Robert

Game Objective:

The primary objective of Robert Solitaire is to move all 52 cards from the deck to a single foundation pile by building a continuous sequence of cards in either ascending or descending order, regardless of suit, wrapping around between Ace and King as needed.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Foundation: There is one foundation pile, which starts with a single card dealt face up from the shuffled deck.
• Stock: The remaining 51 cards form the stock pile, placed face down.
• Waste: There is one waste pile, which starts empty.

Key Play Areas:

• Foundation: The central pile where all cards must eventually be moved.
• Stock: The draw pile from which cards are dealt.
• Waste: Temporary holding area for cards dealt from the stock.

Face-Up / Face-Down:

• The foundation starts with one card face up.
• The stock is face down.
• The waste is empty at the start; cards dealt to it are face up.

Robert Solitaire Rules:

• Building on the Foundation:

• Cards are added to the foundation if they are one rank higher or lower than the current top card, regardless of suit.

• Sequences can be built up or down (e.g., a 7 can be followed by a 6 or an 8).

• Wrap-around is permitted: An Ace can follow a King, and a King can follow an Ace.

• Only the top card of the waste pile is available to move to the foundation.

• Stock and Waste:

• The stock deals one card at a time face up to the waste pile.

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

• When the stock is exhausted, the waste pile may be turned over to form a new stock up to two times (for a total of three passes through the deck).

• Moving Cards:

• Only single cards may be moved at a time.

• Any card can be moved to an empty foundation (only relevant at the start or after wrapping, as there is only one foundation in play).

Gameplay:

1. Start: Deal one card face up to the foundation. Place the rest of the deck face down as the stock. The waste pile starts empty.
2. Player Actions:

• Deal: Turn over the top card of the stock to the waste pile (face up).
• Build: If the top card of the waste is one rank higher or lower than the top card of the foundation (regardless of suit), move it to the foundation.
• Repeat: Continue dealing cards from the stock and moving eligible cards from the waste to the foundation as allowed.

1. Redeals: When the stock is empty, turn the waste pile over (without shuffling) to form a new stock. This can be done twice (for a total of three passes through the deck).
2. No Moves: If no moves are possible and no redeals remain, gameplay ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning:
  The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the foundation, forming a complete sequence built up or down, wrapping around as needed.

• Losing/Unwinnable State:
  The game is lost if, after using all allowed redeals, there are still cards remaining in the stock or waste that cannot be legally moved to the foundation.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Wrap-Around Building:
  Sequences may "wrap" between Ace and King in either direction (e.g., Queen → King → Ace → 2).
• Empty Foundation:
  Any card may be played to an empty foundation, but as there is only one foundation and it starts with a card, this is only relevant if the foundation is ever emptied (which does not occur in standard play).
• No Tableau or Reserve:
  There are no tableau piles or reserve areas in Robert Solitaire; all play revolves around the stock, waste, and single foundation.
• Single Card Movement:
  Only the top card of the waste may be played to the foundation; sequences or multiple cards cannot be moved together.
• Redeal Limit:
  Only two redeals of the stock are permitted (three passes through the deck in total).

Definitions:

• Foundation: The central pile where cards are built in sequence.
• Stock: The draw pile of face-down cards.
• Waste: The face-up pile where cards from the stock are placed and from which cards are played to the foundation.

This ruleset reflects the unique, closed nature of Robert Solitaire and its distinctive single-pile, up-or-down, wrap-around building mechanic.