Colorado

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Colorado Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau and stock onto the eight foundation piles, building four foundations up in suit from Ace to King and four foundations down in suit from King to Ace.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use two standard 52-card decks (total 104 cards).
• Tableau (Reserve Piles): Deal 20 piles in two rows of ten, each with one face-up card. These piles are referred to as the tableau or reserve piles.
• Foundations: Eight foundation piles are arranged in a row above the tableau. The four leftmost foundations will be built up from Ace to King (one for each suit), and the four rightmost foundations will be built down from King to Ace (one for each suit).
• Stock: The remaining 84 cards form the stock pile, placed in a gap between the two sets of foundations.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: All tableau cards are dealt face-up. The stock pile is face-down; cards are drawn one at a time and played face-up.

Colorado Solitaire Rules:

• Card Movement:
• Only the top card of each tableau pile and the top card of the stock are available for play to the foundations.
• Cards from the stock may be played onto any tableau pile, regardless of rank or suit.
• Cards cannot be moved between tableau piles.
• Building Sequences:
• Foundations on the left are built up in suit, starting from Ace and ending with King (e.g., Ace, 2, 3, …, King).
• Foundations on the right are built down in suit, starting from King and ending with Ace (e.g., King, Queen, Jack, …, Ace).
• Tableau piles do not require any particular sequence or suit for stacking; any card can be placed on any tableau pile.
• Moving to Foundations:
• Only the top card of a tableau pile or the top card of the stock may be moved to a foundation, provided it fits the ascending or descending suit sequence required by that foundation.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, you may:
• Move any available tableau or stock card to a foundation, if it fits the sequence.
• If no foundation move is possible, draw the top card from the stock and place it on any tableau pile, regardless of rank or suit.
• After a card is moved from a tableau pile, immediately fill the empty space with the top card from the stock, until the stock is depleted.
• Continue play, always using the top card of each tableau pile and stock for possible moves to foundations.
• Cards placed on tableau piles are only available for play when they become the top card of their pile.
• There is no redeal; once the stock is exhausted, play continues only with the tableau and foundations.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Win: The game is won when all cards are moved to the eight foundation piles, with each built completely in suit (four from Ace to King, four from King to Ace).
• Loss: The game is lost or becomes unwinnable if no further legal moves can be made and cards remain in the tableau or stock that cannot be played to the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Whenever a tableau pile becomes empty, it must be filled immediately with the top card from the stock, if any remain.
• No Movement Between Tableau Piles: Cards cannot be moved directly from one tableau pile to another.
• No Redeal: Once the stock is depleted, there is no redeal; play continues only with available tableau and foundation moves.
• Stacking Flexibility: Cards from the stock can be placed on any tableau pile without restriction to rank or suit, but strategic placement is crucial to avoid blocking needed cards.
• Foundation Suit Matching: Each foundation must be built strictly in suit, either ascending (Ace to King) or descending (King to Ace), with no mixing of suits within a foundation.

Key Terms Defined:

• Tableau/Reserve Piles: The 20 piles dealt at the start, each holding one face-up card.
• Foundations: The eight piles where cards are built up or down in suit to achieve the game's objective.
• Stock: The pile of undealt cards, drawn one at a time and played face-up.
• Top Card: The uppermost card of any pile, available for play to foundations.