starts. (I have already
begun this task as I write this note.) Please do not post any part of this page
elsewhere without permission from me - the page is copyright, and I would prefer
to keep some degree of control over its distribution, and try to keep the text
intact.
Introduction
Over time I hope to build up a much larger collection of Patience games in
this area of my web site. These will not necessarily include every game I can
find out about, but will concentrate on my own personal favourites, which
incline strongly towards games whose outcome depends more on skill than on the
chance fall of the cards. (Contrary to popular opinion often heard, there are
many Patience games which need a great degree of skill to conclude
successfully.)
This will take some time to organize - meanwhile, I give a sample of some
of my favourite single-pack Patience games. Ultimately I also hope to include
an introduction to Patience generally, some general principles underlying all or
most Patience games, and a comprehensive glossary of Patience terms. My
original intention, years before I started this web site, was to write a whole
book of my own favourite Patience games, and now I hope ultimately to present
that entire book here.
It will take me some time to get the introductory material organized,
especially the glossary of terms, which I hope will make the game descriptions
clearer and easier to understand. Meanwhile, I hope the following descriptions
are clear enough without that glossary; I expect it should be, because the rules
given below were originally written as a self-contained account anyway, apart
from my larger project which includes the glossary.
Until more comes, the following will keep you busy for a while. I hope you
enjoy it.
Contents
Scorpion
Yukon
Curds and Whey
Penguin
Pyramid
Beleaguered Castle
Streets and Alleys
Citadel
Fortress
Chessboard
Spaces
Honey-Bee
Strategy
King Albert
Idiot's Delight
Simple Simon
Four-Leaf Clover
Scorpion
This game is quite fascinating to play, although it is doubtful that it
demands a high level of skill. But certainly looking ahead does no harm, and
may help you avoid potential blocks and snarls before they come up.
Deal 49 cards in a 7 x 7 arrangement thus: deal a row of 7 cards left to
right, the first 4 face down and the remaining 3 face up; deal a second row the
same way, partially overlapping the cards on the first row, and then deal a
third row like this, too. The layout thus far will include a block of 12
face-down cards. Now deal 4 more rows of 7 cards all face up, partially
overlapping the 7 piles already laid out.
The 3 remaining cards are set aside face down, and will come into play
later on.
Foundation cards are not placed in separate positions at any stage; all
play is within the layout. The object is to form within the layout 4 columns of
cards arranged by suit from King down to Ace.
Cards may be placed onto completely exposed cards at the bottoms of columns
if they are the same suit and one lower in rank. But for this purpose, the card
so placed may be taken from anywhere within the layout (provided it is face up),
not just from the bottoms of columns. When a card is so moved, all cards in the
column which partially cover it are moved also, the entire group being moved as
a unit. This will cause a card somewhere in the middle of the column you moved
from to become exposed, and available to build other cards on.
Whenever a face-down card becomes completely exposed, turn it face up, and
it becomes available either to be moved onto, or to move somewhere else.
Whenever a space appears in the layout resulting from the clearing of a column,
only a King may be placed there. A King may not be moved anywhere other than a
space, and nothing may be placed onto an Ace.
When you become stuck, or sooner if you wish, play the 3 remaining cards to
the bottoms of the first three columns, face up (regardless of whether they
match in rank or not). This will, in most cases, make further moves available.
(In this situation, and no other, a card may be placed on top of an Ace, if an
Ace happens to be at the bottom of one of the first three columns.)
If you become stuck a second time, the game fails; but if you can end up
with only 4 columns each containing a complete suit in order from King down to
Ace, you win.
There are traps to avoid, which looking ahead may help you avert. But
otherwise, there is not a great deal of choice in this game. For each exposed
card, there is only one other card that can legally be played there. The
element of choice will mainly be in the order in which you make moves, which can
occasionally make a difference, but usually won't; another element of choice
will be in knowing when not to make a move at all, which also can occasionally
make a difference.
To the extent that you have choices at all in this game, they should be
directed towards the uncovering of face-down cards as soon as possible as an
absolute priority. When the game blocks (as it usually does), face-down cards
are almost invariably the cause.
