Royal Cotillion

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Royal Cotillion Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau, reserve, stock, and waste piles onto the foundation piles, building each foundation according to specific suit and sequence rules until all 104 cards (from two standard decks) are placed on the foundations.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total).
• Foundations: Remove all Aces and Twos from the decks and place them as the bases of eight foundation piles:
• Four Aces (one of each suit) form the left column.
• Four Twos (one of each suit) form the right column.
• Ladies’ Side (Tableau): To the left of the Aces, deal three cards in each of four columns (total: 12 cards). Only the top card of each column is available for play.
• Lords’ Side (Reserve): To the left of the Twos, deal 16 cards in a 4x4 grid (each pile contains one card). All 16 cards are available for play.
• Stock: The remaining cards form the stock pile, placed face down.
• Waste Pile: The waste pile is created during play as cards are drawn from the stock.
• Face-Up/Face-Down: All tableau and reserve cards are dealt face up. The stock is face down; waste is face up.

Key Play Areas:

• Foundations: Eight piles (Aces and Twos as bases).
• Ladies’ Side (Tableau): Four columns of three cards each (12 cards).
• Lords’ Side (Reserve): Sixteen single-card piles (4x4 grid).
• Stock and Waste: Standard draw and discard piles.

Royal Cotillion Solitaire Rules:

• Building on Foundations:
• Aces: Build up by suit in intervals of two: A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J, K, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Q.
• Twos: Build up by suit in intervals of two: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Q, A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J, K.
• The sequence wraps around from King to 2 (for Ace foundations) and from Queen to Ace (for Two foundations) as needed.
• Card Movement:
• Only the top card of each tableau column (ladies’ side) and each reserve pile (lords’ side) is available for play to the foundations.
• Cards cannot be moved between tableau columns, between reserve piles, or from reserve to tableau (and vice versa).
• No building is allowed on tableau or reserve piles; only the foundations are built upon.
• Stock and Waste:
• When no more moves can be made, deal one card at a time from the stock to the waste pile.
• The top card of the waste is available for play to the foundations.
• The stock is dealt through only once; there is no redeal.

Gameplay:

• Turn Sequence:

1. Move any available cards from the tableau (ladies’ side), reserve (lords’ side), or waste pile to the foundations, following the building rules.
2. After all possible moves are made, draw one card from the stock to the waste pile.
3. Continue making moves from all available sources (tableau, reserve, waste) to the foundations.
4. Repeat steps 2–3 until the stock is exhausted and no more moves can be made.

• Introducing New Cards:
• When a card is moved from the lords’ side (reserve), immediately fill the empty space with the top card of the waste pile, or from the stock if the waste is empty.
• Empty spaces in the ladies’ side (tableau) are not filled.
• No Moves Available:
• If no moves are possible and the stock is depleted, the game ends.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 104 cards are correctly placed on the foundations, with each foundation pile containing 13 cards in the required sequence.
• Losing: The game is lost if the stock is exhausted and no further legal moves can be made, leaving cards stranded in the tableau, reserve, or waste.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Spaces:
• Lords’ Side (Reserve): Any empty reserve pile is immediately filled by the top card of the waste pile, or from the stock if the waste is empty.
• Ladies’ Side (Tableau): Empty tableau columns remain empty and cannot be refilled.
• Restrictions:
• No building or movement is allowed within the tableau or reserve; cards only move to the foundations.
• Only one pass through the stock is permitted; there is no redeal.
• Edge Cases:
• If the waste pile is empty and a reserve space must be filled, draw directly from the stock.
• If both stock and waste are empty, reserve spaces cannot be filled further.
• Foundations Wrap: Building on foundations wraps around (e.g., after King comes 2 for Ace-based foundations).

This ruleset reflects the unique mechanics and structural requirements of Royal Cotillion Solitaire, emphasizing its distinct foundation-building pattern and strict movement limitations.