Castle's End

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Castle's End Solitaire is to build four foundation piles, each starting with a player-chosen rank, and then build each foundation up in suit by ascending rank, wrapping from King to Ace as needed, until all cards have been moved to the foundations.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Standard 52-card deck is used.
• Tableau: Ten tableau piles are created. The first two tableau piles are each dealt six cards, and the remaining eight piles are each dealt five cards. All cards in the tableau are dealt face up.
• Foundations: Four foundation piles are reserved above or beside the tableau. These will each be started by a card of the same rank, chosen by the player from any available card at the start of the game.
• Reserve: No additional reserve or stock piles are used in the classic Castle's End Solitaire variant.
• Face Orientation: All tableau cards are dealt face up. Foundation cards are also face up as they are added.

Key Play Areas:

• Tableau: The main area with ten piles where most card manipulation occurs.
• Foundations: Four piles to which cards are built up in suit, starting from the chosen rank.

Castle's End Solitaire Rules:

• Card Availability: Only the top card of each tableau pile is available for play at any time.
• Foundation Building: At the start, the player selects any available card to begin the first foundation pile. The remaining three foundation piles must also begin with cards of the same rank (e.g., if the first foundation is started with a 7, all foundations must start with 7s).
• Building Foundations: Foundations are built up in suit, ascending in rank, and wrapping from King to Ace if necessary, until all 13 cards of the suit are present.
• Tableau Building: Cards in the tableau may be moved onto another tableau pile if they are of the same suit and exactly one rank higher or lower than the top card of the destination pile (no wrapping between Ace and King in the tableau).
• Single Card Movement: Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences cannot be moved as a unit.
• Empty Tableau Spaces: When a tableau pile is emptied, it may be filled with any available card from the top of another tableau pile.
• No Stock or Redeal: There is no stock pile and no redeal. All cards are in play from the initial deal.

Gameplay:

1. Foundation Initialization: The player selects any available card to move to the first foundation pile; the other three foundations must begin with cards of the same rank.
2. Building Foundations: Move cards to the foundations in ascending order by suit, wrapping from King to Ace as needed.
3. Tableau Moves: Move a top card from one tableau pile to another if it is the same suit and one rank higher or lower than the destination pile’s top card.
4. Filling Spaces: If a tableau pile becomes empty, fill it with any available tableau card.
5. Continue Play: Repeat the above steps, moving cards to foundations or within the tableau as allowed, until no more legal moves are possible.
6. No New Cards: There is no stock or reserve; all cards are dealt at the start and must be played from the tableau.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the four foundation piles, each built up in suit from the chosen starting rank and wrapping as necessary.
• Losing: The game is lost (unwinnable) if no legal moves remain and not all cards have been moved to the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Foundation Start: All four foundations must begin with the same rank, chosen by the player at the start of the game.
• Filling Tableau Spaces: Any available top card from another tableau pile may fill an empty tableau space; there are no restrictions based on rank or suit for this action.
• No Sequence Moves: Only single cards may be moved at a time, even if a sequence is in order.
• No Wrapping in Tableau: Building in the tableau does not wrap between King and Ace; only consecutive ranks in the same suit are allowed.
• No Stock/Reserve: There is no stock pile or redeal; all cards are in play from the start.

Definitions:

• Foundation: A pile where cards are built up in suit and ascending order, starting from a chosen rank.
• Tableau: The main play area with ten piles where cards are manipulated according to the building rules.

This guide is based on the most authoritative and recent sources available, specifically official rule documentation and leading solitaire reference sites.