Carthage

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Carthage Solitaire is to move all 104 cards (using two standard 52-card decks) to the eight foundation piles by building each foundation up in sequence by suit, starting with Ace and ending with King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Two standard 52-card decks (total 104 cards).
• Play Areas:
• Foundations: Eight piles, initially empty. These are the destination piles for building up each suit from Ace to King.
• Tableau: Eight piles, each starts with one card dealt face-up.
• Reserves: Six piles, each starts with six cards dealt face-up. Each reserve pile may only hold one card at a time.
• Stock: The remaining cards form the stock pile, which is used to refill reserves.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: All cards in tableau and reserves are dealt face-up. The stock is face-down until cards are dealt to reserves.

Carthage Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:
• Build up by suit, starting with Ace and ending with King (e.g., Ace♠, 2♠, 3♠ … King♠).
• Only an Ace can be placed on an empty foundation.
• Tableau:
• Build down by suit (e.g., 10♠ on Jack♠).
• Only the top card of each tableau pile is movable.
• Any single card may be moved to an empty tableau pile.
• Reserves:
• No building rules by rank or suit; any card may be placed on an empty reserve.
• Only the top card of each reserve pile is movable.
• Each reserve pile may hold only one card at a time.
• Stock:
• When activated, deals two cards face-up to each reserve pile.
• Only one pass through the stock is allowed; no redeals.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, the player may:
• Move cards between tableau, reserves, and foundations according to building rules.
• Move a single card to an empty tableau or reserve pile.
• Move cards from reserves or tableau to foundations if the sequence allows.
• When the stock is tapped, deal two cards face-up to each reserve pile (if the reserve is empty).
• Only the top card from each tableau or reserve pile may be moved at any time.
• Play continues until all possible moves are made.
• If no legal moves remain and the stock has been exhausted, the game ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Win: The player wins if all 104 cards are moved to the eight foundation piles, each built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Lose: The game is lost if the player cannot make any further legal moves and the stock is exhausted, leaving cards not moved to the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Spaces:
• Empty foundation piles may only be filled with an Ace.
• Empty tableau piles may be filled with any single card.
• Empty reserve piles may be filled with any single card, but only one card may occupy a reserve at a time.
• Stock Restrictions:
• Only one pass through the stock is permitted; once depleted, no redeals are allowed.
• Movement Restrictions:
• Only the top card of each tableau or reserve pile is available for movement at any time.
• Cards in reserves do not follow suit or rank restrictions for placement, but may only hold one card at a time.

Definitions:

• Foundation: Destination piles built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Tableau: Main play area built down by suit, each pile starts with one card.
• Reserve: Holding area for single cards, no building rules, refilled from stock.
• Stock: Remaining undealt cards, used to refill reserves.

This guide provides a precise, step-by-step framework for understanding and playing Carthage Solitaire according to its unique ruleset.