Mamy Susan

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Mamy Susan Solitaire is to move all 104 cards (from two standard decks) to the eight foundation piles by building each foundation up in ascending order by suit, starting with Ace and ending with King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Two standard 52-card decks (total 104 cards).
• Tableau: Ten tableau piles, each with four cards dealt face up and splayed downward.
• Foundations: Eight empty foundation piles, one for each suit from both decks.
• Reserve: One reserve pile, containing four cards face down and one card face up on top.
• Stock: Remaining cards form the stock, which is used to deal cards to the waste pile.
• Waste: The waste pile is initially empty and receives cards from the stock.

Key Play Areas Defined:

• Tableau: The main play area with ten piles, each starting with four face-up cards.
• Foundations: Eight piles where cards are built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Reserve: A holding area with five cards (four face down, one face up).
• Stock: The undealt cards, which can be drawn one at a time.
• Waste: Receives cards from the stock; only the top card is available for play.

All tableau cards are dealt face up; reserve contains both face-down and face-up cards.

Mamy Susan Solitaire Rules:

• Foundation Building:

• Foundations are built up by suit, starting with Ace and ending with King.

• Only Aces may be placed on empty foundations.

• Only the top card of a foundation is available for play.

• Tableau Building:

• Tableaus are built down by alternating color (e.g., red on black or black on red).

• Only the top card of each tableau pile is available for movement.

• Any single card may be moved to an empty tableau space.

• Reserve:

• Only the top face-up card of the reserve pile is available for play.

• Once the reserve pile is empty, it remains empty for the rest of the game.

• Stock and Waste:

• Stock deals one card face up to the waste pile per action.

• Only one pass through the stock is allowed; there are no redeals.

• Only the top card of the waste pile is available for play.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, the player may:
• Move the top card from a tableau, reserve, or waste to another tableau (following alternating color and descending rank rules), to a foundation (following ascending order by suit), or to an empty tableau space.
• Move the top card of the reserve or waste to a tableau or foundation if legal.
• Draw one card from the stock to the waste pile when no other moves are possible or desired.
• Play continues until all cards are moved to the foundations or no legal moves remain.
• When the reserve or waste pile is empty, it remains empty until replenished by valid moves from the stock or other sources.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 104 cards are successfully moved to the eight foundation piles, each built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Losing: The game is lost or becomes unwinnable if no further legal moves are possible and cards remain in the tableau, reserve, waste, or stock piles.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableaus: Any single card may be moved to an empty tableau pile.
• Reserve Pile: Only the top card is playable; once empty, the reserve cannot be refilled.
• Stock Pass: Only one pass through the stock is allowed; after all cards are dealt to the waste, no redeals are permitted.
• Waste Pile: Only the top card is available for play; the pile remains empty until new cards are dealt from the stock.
• Sequence Movement: Only individual cards may be moved at a time; sequences cannot be moved as a group.
• Odds of Winning: The game is considered difficult, with an estimated win rate of about 20%.

Note: Mamy Susan Solitaire is a variation of Forty Thieves with a larger tableau and reserve, and stricter movement rules.