Buffalo Bill Solitaire: Comprehensive How to Play Guide

Game Objective

The primary goal of Buffalo Bill Solitaire is to move all 104 cards from the tableau and reserve piles to the four foundation piles. You achieve victory by building two complete ascending sequences (Ace through King) and two complete descending sequences (King through Ace), each in the same suit, across the four foundation piles.

Setup & Layout

Buffalo Bill Solitaire uses two complete standard decks of 52 cards each, totaling 104 cards. All cards are dealt face-up at the beginning of the game, making this an open solitaire variant with complete information.

Initial Card Distribution:

The tableau consists of 26 piles, with 4 cards dealt face-up to each pile, accounting for all 104 cards. The 8 reserve piles (also called cells) are initially empty.

Play Areas:

| Play Area | Quantity | Initial State | Purpose | |-----------|----------|---------------|---------| | Tableau Piles (Fans) | 26 | 4 cards each, face-up | Source of cards; no building occurs here | | Aces Foundations | 4 | Empty | Build up by suit from Ace to King | | Kings Foundations | 4 | Empty | Build down by suit from King to Ace | | Reserve Piles (Cells) | 8 | Empty | Temporary storage for single cards |

Buffalo Bill Solitaire Rules

Foundation Building Rules

Aces Foundations:

The four Aces Foundations build upward in sequence by the same suit, starting with an Ace and ending with a King. Each Aces Foundation must begin with an Ace of a unique suit; you cannot place a second Ace of the same suit on any Aces Foundation. Once an Ace is placed, cards of the same suit may be stacked in ascending order (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K).

Kings Foundations:

The four Kings Foundations build downward in sequence by the same suit, starting with a King and ending with an Ace. Each Kings Foundation must begin with a King of a unique suit; you cannot place a second King of the same suit on any Kings Foundation. Once a King is placed, cards of the same suit may be stacked in descending order (Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A).

Tableau (Fan) Rules

The 26 tableau piles serve exclusively as a source of cards. No building or stacking of cards occurs on the tableau piles themselves. Only the top card of each tableau pile is movable and available for play. Once a tableau pile becomes empty, it remains empty for the remainder of the game and cannot be refilled.

Reserve (Cell) Rules

The 8 reserve piles function as temporary storage locations. Each reserve pile may hold exactly one card at a time. Any single card from the tableau or from another reserve pile may be moved to an empty reserve pile. A card held in a reserve pile may be moved to a foundation pile or back to another reserve pile if space is available.

Gameplay

Turn Sequence

During each turn, a player may perform one of the following actions:

1. Move a card from the tableau to a foundation pile if the card matches the suit and follows the building sequence of that foundation (either the next card up for Aces Foundations or the next card down for Kings Foundations).

2. Move a card from a reserve pile to a foundation pile if the card matches the suit and follows the building sequence of that foundation.

3. Move a card from the tableau to an empty reserve pile to temporarily store a card that blocks access to other cards.

4. Move a card from a reserve pile to another empty reserve pile (though this is rarely strategically useful).

5. Move a card from a reserve pile back to the tableau if needed to free up reserve space, though tableau piles cannot receive new cards permanently.

Card Introduction and Availability

All 104 cards are visible and available from the start of the game. There is no stock pile or draw mechanism; the game begins with complete information. Cards become available for play only when they are the top card of their respective tableau or reserve pile.

When No Moves Are Possible

If a player reaches a state where no legal moves can be made (no cards can be played to foundations, and all reserve piles are full), the game becomes unwinnable, and the player has lost. There are no redeals or second chances in Buffalo Bill Solitaire.

Winning & Losing Conditions

Winning Condition

A player wins when all 104 cards have been successfully moved to the four foundation piles. This means each of the four Aces Foundations contains a complete sequence from Ace through King (13 cards per suit), and each of the four Kings Foundations contains a complete sequence from King through Ace (13 cards per suit).

Losing Condition

A player loses if they reach a game state where no legal moves remain available and not all cards have been moved to the foundations. This typically occurs when:

• All reserve piles are occupied with cards that cannot be played to any foundation.
• The top cards of all tableau piles cannot be played to any foundation.
• No empty reserve piles are available to temporarily store blocking cards.

Once the game becomes unwinnable, it cannot be recovered, and the player must restart.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Empty Tableau Piles

Once a tableau pile becomes completely empty, it remains empty for the duration of the game. Empty tableau piles cannot be refilled with cards from other sources and serve no further purpose in gameplay.

Empty Reserve Piles

When a reserve pile becomes empty, any single card from the tableau or another reserve pile may be moved into it. This provides strategic flexibility for temporarily storing cards that are blocking access to more valuable cards in the tableau.

Suit Matching Requirement

All card movements to foundation piles are strictly governed by suit matching. A card can only be played to a foundation if it is of the same suit as the cards already in that foundation pile. For example, the 7 of Spades can only be played to the Spades Aces Foundation (if a 6 of Spades is already there) or the Spades Kings Foundation (if an 8 of Spades is already there).

Strategic Considerations

The skill in Buffalo Bill Solitaire lies in efficiently releasing cards from the tableau by strategically using the 8 reserve piles. Because no building occurs on the tableau itself, the primary challenge is determining which cards to temporarily store in reserve piles to expose more valuable cards beneath them. The game is considered relatively easy compared to other solitaire variants, as all cards are visible from the start, allowing for complete strategic planning.