Demons and Thieves

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Demons and Thieves Solitaire is to move all 104 cards (using two standard 52-card decks) to the eight foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from the initial base rank (determined by the first card dealt to the foundations), wrapping from King to Ace as necessary.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Two standard 52-card decks (total 104 cards).
• Foundations: Eight piles. The first foundation pile is started with a randomly dealt card (e.g., Four of Hearts); the other seven foundations will be started with the remaining cards of the same rank as they become available. All foundation cards are dealt face-up.
• Reserve: One reserve pile containing thirteen cards, with only the top card face-up and the rest face-down. The top card is always available for play.
• Left Tableau (Canfield-style): Four piles, each dealt one card face-up. These build down by alternating color.
• Right Tableau (Forty Thieves-style): Five piles, each dealt eight cards face-up.
• Stock: The remaining cards after setup form the stock pile, which is dealt one card at a time to a waste pile. The top card of the waste is available for play.
• Waste: Receives cards from the stock; only the top card is playable.

Demons and Thieves Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:

• Build up by suit, starting from the base rank (e.g., if the base is Four, build: 4, 5, 6, …, King, Ace, 2, 3).

• Wrap-around is permitted: Kings can be followed by Aces.

• Only cards of the same suit and the next higher rank may be placed.

• Empty foundation spaces can only be filled with cards of the base rank.

• Cards cannot be removed from the foundations once placed.

• Left Tableau (Canfield):

• Build down by alternating color (e.g., red on black, black on red).

• Sequences built down by alternating color may be moved together as a group.

• Any card or valid sequence can fill an empty left tableau pile.

• Right Tableau (Forty Thieves):

• Build down by same suit (e.g., 9♠ on 10♠).

• Sequences built down by suit may be moved together as a group.

• Any card or valid sequence can fill an empty right tableau pile.

• Reserve:

• Only the top card is available for play.

• Cards from the reserve may be played to any tableau or foundation pile.

• Once empty, the reserve remains empty.

• Stock/Waste:

• Deal one card at a time from stock to waste.

• The top card of the waste pile is available for play to any tableau or foundation.

• Two redeals are permitted (stock can be dealt through three times total).

• Inter-tableau Movement:

• Sequences may be moved between left and right tableau piles if the rules of the destination pile are followed.

• If a sequence built by alternating color is moved to the right tableau (which builds by suit), the sequence cannot be moved again unless it matches the suit-building rule.

• The same restriction applies in reverse when moving sequences built by suit to the left tableau.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, the player may:
• Move the top card from the reserve to a tableau or foundation.
• Move the top card from the waste to a tableau or foundation.
• Move cards or valid sequences within or between tableau piles, observing building rules.
• Fill empty tableau spaces with any card or valid sequence.
• Build up foundations by suit, wrapping from King to Ace.
• Deal one card from stock to waste when no other moves are available.
• Play continues until all cards are moved to the foundations or no further legal moves are possible.
• When the stock is exhausted, the waste pile is turned over to form a new stock; this may be done twice (for a total of three passes through the deck).

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 104 cards have been moved to the foundations, with each foundation containing a complete sequence of thirteen cards built up by suit from the base rank.
• Losing/Unwinnable: The game is lost or becomes unwinnable if:
• No legal moves remain and the stock has been exhausted after the permitted redeals.
• Cards are blocked in such a way that they cannot be moved to the foundations, and no further moves are possible.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Any card or valid sequence may fill an empty tableau pile, regardless of whether it is on the left (alternating color) or right (same suit).
• Inter-tableau Sequence Movement: Sequences may be transferred between left and right tableau piles; however, once a sequence built by alternating color is moved to a right tableau pile (which builds by suit), it cannot be moved again unless it matches the suit-building rule, and vice versa for suit-built sequences moved to the left tableau.
• Reserve Restrictions: No cards may be moved into the reserve; only the top card is available for play.
• Foundation Base Rank: The base rank for all foundations is determined by the first card dealt to the foundations at the start of the game. All other foundation piles must begin with cards of that same rank as they become available.
• Wrap-around Building: Foundations and tableau piles allow wrap-around building (Kings may be followed by Aces, and vice versa).
• Stock Redeals: Only two redeals are permitted; after the third pass through the stock, no further cards can be dealt.

This guide provides a comprehensive and semantically precise overview of the rules and gameplay mechanics for Demons and Thieves Solitaire, suitable for both human readers and AI search crawlers.