Another advantage may occasionally be achievable in the stage of the game
before the three extra cards are dealt, and it is based on the fact that once an
Ace becomes exposed, it blocks all further play on the column it is at the
bottom of; however, if when you deal the three extra cards an Ace is at the
bottom of one of the columns where these cards will go, then (and only then) it
gets covered by another card. This suggests the strategy that if before you
deal those cards you can manoeuvre things so that an Ace is in one of those
three positions, that will recover an effective playing position, and delay
further the ultimate likelihood of all four Aces becoming exposed and blocking
play on more than half the columns. So selective choosing of moves to make or
not to make, plus choosing the right time for dealing the three extra cards, may
well bring such a situation about, to your advantage.
All the same, this is a game that very rarely comes out, however far you
look ahead, and I would consider you were lucky if you won even as much as 1
game in 10. But if this isn't too discouraging, it can be an enjoyable game to
play, and it is enjoyable to see it fall completely into place on those rare
occasions when it does so.
If you find the game too frustrating to be worthwhile, try reducing the
number of face-down cards to 8, or even 4. This should increase the odds
significantly. If you want to find out what it is like to win, try dealing with
no face-down cards at all. Other kinds of blocks can still occur, but
you will probably win most deals if you deal all cards face-up and look ahead a
bit to avoid the blocks that may still occur.
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Yukon
This intriguing game is a combination of Klondike and Scorpion. It depends
on skillful play only to a moderate extent, but the novelty of the method of
play makes it quite absorbing to play.
Deal a row of 7 cards from left to right, the first face up, the rest face
down. Deal further rows as follows, each row partially overlapping the previous
one. Deal a row of 6 cards, all face down except the first, placing the first
(face-up) card one place further to the right of the previous face-up card.
Deal further rows of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, with each first card being face-up, and
placed one place further to the right, and with the remaining 4, 3, 2, 1, and 0
cards being face-down for these rows. The 7 piles of cards will contain 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 cards respectively, each top card face-up.
So far this is like Klondike. But now go on to deal the remaining 24 cards
of the pack as follows. Deal them all face-up, placing them on top of the
layout already deal, partially overlapping row by row. Ignore the first column
(the single face-up card), and on the remaining 6 columns deal a row of 6 cards,
then 3 further rows. Make sure all face-up cards are visible.
As the Aces become available, place them in a row at the top to serve as
foundations; as cards become available, build them up on the foundations in
sequence, and according to suit, just as in Klondike.
Within the layout, build downwards by alternating colour (a red card on a
black, a black on a red), maintaining sequence of rank, as in Klondike.
Now we come to the part that is more like Scorpion than Klondike. There is
no stock to deal; but any face-up card in the layout may be taken for building
elsewhere in the layout, no matter how deeply buried it is; and all cards
partially covering it must be taken with it, the entire group of cards being
moved as a single unit, their order left undisturbed, regardless of how many of
them are in sequence. Such a unit may be placed on top of a completely exposed
card in the layout, provided the destination card is one higher in sequence than
the uppermost card in the group being moved, and of opposite colour.
Only cards completely exposed at the bottom of a column may be taken for
playing to foundation piles.
Any face-down cards that become completely uncovered are turned face up and
become available for play. Any spaces that appear when a column is completely
cleared may be filled only by a King (together with any cards which may be
covering it). Indeed, a King may not be moved anywhere else, except to complete
an Ace pile. Nothing may be played onto an exposed Ace; the Ace must
immediately be placed in the foundation row above the layout.
You win the game if you are able to clear the board and build the 4 Ace
piles up to Kings, in suit-sequence.
The odds of winning are better than those for Klondike, but probably not a
great deal better. I believe the odds for Klondike are about 1 in 10, and Yukon
might come in at 1 in 5, assuming best play. Yukon offers more scope for
judging moves, because, for any exposed card, there are 2 cards which can be
played on it, and the choice of which one will lead to different cards in the
layout being exposed, which may change the entire course of the game. (In
Klondike, similarly 2 cards can be legally played to an exposed card, but the
choice is largely guesswork, because you can't see very far ahead; in Yukon, it
is frequently possible to see far ahead.)
If you want to make the game slightly more likely to come out, I suggest
that you allow "worrying back". This is a term for playing cards from a
foundation pile back into the layout (provided it fits there according to the
rules for building in the layout, of course). It can occasionally resolve a
block, although it is not in the standard rules for Yukon. (There are games in
which worrying back is a standard feature.)
