Sir Tommy

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Sir Tommy Solitaire is to move all cards from the deck to the four foundation piles, building each foundation from Ace up to King, regardless of suit.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Initial Arrangement: All cards begin in a single face-down stock pile.
• Play Areas:
• Stock: The deck, from which cards are drawn one at a time.
• Waste/Reserve/Tableau: Four empty piles (often called waste, reserve, or tableau columns) where cards from the stock are placed if they cannot be played directly to a foundation.
• Foundations: Four empty piles to be built up from Ace to King, regardless of suit.
• Card Orientation: Cards in the stock are face-down except for the top card, which is face-up and available for play. All cards placed on the waste/reserve/tableau and foundations are face-up.

Sir Tommy Solitaire Rules:

• Card Movement:
• Draw one card at a time from the stock. The drawn card can be played directly onto a foundation or placed onto any of the four waste/reserve/tableau piles.
• Once a card is placed on a waste/reserve/tableau pile, it cannot be moved to another waste/reserve/tableau pile; it can only be moved to a foundation.
• Foundation Building:
• Foundations are built up in ascending order (Ace, 2, 3, …, King), regardless of suit.
• Any Ace can start a foundation, and subsequent cards must be the next rank regardless of suit.
• Waste/Reserve/Tableau Building:
• Any card can be placed on any waste/reserve/tableau pile, regardless of rank or suit.
• No building or movement occurs within the waste/reserve/tableau piles; only the top card of each pile is available to be played to a foundation.

Gameplay:

• Sequence of Play:
• Draw the top card from the stock.
• If the card can be played to a foundation (e.g., an Ace or the next ascending rank), do so.
• If not, place the card on any waste/reserve/tableau pile of your choice.
• Only the top card of each waste/reserve/tableau pile is available for play to the foundations.
• Continue drawing and playing cards until the stock is exhausted.
• Introducing New Cards: Each time a card is played from the stock, immediately flip the next card from the stock to continue play.
• No Redeal: Once the stock is exhausted, there is no redeal or reshuffling.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Winning: The game is won when all 52 cards are successfully moved to the four foundation piles, each built from Ace to King.
• Losing: The game is lost if the stock is exhausted and not all cards have been moved to the foundations. This typically occurs when lower-ranked cards are buried under higher-ranked cards in the waste/reserve/tableau piles, making them inaccessible for foundation building.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Filling Empty Spaces: If a waste/reserve/tableau pile becomes empty, it can only be filled by the next card drawn from the stock. After the stock is exhausted, empty piles remain empty and cannot be refilled.
• No Tableau Building: There is no building sequence within the waste/reserve/tableau piles; cards are simply stored there until they can be played to the foundation.
• Movement Restrictions: Only the top card of each waste/reserve/tableau pile is available for play to the foundations. Cards cannot be moved between waste/reserve/tableau piles.
• Strategic Considerations: Careful planning is required to avoid burying low-ranked cards under higher-ranked cards in the waste/reserve/tableau piles, as this can block foundation building and lead to an unwinnable state.

Definitions:

• Foundation: A pile built from Ace to King, regardless of suit.
• Stock: The face-down deck from which cards are drawn.
• Waste/Reserve/Tableau: Piles used to temporarily hold cards not immediately playable to the foundations; only the top card is available for play.

This guide outlines all essential mechanics and rules for playing Sir Tommy Solitaire with semantic precision and clarity.