Linus

Game Objective:

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

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Linus Solitaire uses a standard 52-card deck.
• Tableau: Deal three cards face up to each of the first six tableau piles, and one card face up to the seventh tableau pile. This results in seven tableau piles, with the first six containing three cards each and the last containing one card.
• Foundations: Four foundation piles are placed above the tableau. All start empty.
• Stock: The remaining cards form the stock pile, placed in the upper left. The stock starts empty in Linus Solitaire; all cards are dealt to the tableau at the beginning.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: All cards in the tableau are dealt face up. There are no face-down cards in Linus Solitaire.

Key Play Areas:

• Tableau: The main play area with seven piles of cards, all face up.
• Foundations: Four piles, one for each suit, built up from Ace to King.
• Stock: Not used in play; all cards are dealt at the start.

Linus Solitaire Rules:

• Tableau Building: Cards in the tableau are built down in sequence by alternating colors (red on black, black on red).
• Moving Cards: Only one card may be moved at a time within the tableau.
• Foundation Building: Foundations are built up by suit, starting from Ace and ending with King.
• Moving to Foundations: Any Ace can be moved to an empty foundation. Cards may be moved from the tableau to the foundations if they are the next sequential card of the same suit.
• Empty Tableau Spaces: When a tableau pile becomes empty, it may be filled only with a King.

Gameplay:

• Player Actions:

• Move cards within the tableau, building down by alternating color.

• Move cards to the foundations when possible, building up by suit.

• Move a King to an empty tableau pile.

• No Stock: Since all cards are dealt at the start, there is no stock or waste pile to draw new cards from.

• No Multi-Card Moves: Only single cards may be moved at a time; sequences cannot be moved as a group.

• No Redeal: There is no redeal in the standard rules for Linus Solitaire.

• No More Moves: If no further legal moves are available (no cards can be moved within the tableau and no cards can be moved to the foundations), play ends.

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 Ace to King.
• Losing: The game is lost (or ends unwinnably) if no further legal moves can be made and not all cards are in the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Only a King may be placed in an empty tableau pile.
• No Stock or Redeal: Unlike many solitaire variants, there is no stock pile to draw from and no redeal mechanism in the standard Linus Solitaire rules.
• No Sequence Moves: Only single cards may be moved; you cannot move a group of cards as a sequence.
• All Cards Face Up: Since all tableau cards are dealt face up, there is no need to flip cards during play.

Summary of Unique Features:

• All tableau cards are dealt face up at the start.
• No stock or redeal; all cards are in play from the beginning.
• Only single-card moves are allowed.
• Empty tableau spaces can only be filled with Kings.

These rules distinguish Linus Solitaire from standard Klondike and other solitaire variants, resulting in a game that is both open-information and tactically constrained.