When deciding which of 2 cards of the same rank and colour to play to a
given position, you should look as far ahead as possible to see what the
ultimate consequences of those choices are. In making decisions of any sort in
this game, your absolute highest priority must be to reach as many face-down
cards as possible, as soon as possible, to get them into play. This should be
given even higher priority than getting cards onto Ace foundations, something
you don't need to be in a hurry to do. Ultimately, you will block if you don't
get those face-down cards into play. That's the bottom line of it.
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Curds and Whey
This excellent game is a modern one, invented by patience scholar David
Parlett; it is based on some very unusual principles, and in my opinion is one
of the best patience games ever invented, old or modern. (Parlett is the author
of the Penguin Book of Patience, which is probably the most comprehensive
book on the subject in existence.)
Deal the entire pack face up thus: deal a row of 13 cards from left to
right, then a second row partially overlapping the first, then a third and a
fourth. (If the table isn't wide enough, deal in rows of 7 then, underneath
that, rows of 6.) You will end up with 13 piles of 4 overlapping cards, all
visible.
No foundation cards are removed and positioned separately; all play is
within this layout of cards. The object is to form 4 piles of cards arranged
from King down to Ace in order, according to suit. But, to this end, two
temporary types of building are allowed, thus.
You may move any completely exposed card onto any other completely exposed
card of the same suit and next higher in rank (which is the final type of
building to be aiming at); a group of cards built thus will be referred to in
these rules as a "sequence". Or else you may move any completely exposed card
onto any other completely exposed card of the same rank, ignoring suit;
a group of cards built thus will be referred to as a "group".
Both types of building may be included in the one pile. You may also move
a sequence or a group which forms part or all of a pile, provided that its
bottom card is completely exposed, and provided that it fits onto the
destination card according to either one of the building rules. Thus, sequences
may be moved onto groups, and groups onto sequences, provided the join follows
one of the two rules. (For example, an exposed sequence of 6, 5, 4 of Clubs may
be played either to the 7 of Clubs, or to any 6. A group consisting of the 6 of
Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds (the 6 of Diamonds covering the 6 of Clubs) may be
played either to the 7 of Clubs, or to any other 6.)
However, you may not move a group of cards that includes both types of
building; you must move such a group in sections, each one of which is entirely
a sequence or entirely a group. You may also split a sequence or group and move
just part of it, even if all of it was moveable together as a whole.
When a space appears because all cards have been removed from a particular
column, only a King may be placed in it.
This game may sound ridiculously easy to win, in print, and in fact I
believe it can be won about 99% of the time, provided you play very carefully
and look far ahead before deciding on moves. But if you move randomly, choosing
any move without looking ahead (and there is always a plethora of moves
available to choose from), you will probably not win even 5% of the time.
(Variant: according to one of my sources, a sequence or group may be moved
onto a destination card only so that the join follows the rule for building
sequences and groups respectively, not either rule. For example, using the
example given above, the 6, 5, 4 of Clubs may be played only to the 7 of Clubs,
not to another 6, because the join doesn't follow the same rule as the cards
within the sequence; similarly, the 6s of Clubs and Diamonds may be moved only
to another 6, not to the 7 of Clubs. Sequences may still be moved onto groups,
but the join must follow the rule for sequences only; and groups may still be
moved onto sequences, but only so long as the join follows the rule for groups.
This restriction makes the game more difficult to play.)
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Penguin
This unusual game is a modern one invented by patience researcher David
Parlett.
To the top left corner of the table, deal one card face up. This begins
the layout, and forms the top left corner of it. This card is called the
Penguin, and when the 3 other cards of this rank come up in the deal, they
should be placed to the top of the table as foundations, above the main part of
the layout. The object is to build on them in suit, going "round the corner"
from King to Ace as necessary. The final card to be built on the foundations
(if you win the game) will be one lower in rank than the foundation rank.
To the right of the Penguin, continue dealing the layout with a row of 6
further cards face up - together with the Penguin, this will form the top row of
the layout, consisting of 7 cards; then deal 6 further rows on top of the first
row, all face up, and partially overlapping so that all cards are visible.
During the deal, remember to take out the 3 foundation cards other than the
Penguin, and place them above the layout. Thus the layout will contain 49 cards.
