Four Seasons

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Four Seasons Solitaire is to move all 52 cards from the deck onto the four foundation piles, building each foundation up in ascending order by suit, starting from the rank of the initial foundation card.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Foundations: There are four foundation piles, one at each corner of the play area. The first foundation pile is started by dealing one card face up to the upper-left corner; this card determines the starting rank for all foundations. As the other three cards of the same rank appear during play, they are placed face up in the remaining three corners as the bases of the other foundation piles.
• Tableau (Cross): Deal five cards face up in a cross formation (three cards in a horizontal row, with one card above and one below the center card). These are the tableau piles.
• Stock: The remaining cards form the stock pile, placed face down.
• Wastepile: As cards are drawn from the stock and cannot be played immediately, they are placed face up in a wastepile.
• Face-up/Face-down: All tableau and foundation cards are face up. The stock is face down; the wastepile is face up.

Play Areas Defined:

• Foundations: Four corner piles, built up by suit.
• Tableau: Five cross-shaped piles, built down regardless of suit.
• Stock: Draw pile, face down.
• Wastepile: Discard pile, face up.

Four Seasons Solitaire Rules:

• Building on Foundations: Build up in ascending order by suit, starting from the initial foundation card’s rank. Building is circular (after King comes Ace, unless Ace is the foundation base).
• Building on Tableau: Build down in descending rank, regardless of suit. Building is also circular (Ace can be placed on King and vice versa, unless Ace is the foundation base).
• Card Movement:
• Only the top card of each tableau pile and the top card of the wastepile are available for play.
• Only one card may be moved at a time.
• Cards may be moved from the tableau or wastepile to either another tableau pile (following descending order) or to a foundation (following ascending order by suit).
• Filling Spaces: Any available card (from tableau, wastepile, or stock) may fill an empty tableau pile immediately.

Gameplay:

• Turn Sequence:

1. Move Available Cards: Move any eligible cards from the tableau or wastepile to the foundations or to other tableau piles, following the building rules.
2. Fill Spaces: Immediately fill any empty tableau pile with any available card (from tableau, wastepile, or stock if necessary).
3. Draw from Stock: If no moves are possible, deal one card from the stock to the wastepile. The top card of the wastepile becomes available for play.
4. Continue Play: Repeat the process until all cards are moved to the foundations or no further moves are possible.

• Introducing New Cards: Cards are introduced into play by dealing from the stock to the wastepile, from which they may be played to the tableau or foundations.
• No Redeal: Once the stock is exhausted, no redeal is permitted.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the four foundation piles, each built up in suit from the starting rank to a complete sequence of 13 cards.
• Losing/Unwinnable: The game is lost or unwinnable if, after the stock is depleted and all possible moves have been made, not all cards are in the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Tableau Spaces: Any available card (from the tableau, wastepile, or, if both are empty, the stock) may be used to fill an empty tableau pile immediately.
• Foundation Base Rank: All four foundation piles must start with the same rank as the initial foundation base card. For example, if the first foundation card is a 7, only other 7s may start the remaining foundations.
• Circular Building: Both tableau and foundation building are circular. For the tableau, King may be placed on Ace and Ace on King. For the foundations, after King comes Ace, unless Ace is the foundation base.
• No Multiple Card Moves: Only one card may be moved at a time, not sequences or stacks.
• No Redeal: Once the stock is exhausted, there is no reshuffling or redealing of the wastepile.
• Wastepile Play: The top card of the wastepile is always available for play to either the tableau or foundations.

Note: The game is also known as Corner Card or Vanishing Cross. The odds of winning are low, and the game is considered challenging due to the strict movement and no-redeal rules.