Lower 48

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Lower 48 Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau to the foundation piles, building each foundation up in suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Tableau: Deal eight tableau piles, each with five cards, all face up. There are no face-down cards in the tableau.
• Foundations: Four foundation piles start empty. These are built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Stock, Reserve, Waste: There are no stock, reserve, or waste piles in Lower 48 Solitaire. All cards are in play from the start.

Key Play Areas:

• Tableau: The main area with eight piles of five face-up cards each.
• Foundations: Four empty piles, one for each suit, to be built up from Ace to King.

Lower 48 Solitaire Rules:

• Building in the Tableau: Cards are built down by alternating color (for example, a red 7 on a black 8).
• Movement: Only one card may be moved at a time between tableau piles.
• Moving to Foundations: Cards can be moved to the foundations in ascending order by suit, starting with the Ace and ending with the King.
• Empty Tableau Piles: If a tableau pile becomes empty, only a King may be moved to fill the space.

Gameplay:

• Player Actions:

• Move cards between tableau piles, following the rule of building down by alternating color.

• Move Aces to empty foundation piles as soon as they become available.

• Build up foundations in suit order, moving cards from the tableau to the foundations whenever possible.

• When a tableau pile is empty, move a King (or a legal sequence starting with a King, if permitted) to the empty space.

• No Stock or Redeal: There are no additional cards to draw; all cards are visible and accessible from the start.

• Sequence Movement: Only single cards may be moved, not sequences.

• No Further Moves: If no legal moves remain (no cards can be moved within the tableau or to the foundations), play ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the foundation piles, with each suit built from Ace to King.
• Losing/Unwinnable State: 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: Only a King may be moved to fill an empty tableau pile.
• No Multi-Card Moves: You cannot move stacks or sequences of cards—only single cards may be moved at any time.
• All Cards Face Up: There is no hidden information; all cards are visible throughout the game.
• No Redeals or Shuffles: Once a move cannot be made, the game is over; there are no redeals or reshuffles in this variant.

Summary of Unique Mechanics:

• Eight tableau piles, all cards face up from the start.
• Build down in the tableau by alternating color, one card at a time.
• Only Kings can fill empty tableau spaces.
• No stock, reserve, or redeal; all play is open and deterministic.