Within the layout, any completely exposed card may be played upon any other
completely exposed card if it is of the same suit, and one lower in rank. Only
one card may be moved at a time, not a whole group, even if they are in suit-
sequence. If a space appears within the layout because of the clearing of an
entire column, only a card one lower in rank than the foundations may be played
there.
Outside the layout, keep an area aside for the reserve. At any time in the
game, any completely exposed card in the layout (one at the bottom of a column)
may be removed and placed within the reserve (sometimes known as the "Flipper").
This makes the next card in the column exposed and available for use. Up to 7
cards may be in the reserve at any given time. Cards in the reserve may be
played to the foundation piles if they follow in suit-sequence, or played back
to the layout if they fit according to the rule given above. Of course, this
makes room in the reserve for further cards to be placed, a privilege that can
be repeated as often as desired throughout the game; and indeed, you will find
that proper management of the reserve is the key to winning this game.
If plays are made carefully, with much forethought, you can probably win
this game 3 out of 4 times (although you may not believe this the first time you
play, because the rules sound impossibly strict), but if you don't use
forethought, the game will indeed be as hopeless as it appears. Overconfidence,
leading to premature filling of the reserve, and to the choking-up of the entire
game, seem to be the main cause of downfall in this game. You should be very
parsimonious in your use of the reserve.
In general, you should try to free the Penguin (to start the 4th foundation
pile) as quickly as reasonably possible, but not at any cost whatsoever. (In
fact, the Penguin can always be freed immediately - by straight away filling
almost the entire reserve with the 6 cards which cover the Penguin at the start
of the game; but this is almost certainly going to be a recipe for quick
suicide.)
A major factor in deciding whether to place a card in the reserve will be
how soon you think you can get the card out of the reserve again.
Looking far ahead at the consequences of a move before making it is the key
to success in this game.
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Pyramid
Deal 28 cards face up in a pyramid, thus: deal one by itself at the top of
the available space, half-way between the left and right edges of the table;
below that, deal two cards side by side, partially and diagonally overlapping
the one dealt initially; below that, a row of 3, then 4, 5, 6, and 7 cards. The
object is to completely discard the pyramid by combining it with cards from the
stock in pairs that add up to 13 (A = 1, J = 11, Q = 12, K = 13). Kings are
discarded singly from the pyramid (because they are equal to 13 by themselves),
but otherwise, cards must be discarded in pairs, not any other number.
Deal cards one by one from the stock, and place them face up in a waste
pile. Any cards which will pair appropriately with a completely exposed card in
the pyramid may, but not must, be paired with it, the two being discarded from
the game together (not put in the waste pile). Suits are ignored in
such pairing. In addition to pairing pyramid cards with cards from the stock,
you may also discard two cards both from the pyramid which add up to 13;
however, they must both be free to begin with: it is not good enough if taking
the first card frees the second, and then discarding them as a pair.
When the stock is exhausted, turn over the waste pile to form a new stock.
Three deals (two turnings over of the waste pile) are allowed, and you win if
you succeed in clearing away the entire pyramid. The odds are approximately 1
in 4.
(The usual rules require you to discard the entire pack in pairs, not just
the pyramid, but this is almost impossible to do. I have used an easier version
which comes from one of my books.)
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Beleaguered Castle
This game is probably the toughest of the group I'm presenting here, good
for when you are really feeling mentally vigorous.
Remove the 4 Aces from the pack and place them in a column down the centre
of the table, not overlapping, but one below the other. (You can place them
there during the deal, if you find that easier.)
The object is to play all the cards on the Ace foundations, upwards
according to suit.
Deal the remaining 48 cards thus. To the immediate left of the Aces, deal
a column of 4 non-overlapping cards; to the immediate right of the Aces, deal a
similar column. Deal further columns alternately to left and right, each column
partially overlapping the previous column on that side. When you have finished,
you will end up with 4 rows of overlapping cards on each side of the Aces,
spreading outwards from the Aces. The outermost cards of each row will be
completely exposed, and are available for play.
Any cards that are next in sequence to the top card of an Ace pile, and of
the same suit, may be played to the foundation pile.
