How They Run

Game Objective:

The primary goal in How They Run Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau and stock to the four foundation piles, building each foundation in ascending order by suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Uses a standard 52-card deck.
• Tableau: Seven piles arranged horizontally.
  • Pile 1: 1 card (face up).
  • Pile 2: 2 cards (top card face up, bottom card face down).
  • Pile 3: 3 cards (top card face up, others face down).
  • Continue this pattern up to Pile 7, which has 7 cards (top card face up, rest face down).
• Stock: The remaining 24 cards are placed face down in the stock pile above the tableau.
• Waste: Cards drawn from the stock that cannot be played immediately are placed face up in the waste pile.
• Foundations: Four empty piles designated for each suit, to be built from Ace to King.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: Only the top card of each tableau pile is face up; all other tableau cards are face down until uncovered.

How They Run Solitaire Rules:

• Card Movement Principles:
  • Only face-up cards are eligible for movement.
  • Cards can be moved between tableau piles, from tableau to foundation, or from waste/stock to tableau/foundation.
• Tableau Building:
  • Build tableau piles in descending order (King down to Ace).
  • Cards must be placed in alternating colors (red on black, black on red).
  • Sequences of correctly ordered cards can be moved as a unit between tableau piles.
• Foundation Building:
  • Build each foundation pile by suit in ascending order (Ace, 2, 3, …, King).
  • Only Aces can start a foundation pile.
• Moving Cards:
  • Only Kings (or sequences starting with a King) may be moved to empty tableau spaces.
  • Cards from the waste pile or stock may be played to tableau or foundation if legal.
  • Only the top card of the waste pile is available for play.
  • After a face-up card is moved, immediately turn the next card in the tableau pile face up.

Gameplay:

• Turn Sequence:
  • Move eligible face-up cards within the tableau or to the foundations.
  • Draw cards from the stock one at a time (or three at a time for a harder variant), placing unplayable cards face up in the waste pile.
  • Play the top card of the waste pile to the tableau or foundation if possible.
  • Continue moving cards and drawing from the stock until no further moves are possible.
• Introducing New Cards:
  • When a face-down card is uncovered in the tableau, turn it face up and it becomes eligible for play.
  • When the stock is exhausted, turn the waste pile over (without shuffling) to form a new stock pile.
• No Legal Moves:
  • If no moves are possible and the stock is exhausted, the game ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: Successfully move all 52 cards to the foundation piles, building each from Ace to King by suit.
• Losing/Unwinnable: The game is lost or becomes unwinnable if no legal moves remain and the stock cannot be recycled, leaving cards stranded in the tableau or waste.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Empty Tableau Spaces: Only a King (or a sequence starting with a King) may fill an empty tableau pile.
• Stock Recycling: When the stock pile is depleted, turn the waste pile face down to become the new stock pile; do not shuffle.
• Sequence Movement: Multiple cards forming a valid descending, alternating-color sequence may be moved together between tableau piles.
• Undo/Restart: Some digital variants allow undoing moves or restarting the game, but this is not standard in physical play.
• Foundations: Cards in the foundation cannot be moved back to the tableau in standard rules; some variants allow this, but it is not typical for How They Run Solitaire.

Note: The above guide synthesizes the standard rules for the classic Klondike Solitaire, which is the closest documented ruleset for "How They Run Solitaire" based on available sources. If there are unique rules specific to "How They Run Solitaire" beyond the classic Klondike structure, they are not documented in the provided search results.