Canfield

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Canfield Solitaire is to build up four foundation piles, one for each suit, starting from a designated base card and continuing in ascending order by suit, wrapping from King to Ace, until all 52 cards have been placed into the foundations.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Reserve Pile ("Demon"): Deal 13 cards face down in a single stack; turn the top card face up. Only the face-up top card is available for play.
• Foundations: Deal the next card face up above the reserve pile—this is the base card for all four foundations. The other three cards of the same rank will start the other foundations as they become available during play.
• Tableau: Deal one card face up to each of four tableau piles arranged below the foundations.
• Stock: Place the remaining cards face down as the stock (draw pile).
• Waste Pile: During play, cards drawn from the stock are placed face up in the waste pile; only the top card is available for play.

Key Play Areas:

• Reserve: Stack of 13 cards, only the top is playable.
• Foundations: Four piles, one for each suit, built up in ascending order starting from the base card.
• Tableau: Four piles for building sequences in descending order and alternating colors.
• Stock: Draw pile for introducing new cards.
• Waste: Discard pile for cards drawn from the stock.

Canfield Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations: Build up by suit, starting from the base card and wrapping from King to Ace if necessary (e.g., if the base is 7, build 8, 9, …, King, Ace, 2, …, 6).
• Tableau: Build down in alternating colors (red/black), wrapping from Ace to King if needed. For example, a red 7 can be placed on a black 8.
• Card Movement:
• Move single cards or sequences within the tableau, provided the sequence is in descending order and alternating colors.
• Move cards from the reserve to the tableau or foundations.
• Move cards from the tableau to the foundations.
• Move the top card from the waste pile to the tableau or foundations.
• Cards may be moved back from foundations to the tableau if needed for further play.
• Stock/Waste: Draw three cards at a time from the stock to the waste pile; only the top card of the waste is playable.
• Empty Tableau Spaces: Must be filled immediately with the top card from the reserve; if the reserve is empty, fill with the top card from the waste pile.

Gameplay:

• Turn Sequence:
• Play available cards from the tableau, reserve, or waste pile to the foundations or tableau, following building rules.
• If no moves are possible, draw three cards from the stock to the waste pile; play the top card of the waste if possible.
• Continue moving cards and drawing from the stock until no further moves are possible.
• Introducing New Cards:
• Cards are introduced into play from the reserve (top card), stock (draw three to waste), and waste (top card).
• No Legal Moves:
• If no legal moves remain and the stock is exhausted, the waste pile is turned over (without shuffling) to form a new stock; unlimited redeals are allowed.
• If no moves are possible and all piles are exhausted, the game ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning Condition: All 52 cards must be placed in the foundations, each built up in suit from the base card, wrapping as necessary, until each foundation contains 13 cards.
• Losing/Unwinnable State: The game is lost or becomes unwinnable if no further legal moves can be made and all cards cannot be placed into the foundations, even after all possible redeals.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Spaces: When a tableau pile becomes empty, fill it immediately with the top card from the reserve. If the reserve is depleted, fill with the top card from the waste pile.
• Foundation Base Card: The foundations start with the base card; other foundations of the same rank are started as those cards become available during play.
• Sequence Movement: Entire sequences in the tableau may be moved as a unit, provided they follow descending order and alternating colors.
• Redeals: Unlimited redeals of the stock are permitted, though some rule variants may restrict this.
• Wrapping: Both foundation and tableau sequences can wrap (e.g., King to Ace, Ace to King), maintaining suit or color alternation as required.
• Playable Cards: Only face-up cards are playable; facedown cards in the reserve and stock become available as they are revealed during play.

Note: Canfield Solitaire is recognized for its high difficulty and low probability of winning, with only a small percentage of games being winnable.