Within the layout, any completely exposed card may be played onto any other
completely exposed card next higher in rank, and regardless of suit. (Suit need
be followed only on the Ace piles.) Only one card may be moved at a time, never
a group, even if it is in sequence.
Any space which appears when a row is cleared may be filled by any
available card. Spaces will often be used as temporary stopping places for
cards during the sorting-out of other rows. Their proper management is
essential for success in this game. An essential strategy you should follow is
to study the layout, and before making a single move, plan mentally an
entire sequence of moves that will result in a space appearing in the layout.
If you cannot do this (and sometimes it requires looking ahead many moves), your
chances of winning are very slim indeed.
Looking ahead generally is vitally important for success in this game; but
even doing this, chances of success are only about 1 in 3. They are virtually
infinitesimal if you don't look ahead. If you can't see your way to clearing
that first space (and it is the hardest one to clear, because in clearing your
second one, you can use the first one to help), then your chances of winning are
very small, even if you are careful always to look far ahead.
The odds for this game may not seem marvellous, but it is a satisfying game
to win, because you can be assured that you have truly earned your victory. It
is one of my favourite games, but not one I want to play too often, because it
is so mentally demanding.
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Streets and Alleys
As for Beleaguered Castle, except that the Aces are not removed from the
pack to begin with, but room is allowed for them down the centre of the layout.
An extra column is dealt to the left side of the tableau, so that the 4 rows of
cards on the left have 7 cards each instead of 6.
The effect of this is to make the game even harder to win.
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Citadel
As for Beleaguered Castle, except that the deal is done differently, thus.
Don't remove the Aces from the pack, but begin dealing by columns. Whenever you
come to an Ace, place it in the foundations column, and skip the row where the
card would have gone if it had not been an Ace. Similarly, any further cards
dealt may be played to the foundation piles immediately if they fit in suit and
sequence; once again, skip the row where the card would have gone. When the
deal is complete, the rows will be unequal in length.
Only cards dealt may be played to the foundations during the deal; cards
already placed in the layout must be left in place until the deal is complete.
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Fortress
As for Beleaguered Castle except for the following:
The Aces are not placed in the centre to begin with. The entire pack is
dealt to the layout; each wing of the layout consists of 5 rows, not 4; the
upper row on each side contains 6 cards, and the other 4 rows contain 5 cards
each. The usual method of dealing is by columns. The Aces are placed in the
centre column as they become available, not during the deal, and are built up
to Kings in the usual manner.
On the layout, building may go either up or down in sequence, and must be
in the same suit. You may build up on some rows and down on others.
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Chessboard
As for Fortress, except that after you have finished dealing the layout,
you may study the layout and choose which rank of card to use as foundations,
according to what will best promote your manipulation of the layout. (In such a
case, building will go "round the corner" - Ace coming after King.)
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Spaces
This game demands room for the entire pack to be spread out 13 cards across
and 4 cards down. Deal the entire pack face up thus, and remove the 4 Aces and
lay them aside. This will leave 4 gaps within the array in random positions.
The object is to arrange within this layout 4 rows of cards going from left
to right, from 2 to King, each row following the same suit.
In each space, a card may be played which is one higher in rank than the
card on the left and of the same suit. For this purpose, the card may be taken
from anywhere in the layout, which will leave a space somewhere else, which of
course is then subject to the same rule. A space which appears at the extreme
left of the layout may be filled only by a 2. Any space which appear to the
immediate right of a King may not be filled at all; but if the King is moved
later on, the double space which will remain may then be fillable again.
You should choose moves with a view to starting 4 suit-sequences beginning
with 2s at the extreme left, and continuing those sequences as far as possible
to the right. However, sooner or later, you will become stuck because all 4
spaces are immediately to the right of Kings.
When this happens, gather up all cards in the layout which are not in
sequence as just described. Shuffle them thoroughly, and deal them to the
layout from left to right within each row, and the rows from top to bottom,
filling all empty spaces, but leaving an empty space in each row immediately to
the right of the last card left in that row. Deal sufficient cards to each row
to give it 12 cards. (Variant: include the Aces in the shuffle, leave no
spaces, and fill out each row until it has 13 cards; then remove the Aces, as at
the beginning, and use the resulting spaces for further play.)
