Castle of Indolence

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Castle of Indolence 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 from Ace to King, strictly by suit.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Two standard decks (104 cards).
• Play Areas:
• Foundations: Eight piles, all initially empty.
• Tableau: Eight piles, each dealt 13 cards face up (totaling 104 cards).
• Reserve: Four piles, each with 13 cards; the top card of each reserve pile is face up, the remaining 12 are face down.
• Face-up/Face-down Cards:
• All tableau cards are dealt face up.
• In each reserve pile, only the top card is face up; the rest are face down.
• Foundations start empty.

Castle of Indolence Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:
• Build up by suit, starting with Ace and ending with King (e.g., 2♠ on Ace♠, 3♠ on 2♠, etc.).
• Only Aces can be placed on empty foundation piles.
• Cards cannot be removed from the foundation once placed.
• Tableau:
• Build down regardless of suit (e.g., any 7 may be placed on any 8).
• Only the top card of each tableau pile is available for play.
• Any single card may be moved to an empty tableau pile.
• Reserve:
• Only the top face-up card of each reserve pile is available for play.
• Reserve cards can be played to the tableau or foundation.
• Once a reserve pile is emptied, it remains empty; no cards can be moved into reserves.
• Card Movement:
• Only single cards may be moved at a time.
• Cards can be moved from tableau or reserve to foundations or tableau piles, following building rules.
• Multiple empty tableau piles may allow for the sequential movement of cards, effectively increasing the number of cards that can be repositioned one at a time.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, the player may:
• Move a top card from the tableau or reserve to a foundation, if it follows the ascending suit sequence.
• Move a top card from the tableau or reserve to another tableau pile, if it is one rank lower (regardless of suit).
• Move a top card from the reserve to the tableau or foundation.
• Fill empty tableau piles with any single card.
• No cards may be moved back from the foundation to any other area.
• No cards may be moved into reserve piles.
• Play continues until all cards are moved to the foundations or no further legal moves are possible.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Win: The game is won when all eight foundation piles contain complete sequences from Ace to King, totaling all 104 cards.
• Lose/Unwinnable: The game is lost or unwinnable if no legal moves remain and not all cards have been moved to the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Any single card may be moved to fill an empty tableau pile.
• Empty Reserve Piles: Once a reserve pile is emptied, it cannot be refilled and remains empty for the rest of the game.
• Multiple Empty Tableau Piles: Each empty tableau pile increases the number of cards that can be moved sequentially, as multiple single-card moves may be chained together.
• Sequence Movement: Only single cards are moved per action; however, with multiple empty tableau piles, sequences can be repositioned by moving cards one at a time.
• No Stock/Waste: There is no stock or waste pile in this variant; all cards are dealt at the start.
• No redeals: Once all cards are dealt, there are no redeals; play is limited to the cards in tableau and reserve.

Key Terms Defined:

• Foundation: A pile where cards are built up in ascending order by suit, starting with Ace and ending with King.
• Tableau: The main play area where cards are built down in rank, regardless of suit.
• Reserve: Auxiliary piles with limited access, only the top card is available for play.

This guide provides a precise and comprehensive overview of the unique ruleset and gameplay mechanics for Castle of Indolence Solitaire.