Sixty Thieves

Game Objective:

The primary goal in Sixty Thieves Solitaire is to move all 156 cards (three standard 52-card decks) onto twelve foundation piles, building each foundation up in ascending order by suit from Ace to King.

Setup & Layout:

• Deck: Three standard 52-card decks (totaling 156 cards).
• Foundations: Twelve foundation piles, initially empty, positioned at the top of the play area.
• Tableau: Twelve tableau piles. Each tableau pile is dealt five cards, all face-up and fully visible.
• Stock: The remaining cards after the tableau setup form the stock pile, placed face-down.
• Waste: One waste pile (also called a garbage or discard pile), initially empty, used for cards drawn from the stock that cannot be immediately played.

Key Play Areas Defined:

• Foundation: Where cards are built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Tableau: The main play area with twelve columns, each starting with five face-up cards.
• Stock: The face-down pile from which cards are drawn one at a time.
• Waste: The face-up pile where cards from the stock are placed if not played immediately.

Sixty Thieves Solitaire Rules:

• Foundations:

• Foundations are built up by suit in ascending order, starting from Ace and ending with King (e.g., Ace♠, 2♠, 3♠, …, King♠).

• Only an Ace can start a foundation pile.

• Once a card is placed on a foundation, it cannot be moved back to the tableau.

• Tableau:

• Tableau piles are built down by suit in descending order (e.g., 10♦ can be placed on J♦).

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

• Any card may be moved to an empty tableau pile.

• Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences cannot be moved as a group unless specifically allowed by a variant (standard rules do not allow sequence moves).

• Stock and Waste:

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

• Only the top card of the waste pile is available for play to the tableau or foundations.

• There is only one pass through the stock; no redeals are allowed.

Gameplay:

• On each turn, you may:
• Move the top card of any tableau pile to another tableau pile (if it builds down by suit), to a foundation (if it continues the foundation's sequence), or to an empty tableau pile.
• Move the top card of the waste pile to a tableau pile or foundation, following the same building rules.
• Draw one card from the stock to the waste pile when no other moves are available or desired.
• Play continues until all cards are moved to the foundations or no further moves are possible and the stock is exhausted.

Winning & Losing Conditions:

• Win: The game is won when all 156 cards are successfully moved to the twelve foundation piles, each built up by suit from Ace to King.
• Lose: The game is lost or becomes unwinnable if:
• No more legal moves are available on the tableau or from the waste pile.
• The stock is exhausted and not all cards have been moved to the foundations.

Special Rules & Edge Cases:

• Empty Tableau Spaces: Any card may be moved into an empty tableau pile, regardless of suit or rank.
• Stock Restrictions: Only one pass through the stock is permitted; once the stock is depleted, no redeals are allowed.
• Movable Cards: Only the top card of each tableau pile or the waste pile can be played; sequences cannot be moved as a unit unless a variant specifically allows it.
• Foundation Irreversibility: Once a card is placed on a foundation, it cannot be moved back to the tableau.
• No Reserve or Cells: There are no reserve piles or free cells in standard Sixty Thieves Solitaire.

Note: Sixty Thieves Solitaire is a challenging game with a low win rate, emphasizing skillful planning and careful management of tableau spaces and stock usage.