Continue play as before, and repeat this redealing process a second time
when you become stuck. Continue again; and this time if you get stuck, you've
had it, because only these three deals are allowed. (The limitation may seem
arbitrary, but if unlimited deals were allowed, this game would always come
out.)
This is an intriguing game, although careful looking ahead will probably
make only a slight difference to your chances of winning, which I would estimate
at approximately 1 in 5.
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Honey-Bee
This is a relaxing, very undemanding game. It is the equivalent of
doodling with pencil and paper.
Deal 10 cards face up to the table, approximately in the centre, squared up
so that only the top one is visible; this is the beehive. To the right of this
pile, and slightly higher than it, deal a row of three cards face up, side by
side; and, immediately below them, a second row of three cards face up. These
six cards form the flower-garden where the bees will come to get honey. (Many
patience games have a theme or story behind them such as this.) The remaining
36 cards form the stock.
The idea is to discard from the layout sets of 4 cards of the same rank.
If the top beehive card matches a garden card in rank at any time, place the
beehive card on top of the garden card, overlapping partially. Any time that
two garden cards match in rank, place one on top of the other, partially
overlapping, and fill the space with the top beehive card. After the beehive is
exhausted, spaces should be filled with the top card from the waste pile.
The stock is dealt 3 cards at a time, in a single packet, to a waste pile,
as in Klondike, and, in each packet of 3 cards, the top one may be played to one
of the six cards in the garden if it is the same rank as that card. Place it
partly overlapping so that you can see how many cards are in that pile. If the
top card of a packet of 3 dealt is used, then the next one becomes available,
and so on. Throughout the game, continue dealing in 3s as described, pausing
whenever necessary to make moves. When the stock is exhausted, turn over the
waste pile to form a new stock, and continue dealing; you may turn over the
waste pile thus without limit, until the game either succeeds or blocks.
As soon as any of the 6 piles in the layout contains 4 cards of the same
rank, the 4 cards are discarded from the game. The space in the layout is then
filled from the beehive, or, if the beehive is exhausted, it is filled from the
top card of the waste pile.
You win if you succeed in clearing the entire pack in 13 groups of 4
matching by rank; you lose if you fail to do this, something which hardly ever
happens.
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Strategy
Deal the entire pack to 8 waste piles, removing any Aces as they appear and
placing them in a row to start foundation piles. No other cards may be played
to the foundation piles during the deal, but the goal is ultimately to build all
the cards onto the Aces in ascending suit-sequence until each is topped by its
King.
Any card may be played to any one of the 8 waste piles; you do not have to
play to them in rotation, nor do you have to follow any sequence in playing to
them. Spread the waste piles towards you, so that you can always see what cards
are in them.
But just because any card may legally be played to any waste pile, it does
not mean that you can safely make any play you happen to think of. Once the
deal is complete, you must then play the cards off the waste piles onto the
foundation piles, and only the top card of a waste pile may be taken. This
obviously means that, during the deal, you must plan where to deal most
carefully, with a view to having all the cards play off the waste piles onto the
foundations. If a blockage occurs, you have lost the game, as no moves may be
made other than from a waste pile directly to a foundation.
Obviously, the most careful planning ahead must be made during the deal.
The deal is obviously the part of the game that counts, the subsequent playing
off onto foundations being purely mechanical. You should reserve a waste pile
for the Kings, although once a King is played to it, its Queen may safely
follow. Obviously, you should avoid playing any card onto a waste pile that
already contains a lower card of the same suit, and, as far as the chance of the
deal allows, you should play to waste piles so that their sequence, in general,
goes down in rank.
If you observe all these cautions, and plan ahead as much as possible, you
may win this game once in every 3 or 4 games. That is my estimate; different
sources for this game variously estimate the odds as 1 in 4, or as 4 in 5.
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King Albert
Deal 45 cards, all face up, as follows: deal a row of 9 from left to right,
next to each other; then deal a row of 8 on top of the first row, partially
overlapping it, but beginning one card to the right of the original starting
card; then deal a row of 7 beginning yet one place further to the right; and so
on, down to 1 card placed on the right-most column. You will end up with 9
columns of overlapping cards, consisting of 1 card (at the very left), 2 cards,
3, and so on, until the right-most column, with 9 cards.
The remaining 7 cards are placed face up below the layout, and form the
reserve (sometimes known in this game as the Belgian reserve or the Boneyard).
