Little Billie

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Little Billie Solitaire is to build up the aces in suit to kings and build down the kings in suit to aces, using all cards from the play area.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck Used: Little Billie Solitaire uses two standard 52-card decks, totaling 104 cards.
• Initial Arrangement: All cards are dealt face-up into fan piles. The exact number of fan piles may vary by implementation, but typically the entire deck is distributed evenly into these piles.
• Play Areas Defined:
• Fan Piles: These are the primary tableau piles. All cards in these piles are face-up and visible.
• Foundations: There are two sets of foundation piles:
  • One set starts with Aces and is built up in suit to Kings.
  • The other set starts with Kings and is built down in suit to Aces.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: Every card is dealt face-up; there are no face-down cards in the tableau or elsewhere.

Little Billie Solitaire Rules:

• Card Movement Principles:
• No cards may be moved between fan piles.
• No building is allowed on cards within fan piles. Once dealt, cards in the fan piles remain static except for removal to foundations.
• Building Sequences:
• Foundations built up: Place Aces in the foundation and build up in suit (A, 2, 3, …, K).
• Foundations built down: Place Kings in the foundation and build down in suit (K, Q, J, …, A).
• Moving Cards:
• Only the top card of each fan pile may be moved to a foundation pile, provided it fits the sequence (either building up or down in suit).
• No sequences or stacks may be moved—only individual cards.
• No cards may be moved back from foundations to fan piles.
• Empty Piles:
• If a fan pile becomes empty, it cannot be refilled.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, examine the top card of each fan pile.
• If a top card can be placed onto a suitable foundation (either building up from Ace or down from King, in suit), move it.
• Continue moving eligible cards to the foundations.
• If no moves are possible, initiate a redeal procedure:
• Collect all cards from the fan piles.
• Shuffle the cards thoroughly.
• Redeal all cards face-up into new fan piles.
• Repeat the process of moving cards to foundations and redealing as necessary.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Win Condition: The game is won when all cards have been successfully built onto the foundation piles according to the rules (Aces up to Kings, Kings down to Aces, in suit).
• Loss/Unwinnable Condition: The game is lost or unwinnable if, after a redeal, no further moves to the foundations are possible and cards remain in the fan piles.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Empty Fan Piles: Once a fan pile is emptied, it remains empty for the rest of the deal and cannot be filled.
• No Building on Fan Piles: You cannot build or move cards within the fan piles—only removal to the foundations is permitted.
• Redeal Procedure: When no moves are possible, gather all remaining cards from the fan piles, shuffle, and redeal face-up into new fan piles.
• No Reserve, Stock, or Waste: The game does not use reserve piles, stock piles, or waste piles; all play occurs from the fan piles to the foundations.
• Multiple Redeals: The game may allow multiple redeals, but the specific number may depend on the implementation. Some versions may limit the number of redeals, while others may allow unlimited redeals until the game is won or blocked.

Definitions:

• Fan Pile: A tableau pile where cards are dealt face-up and only the top card is available for play.
• Foundation: A pile where cards are built up or down in suit, starting from Ace or King, respectively.

This guide provides a semantically precise framework for playing Little Billie Solitaire using official and authoritative sources.