Little Giant

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Little Giant Solitaire is to move all cards onto the foundation piles, building them up by suit from Ace to King, using strategic movement within the tableau and adhering to specific building rules.

Setup & Layout:

• Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Tableau: Deal six tableau piles, each with one card, all face up. The tableau is the main play area where cards are manipulated.
• Foundations: Four foundation piles are created during play, one for each suit. These start empty.
• Stock/Reserve: There is no stock or reserve pile in the classic Little Giant Solitaire variant.
• All cards are dealt face up at the start, ensuring full visibility for strategic planning.

Little Giant Solitaire Rules:

• Tableau Building: Cards in the tableau are built down by alternating color (e.g., red on black or black on red). For example, a 7♠ can be placed on an 8♥ or 8♦.
• Group Movement: Groups of cards in sequence (descending by alternating color) can be moved together from one tableau pile to another.
• Foundation Building: Foundations are built up by suit from Ace to King. Only an Ace can start a foundation pile, and subsequent cards must follow suit and sequence (e.g., Ace♠, 2♠, 3♠, etc.).
• Moving Cards: Only the top card (or a valid descending sequence) of a tableau pile may be moved to another tableau pile or to a foundation.
• Empty Spaces: Any card or valid sequence can be moved into an empty tableau space, without restriction.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, the player may:
  • Move a single card or a sequence of cards (descending by alternating color) from one tableau pile to another.
  • Move a valid card to a foundation pile if it fits the suit and sequence requirement.
  • Fill any empty tableau space with any card or valid sequence.
• There is no stock or waste pile; all cards are in play from the beginning.
• If no legal moves are available, the game is blocked, and play ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The player wins by building all four foundation piles up by suit from Ace to King, using all 52 cards.
• 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:

• Filling Empty Spaces: Any card or group of cards (descending by alternating color) may fill an empty tableau space.
• Group Moves: Only sequences that are strictly descending by alternating color may be moved as a group.
• No Stock or Waste: Since all cards are dealt face up at the start, there is no mechanism for introducing new cards into play.
• No Restrictions on Filling Spaces: Unlike some solitaire variants that require a King to fill empty tableau spaces, Little Giant Solitaire allows any card or sequence to do so.

Key Terms Defined:

• Tableau: The main area where cards are arranged in piles and manipulated.
• Foundation: Piles where cards are built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Sequence (Descending by Alternating Color): Cards arranged in decreasing rank, alternating between red and black suits.

This guide synthesizes the official rules and authoritative sources for Little Giant Solitaire, ensuring precise and actionable instructions for play.