Father

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Father Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau and wastepile onto the foundation piles, building each foundation by suit, either upward from Ace to King or downward from King to Ace, until all cards are placed in the foundations.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Foundations: Four spaces at the top are reserved for the Ace foundations (built up by suit), and four for the King foundations (built down by suit).
• Tableau: Deal twelve tableau piles, each with one card, all face up and splayed downward so all are visible.
• Stock: The remaining 40 cards form the stock pile, placed face down.
• Wastepile: The wastepile is created as cards are drawn from the stock.

Key Play Areas:

• Foundations: Where cards are built up from Ace or down from King, by suit.
• Tableau: Twelve piles, each starting with a single face-up card.
• Stock: The draw pile for unused cards.
• Wastepile: Receives cards drawn from the stock that cannot be played immediately.

Father Solitaire Rules:

• Card Movement:

• Only the top card of each tableau pile and the top card of the wastepile are available for play.

• Cards can be moved from the tableau or wastepile to the foundations if they fit the building sequence.

• Cards from the wastepile may be added to the tableau, regardless of suit or value.

• Building Sequences:

• Foundations:

  • Four are built up by suit from Ace to King.
  • Four are built down by suit from King to Ace.

• Tableau: Building within the tableau is not permitted; cards are only moved to the foundations or to fill tableau spaces.

• Moving Cards:

• Only one card may be moved at a time.

• When a tableau pile becomes empty, it may be filled with any card from the tableau or the wastepile.

Gameplay:

1. Play any available moves: Move cards from the tableau or wastepile to the foundations if they follow the suit and direction (up for Ace foundations, down for King foundations).
2. Fill tableau spaces: If a tableau pile is empty, fill it with any available card from the tableau or the wastepile.
3. Draw from the stock: When no more moves are available, draw one card at a time from the stock to the wastepile. The top card of the wastepile is available for play.
4. Repeat: Continue making moves and drawing from the stock as needed.
5. Stock recycling: Once the stock is exhausted, the wastepile may be turned over to form a new stock only once per game.

If no legal moves remain and the stock has been recycled once, gameplay ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 52 cards are built onto the foundations, with each foundation completed in its respective direction (up or down by suit).
• Losing: The game is lost if no further legal moves are possible after the stock and wastepile have both been exhausted and not all cards are on the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Any card may fill an empty tableau pile, whether from the tableau or the top of the wastepile.
• Stock and Wastepile Recycling: The wastepile can be recycled into the stock only once per game.
• Multiple Foundation Options: For each suit, cards can be placed on either the Ace or King foundation as appropriate, allowing flexibility in building up or down.
• No Tableau Building: Unlike some solitaire variants, you cannot build sequences within the tableau itself; cards are only moved to the foundations or to fill empty tableau spaces.

If ambiguity arises regarding the direction of building or foundation placement, always follow the suit and the specified direction (up from Ace or down from King) for each foundation.