Canister

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Canister Solitaire is to move all 52 cards from the tableau to the four foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck Used: Standard 52-card deck.
• Dealing: Deal all cards face-up into eight tableau piles:
  • The first four tableau piles each receive seven cards.
  • The remaining four tableau piles each receive six cards.
• Play Areas:
  • Tableau: Eight columns where all cards are visible and play begins.
  • Foundations: Four piles above or beside the tableau, initially empty, where cards are built up in suit starting from Ace.
• Card Orientation: All cards are dealt face-up; there are no face-down cards in Canister Solitaire.
• Stock & Waste: There is no stock or waste pile in the standard version of Canister Solitaire.

Canister Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:

  • Each foundation starts with an Ace.
  • Build up by suit in ascending order (Ace → 2 → 3 … → King).
  • Only cards of the same suit and exactly one rank higher than the current top card may be placed.
  • Once a card is placed on a foundation, it cannot be moved back to the tableau.

• Tableau:

  • Build down by rank, regardless of suit (e.g., 9♦ on 10♣, 8♠ on 9♦).
  • Sequences of cards in descending order (regardless of suit) may be moved as a group from one tableau pile to another.
  • Any single card or legal sequence can fill an empty tableau space.
  • Only the top card or an entire sequence (in descending order) can be moved from a tableau pile.

Gameplay:

• Turn Sequence:
  • Move available Aces to empty foundation piles as soon as possible.
  • Move cards from the tableau to the foundations in ascending suit order when legal.
  • Move cards or sequences between tableau piles to uncover and free up cards needed for the foundations.
  • Fill any empty tableau pile with any available card or legal sequence.
• No Stock/Waste: There are no new cards introduced during play; all cards are visible and available from the start.
• When Stuck: If no legal moves remain (no cards can be moved to the foundations or between tableau piles), the game ends in a loss.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 52 cards are successfully moved to the four foundation piles, each built up in suit from Ace to King.
• Losing: The game is lost (unwinnable) if there are no legal moves left and not all cards are in the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Spaces: Any card or legal descending sequence may be placed into an empty tableau pile. There is no restriction (such as "only Kings") on what can fill an empty space in the standard version.
• Moving Sequences: Sequences of cards in strict descending order (regardless of suit) can be moved as a group between tableau piles.
• No Stock or Redeal: All cards are dealt at the start; there is no stock to draw from and no redeal.
• Variant Rules: Some historical or variant rules restrict filling empty spaces to Kings only, or allow only single-card moves and/or enforce building down by alternate color. These are not standard for Canister Solitaire but may appear in related variants such as "British Canister".

Note: The above rules reflect the most widely accepted and modern implementation of Canister Solitaire, as supported by multiple authoritative sources. Variations exist, but unless specified otherwise, the rules above should be used for standard play.