Cruel

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Cruel Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau to the four foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Standard 52-card deck is used.
• Foundations: Remove all four Aces from the deck and place them face up to start the four foundation piles.
• Tableau: Deal the remaining 48 cards face up into 12 tableau piles (also referred to as "fans"), each containing 4 cards.
• Card Orientation: All cards in the tableau are dealt face up and are fully visible.
• Play Areas Defined:
• Foundations: Four piles, one for each suit, built up from Ace to King.
• Tableau/Fans: Twelve piles of face-up cards, where cards are manipulated during play.
• Stock: There is no traditional stock or draw pile; all cards are always visible in the tableau.

Cruel Solitaire Rules:

• Building Foundations:
• Foundations are built up in suit (Ace, 2, 3, …, King of the same suit).
• Only the next higher card of the same suit may be placed on each foundation pile (e.g., 2♣ on Ace♣, 3♣ on 2♣, etc.).
• Building Tableau:
• Tableau piles are built down in suit (for example, 6♠ on 7♠).
• Only the top card of each tableau pile is available for play.
• Only one card may be moved at a time.
• Card Movement:
• Cards may be moved from the top of one tableau pile to another tableau pile if the move is down in suit (e.g., 7♦ to 8♦).
• Cards may be moved from the tableau to the foundations if the move is up in suit (e.g., 5♣ to 4♣ on the foundation).
• Empty Tableau Piles:
• Empty tableau piles must remain empty; no card may be moved to fill an empty tableau pile.

Gameplay:

• Player Actions:
• On each turn, the player may move any available top card from a tableau pile to either another tableau pile (if the move is down in suit) or to a foundation pile (if the move is up in suit).
• Only one card can be moved at a time.
• Redeal Mechanism:
• At any time, the player may choose to "redeal" the tableau if no more moves are available or for strategic reasons.
• Redeal Procedure: All tableau cards are collected in sequence (typically left to right, top to bottom, or as specified by the variant), without shuffling, and redealt into tableau piles of four cards each.
• The order of cards is preserved during the redeal; only the distribution among piles changes.
• Redeals are unlimited.
• No New Cards: There is no stock or reserve; no new cards are introduced during play.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning Condition:
• The game is won when all 52 cards are moved to the foundation piles, each built up in suit from Ace to King.
• Losing/Unwinnable Condition:
• The game is lost if no legal moves are available after a redeal (i.e., no cards can be moved from tableau to foundation or between tableau piles).
• If a redeal is performed without any cards having been moved since the previous redeal, the tableau will be identical, confirming the game is blocked and unwinnable.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Empty Tableau Piles:
• No card may be placed in an empty tableau pile; empty piles remain empty for the rest of the game.
• Redeal Specifics:
• The redeal does not shuffle or change the order of cards; it only redistributes them among the tableau piles.
• If no moves are made between redeals, the layout will not change, making further redeals pointless.
• Strategic Blockers:
• Be cautious of creating "blockers," especially in the first tableau pile. For example, if a King is placed on top of a lower card of the same suit in the first pile, the game may become unwinnable because only the top card is accessible and empty piles cannot be filled.
• Partial Piles After Redeal:
• If fewer than 48 cards remain (due to cards moved to the foundations), the last tableau pile after a redeal may contain fewer than four cards.
• Scoring (if applicable):
• Some digital implementations award 1 point for each card moved to the foundation, with a maximum possible score of 48 (excluding the four starting Aces).

Summary of Key Terms:

• Foundation: Pile where cards are built up in suit from Ace to King.
• Tableau/Fan: One of twelve piles where cards are built down in suit and manipulated during play.
• Redeal: The process of recollecting and redealing all tableau cards without shuffling, allowed an unlimited number of times.

This guide is based on official and widely accepted rule sets for Cruel Solitaire.