Good Measure

Game Objective:

The primary goal of Good Measure Solitaire is to move all 52 cards from the tableau to the four foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Tableau: Deal ten tableau piles with five cards each, all dealt face-up and fanned so every card is visible.
  • Special King Rule: If a King appears during the deal, immediately move it to the bottom of its tableau pile before continuing to deal the next card. This ensures no cards are trapped under a King at the start.
• Foundations: Four foundation piles are used.
  • Place the first two Aces encountered during the deal directly onto two of the four foundations. The other two foundations start empty.
• No Stock or Reserve: There is no stock pile or reserve area in this variant.
• All cards are face-up in the tableau; there are no face-down cards.

Key Play Areas:

• Tableau: 10 columns of 5 face-up cards each.
• Foundations: 4 piles, two starting with Aces.

Good Measure Solitaire Rules:

• Card Movement:
  • Only the top card of each tableau pile is available for play.
  • You may move a single card at a time; sequences cannot be moved as a unit.
• Building on Tableau:
  • Cards are built down in rank (e.g., 5 on 6), regardless of suit or color.
  • No building by color or suit is required on the tableau; only rank matters.
• Building on Foundations:
  • Foundations are built up in suit from Ace to King (e.g., 2♠ on Ace♠, 3♠ on 2♠, etc.).
  • Only the correct next higher card in the same suit may be played to a foundation.
• Empty Tableau Piles:
  • Empty tableau piles are never filled; once a pile is empty, it remains empty for the rest of the game.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, you may:
  • Move the top card of any tableau pile to a foundation if it fits the foundation's build sequence.
  • Move the top card of one tableau pile onto another tableau pile if it is one rank lower (regardless of suit or color).
• No redeal: There is no stock pile or redeal mechanism in Good Measure Solitaire.
• No filling empty piles: Once a tableau pile is empty, it cannot be refilled.
• Play continues until either all cards are moved to the foundations or no further moves are possible.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: You win by successfully moving all 52 cards to the four foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from Ace to King.
• Losing: The game is lost (or unwinnable) if no further legal moves are possible and not all cards have been moved to the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Dealing Kings: During the initial deal, any King encountered is placed at the bottom of its tableau pile. This prevents Kings from blocking lower cards at the start and increases the solvability of the game.
• Filling Foundations: The first two Aces encountered are placed directly onto two foundation piles. The remaining two foundations start empty and can be started by moving the other two Aces to them when they become available.
• Empty Tableau Piles: Once a tableau pile is emptied, it remains empty and cannot be filled for the remainder of the game.
• Single Card Moves: Only one card may be moved at a time; you cannot move sequences of cards as a group.
• No Stock or Redeal: There is no stock pile, reserve pile, or redeal. All cards are visible and in play from the start.

Strategic Note: Because empty tableau piles cannot be filled, it is generally advised not to empty a pile unless its last card can immediately be moved to a foundation.

This ruleset reflects the unique structure and constraints of Good Measure Solitaire, distinguishing it from similar games such as Baker's Dozen by its ten tableau columns, the King-placement rule, and the inability to fill empty tableau piles.