The object is to release the 4 Aces, and place them above the layout, and
to build up the entire pack on them in ascending sequence by suit, until each
finishes with its King.
The bottom card of each column is available to be moved, or to have other
cards placed on it. The cards in the reserve are available to be played to the
bottoms of columns, or to foundations, but you may not play cards into the
reserve. An available card may be played to the bottom of a column if it is one
less in rank than the column's bottom card, and of opposite colour. Only one
card may be moved at a time thus, not an entire sequence.
Any space caused by the emptying of a column may be filled with any
available card.
According to some sources, "worrying back" is allowed (playing cards in
foundation piles back to the layout, fitting them in according to the normal
rules for building sequences there).
Much planning ahead must be made with this game. If you do so, the odds
are estimated to be 1 in 2 or 3 games.
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Idiot's Delight
This is an easier version of King Albert (above). Follow the rules for
King Albert, except for the following.
The 9 columns have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 cards, going left to right,
not 1 - 9, as the parent game does. It thus contains 25 cards.
The reserve contains 27 cards, dealt as follows: a row of 9 face down, a
second row of 9 face down, then a row of 9 face up. As soon as a reserve card
is taken for play elsewhere, the face-down card beneath it is turned face up.
Spaces in the reserve are never filled.
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Simple Simon
This game is very simple in structure, but definitely not simple to play.
Much forethought and looking ahead is needed to win Simple Simon. If this is
done, you can often wriggle out of bad situations that initially look absolutely
impossible to escape from.
Deal all 52 cards face up as follows. Towards the left of the table, deal
a row of 3 cards; then deal further rows, always partially overlapping the
previous row, and always beginning on the same left-most pile. Increase the
number of cards by 1 each time, so that the last card dealt in each row starts a
new pile. Thus, you will deal rows of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 cards, which
uses up the entire pack. All cards should be clearly visible, and the ones at
the bottoms of columns are available either to move, or to have other cards
moved onto them.
No foundations are laid aside; all play is done within the layout just
dealt. The object is to form within the layout 4 columns containing all 13
cards of one suit each, arranged in order from King down to Ace.
In general, any single card that is completely exposed may be moved onto
any other completely exposed card if it is one less in rank. Suit may be
ignored for this purpose; but, in addition to this, a group of cards may be
moved if all cards in the group are in sequence, and all of the same suit. The
group must be moved onto a card next higher in rank than the highest card of the
group, although not necessarily of the same suit.
Nothing may be played onto an Ace.
Any spaces resulting from clearing an entire column may be filled by any
completely exposed card, or a group of exposed cards which are in suit-sequence
as described above. Kings may not be played anywhere other than into a space,
although this doesn't necessarily mean that you should keep spaces reserved for
Kings. You will frequently use them as temporary stopping places for other
cards, as a help towards sorting out other columns of cards.
You win if you sort out the entire pack into 4 suit-sequences as described
above. My estimate of the odds: 3 in 4 if you move carefully and look many
moves ahead; 1 in 100 if you simply move randomly.
The name of the game is perhaps rather misleading; it is definitely not a
kids' game.
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Four-Leaf Clover
Deal 16 cards face up on the table, in a 4 x 4 arrangement, none
overlapping each other. The object is to discard combinations of 2 or more
cards of the same suit whose values total 15; any spaces which result in the
layout are immediately filled from the stock remaining.
King, Queen, and Jack of a particular suit are discarded as a trio, and the
four 10s are discarded as a quartet. The remaining cards must be discarded in
combinations that add up to 15, all in the same suit. (You will get stuck if
you try to discard 10s as part of a 15-combination. Only if they are kept out
of such combinations do the remaining non-court cards add up to a multiple of
15, namely 45.)
You win if you are able to discard the entire pack of cards thus. However,
it happens all too easily that you end up with a block of 16 cards, none of
which can be discarded, in which case you lose. I estimate the odds of winning
to be something like 1 in 5 games, which is not much, but probably better odds
than Klondike. Discard the 10s singly as they appear if you want to improve
these odds slightly, or remove them from the pack altogether before you begin
play.
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Original text copyright (C) 2000, by Michael Edwards.
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This page created on Wednesday, 30 August, 2000;
note at top added on Saturday, 28 July, 2001.