Castle Mount

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Castle Mount Solitaire is to move all cards to the twelve foundation piles, building each foundation up by suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Castle Mount Solitaire uses three standard 52-card decks (156 cards total).
• Foundations: There are twelve foundation piles. Each foundation starts with an Ace (one per suit for each deck) placed in the center of the layout.
• Tableau: Surrounding the foundations are twelve tableau piles. Each tableau pile is dealt twelve cards face up, fanned so all cards are visible and accessible.
• Card Orientation: All cards are dealt face up at the start of the game; there are no hidden or face-down cards in this variant.
• Stock/Reserve: There is no stock or reserve in Castle Mount Solitaire; all cards are in play from the beginning.

Castle Mount Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:

• Each foundation is built up by suit from Ace to King (e.g., Ace♠, 2♠, 3♠, …, King♠).

• Only cards of the same suit and one rank higher than the current top card can be placed on a foundation (e.g., 3♦ on 2♦).

• Tableau:

• Each tableau pile builds down by rank, regardless of suit (e.g., 7♠ on 8♣, 6♦ on 7♠).

• Any card may be moved to an empty tableau pile.

• Sequences of cards built down by the same suit may be moved together as a group from one tableau pile to another.

• Card Movement:

• Only the top card of each tableau pile, or a valid sequence, may be moved at any time.

• No cards can be moved directly from one foundation to another or back to the tableau.

Gameplay:

• Turn Structure:

• On each turn, the player may move any available card or valid sequence from one tableau pile to another, following the building rules.

• The player may also move any eligible card to a foundation pile if it continues the sequence by suit and rank.

• When a tableau pile becomes empty, any card or valid sequence may be moved into the space.

• Introducing New Cards:

• There is no stock; all cards are available and visible from the start. New cards are introduced into play only as cards above them are moved, exposing lower cards in each tableau pile.

• No Moves Available:

• If the player cannot make any further legal moves (i.e., no cards can be moved to a foundation or between tableau piles), the game ends in a loss.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning:

• The game is won when all 156 cards are moved to the twelve foundation piles, each built up in suit from Ace to King.

• Losing:

• The game is lost (unwinnable) if no legal moves remain and not all cards have been placed on the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Empty Tableau Piles:

• Any card or valid sequence may be moved into an empty tableau pile. There are no restrictions on which card or sequence can fill an empty space.

• Moving Sequences:

• Only sequences built down by the same suit may be moved together as a group. Sequences built down by mixed suits must be moved one card at a time.

• No Stock or Redeal:

• There is no stock, reserve, or redeal. All cards are in play and visible from the start of the game.

• Skill and Odds:

• The game is considered mostly skill-based, with an estimated win rate of about 30%.

Definitions of Key Terms:

• Foundation: A pile where cards are built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Tableau: The main play area where cards are built down by rank, regardless of suit.
• Sequence: A group of cards in descending order by rank, built by the same suit for the purpose of group movement.

This ruleset reflects the official gameplay mechanics for Castle Mount Solitaire as described by leading solitaire authorities and rulebooks.