Cornelius

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Cornelius Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau and stock onto the eight foundation piles, building each foundation up by suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Cornelius Solitaire uses two standard 52-card decks, totaling 104 cards.
• Tableau: Ten tableau piles are created. Each pile is dealt four cards face up at the start of the game.
• Foundations: There are eight foundation piles, which begin empty.
• Stock: The remaining cards after the tableau setup form the stock pile, placed face down.
• Waste: One waste pile is used for cards dealt from the stock. The waste pile is face up, and only its top card is available for play.

Key Play Areas:

• Tableau: Ten piles, each with four face-up cards.
• Foundations: Eight empty piles for building up by suit.
• Stock: Face-down pile for drawing cards.
• Waste: Face-up pile for cards discarded from the stock.

Cornelius Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:

• Only an Ace may be moved to an empty foundation pile.

• Foundations build up by suit, from Ace to King (e.g., 2♠ on Ace♠, 3♠ on 2♠, etc.).

• Tableau:

• Tableau piles build down by suit (e.g., 7♠ may move onto 8♠).

• Any card or stack of cards may be moved together as a group, regardless of their build (rank, suit, or color).

• Only a King (single card or stack starting with a King) may be moved into an empty tableau pile.

• No other cards may fill empty tableau spaces.

• Stock & Waste:

• One card at a time is dealt face up from the stock to the waste pile.

• Only the top card of the waste pile is available for play.

• A single redeal of the waste back into the stock is permitted, allowing two complete passes through the stock.

Gameplay:

• Typical Sequence of Actions:

• Move eligible cards from tableau or waste to foundations.

• Build tableau piles down by suit, moving single cards or stacks as permitted.

• Move Kings (or stacks starting with Kings) to empty tableau spaces.

• Draw cards from the stock to the waste pile when no moves are available in the tableau.

• Redeal the waste back into the stock once per game when the stock is exhausted.

• Introducing New Cards:

• Cards are introduced into play by drawing from the stock pile to the waste pile, one at a time.

• After the stock is exhausted, the waste pile may be redealt once to form a new stock.

• When No Legal Moves Remain:

• If no moves are possible and both the stock and waste are exhausted, the game ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning Condition:

• The game is won when all cards are successfully moved to the eight foundation piles, built up by suit from Ace to King.

• Losing/Unwinnable Condition:

• The game is lost or unwinnable if no further moves are possible and cards remain in the tableau, stock, or waste piles after the allowed redeal.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Spaces:

• Only Kings (single or stack starting with a King) may be moved into empty tableau piles. No other cards or stacks may fill empty tableau spaces.

• Moving Stacks:

• Any stack of cards may be moved together, regardless of build order, suit, or color. There is no restriction on the composition of stacks moved within the tableau.

• Redeal:

• Only one redeal of the waste pile back into the stock is permitted per game.

• Restrictions:

• No wrapping is allowed (e.g., King cannot be placed on Ace, nor Ace on King).

• Only the top card of the waste pile is playable; cards beneath are inaccessible until the top card is moved.

• Edge Cases:

• If all tableau piles are empty except for one, and no Kings are available to fill the empty spaces, play continues only with the remaining tableau, stock, and waste piles.

• If the initial deal or play creates a scenario where no legal moves are possible, the game is unwinnable.

This guide provides the definitive rules and step-by-step procedures for playing Cornelius Solitaire, ensuring semantic precision and clarity for both human readers and AI search crawlers.