Quadruple Interchange

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Quadruple Interchange Solitaire is to move all cards to the sixteen foundation piles, building each foundation up in sequence by suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Quadruple Interchange uses four standard 52-card decks (208 cards total).
• Tableau: There are eleven tableau piles. Each tableau pile is dealt eleven cards.
  • Dealing: In each tableau pile, the even-numbered cards (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th from the top) are dealt face down, while all other cards are dealt face up.
• Foundations: There are sixteen foundation piles (one for each suit in each deck).
• Stock: The remaining cards after the tableau is dealt form the stock pile. Cards from the stock are dealt one at a time to the waste pile.
• Waste: There is a single waste pile; only the top card is available for play.

Key Play Areas:

• Tableau: The main play area where cards are manipulated and sequences are built.
• Foundations: The destination piles for completed suit sequences.
• Stock: Supplies new cards to the waste pile.
• Waste: Holds cards dealt from the stock; only the top card is playable.

Quadruple Interchange Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:

  • Building: Foundations are built up by suit, starting with the Ace and ending with the King for each suit.
  • Starting: Only Aces may be moved to an empty foundation pile.
  • Sequence Example: 8♠ can be placed on 7♠, then 9♠ on 8♠, and so on, all within the same suit.

• Tableau:

  • Building: Tableau piles build down by suit (e.g., 7♣ on 8♣).
  • Movement: Sequences of cards built down by suit can be moved together as a group.
  • Empty Tableau Spaces: Any card or valid group of cards may be moved to an empty tableau pile.
  • Face-Down Cards: When a face-up card is moved and exposes a face-down card, that card is turned face up.

• Stock & Waste:

  • Dealing: The stock deals one card face up to the waste pile when activated.
  • Playable Card: Only the top card of the waste pile is available for play.

Gameplay:

• Turn Sequence:

  • Move cards or sequences within the tableau, following the build-down-by-suit rule.
  • Move Aces to empty foundation piles as they become available.
  • Build up foundations by suit from Ace to King.
  • Move cards from the waste pile to either the tableau or the foundations, if legal.
  • When no moves are available, deal one card from the stock to the waste pile.
  • Continue play until all cards are moved to the foundations or no more legal moves are possible.

• Introducing New Cards:

  • When the player cannot make further moves within the tableau or from the waste, they may deal a new card from the stock to the waste pile.

• No More Moves:

  • If the tableau, waste, and stock provide no legal moves, gameplay ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 208 cards have been moved to the sixteen foundation piles, each built up in sequence by suit from Ace to King.
• Losing/Unwinnable: The game is lost or considered unwinnable if no legal moves remain and the stock is depleted, with cards still left in the tableau or waste.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Tableau Piles: Any single card or a valid sequence (built down by suit) may be moved to an empty tableau pile.
• Moving Groups: Only sequences of cards that are built down in the same suit can be moved together as a group.
• Face-Down Cards: When a face-down card in the tableau is exposed (i.e., there are no cards above it), it is immediately turned face up.
• Stock Exhaustion: When the stock is exhausted and no more moves are possible, the game ends.
• No Re-deal: There is no re-deal of the waste pile back into the stock; once the stock is empty, only moves among tableau, waste, and foundations remain.

Note: Quadruple Interchange is a challenging variant requiring both skill and luck, with an estimated win rate of about 50%.