Carlton

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Carlton Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau and stock to the eight foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Carlton Solitaire uses two standard 52-card decks (104 cards in total).
• Foundations: There are eight foundation piles. These start empty.
• Tableau: There are eight tableau piles. Cards are dealt as follows:
• The first tableau pile receives one card (face up).
• The second pile receives two cards (only the top card face up, the rest face down).
• This continues, with each subsequent pile receiving one more card than the last, up to the eighth pile which gets eight cards (top card face up, the rest face down).
• Stock: The remaining cards after dealing to the tableau form the stock pile, placed face down.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: Only the top card of each tableau pile is face up; all other tableau cards are face down. All foundation piles are empty and visible. The stock is face down.

Key Play Areas:

• Foundations: Eight piles, to be built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Tableau: Eight columns, built down by alternating color.
• Stock: Supplies additional cards to the tableau.

Carlton Solitaire Rules:

Card Movements and Interactions:

• Foundations:
• Only Aces may be moved to empty foundation piles.
• Foundations are built up by suit (e.g., Ace♠, 2♠, 3♠, …, King♠).
• Once a card is placed on a foundation, it cannot be moved back to the tableau.
• Tableau:
• Build down by alternating color (e.g., a red card on a black card, and vice versa).
• Only the top face-up card of each tableau pile is available for play.
• Sequences of cards built down in alternating color may be moved together as a unit.
• Any card or valid sequence can fill an empty tableau pile.
• Stock:
• When activated, the stock deals one card face up onto each tableau pile.
• There are no redeals; once the stock is exhausted, no more cards can be dealt.

Building Sequences:

• To Foundations: Build up by suit from Ace to King (e.g., 2♥ on Ace♥, 3♥ on 2♥).
• To Tableau: Build down by alternating color (e.g., 8♣ on 9♥ or 9♦).

Moving Cards:

• Single cards or valid sequences (descending, alternating color) may be moved between tableau piles.
• Any card or sequence may be moved to an empty tableau pile.

Gameplay:

1. Play available moves: Move cards and sequences within the tableau, and move cards to the foundations when possible.
2. Expose face-down cards: When a face-up card is moved from a tableau pile, immediately turn the next card in that pile face up.
3. Deal from the stock: When no more moves are possible or desired, deal one card from the stock onto each tableau pile (including empty piles).
4. Repeat: Continue making moves and dealing from the stock until the stock is depleted.
5. Game end: When the stock is empty and no more valid moves remain, the game ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Win: The game is won when all 104 cards have been moved to the eight foundations, each built up in suit from Ace to King.
• Lose: The game is lost (unwinnable) if, after the stock is exhausted, no further moves are possible and not all cards are in the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Any card or valid sequence (descending, alternating color) may be placed in an empty tableau pile at any time.
• Stock Dealing: When dealing from the stock, one card is dealt to each tableau pile simultaneously, regardless of whether the pile is empty or occupied.
• No Redeals: Once the stock is exhausted, no redeals are permitted.
• Face-Down Cards: When the top face-up card is moved from a tableau pile, immediately turn the next card in that pile face up.
• Sequence Movement: Only properly sequenced groups (descending, alternating color) may be moved as a unit; otherwise, only single cards may be moved.
• Foundations Are Final: Once a card is placed on a foundation, it cannot be moved back to the tableau.

This guide provides a precise, rule-focused reference for playing Carlton Solitaire as described in authoritative sources.