Triple Interchange Solitaire: Comprehensive How to Play Guide

Game Objective

The primary goal in Triple Interchange Solitaire is to move all cards from the tableau and stock to the eight foundations, with each foundation built completely by suit from Ace to King. A player wins when all 156 cards (three complete decks) are successfully organized into the eight foundation piles.

Setup & Layout

Triple Interchange Solitaire is played with three standard decks of 52 cards each, totaling 156 cards. The game uses eight foundations and nine tableau piles.

Initial Card Distribution:

At the beginning of the game, nine cards are dealt to each of the nine tableau piles, for a total of 81 cards dealt to the tableau. The cards are dealt in a specific pattern: the even-numbered cards in each pile (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th positions) are dealt face down, while all other cards (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th positions) are dealt face up. This alternating face-up and face-down arrangement is the origin of the game's name "Interchange."

Play Areas:

• Tableau: Nine piles of nine cards each, arranged in a splayed downward formation to display all cards in each pile
• Foundations: Eight separate piles (one for each suit across the three decks), where cards are built in ascending order
• Stock: The remaining cards not dealt to the tableau, which form a draw pile
• Waste: A single discard pile where cards from the stock are placed one at a time

Triple Interchange Solitaire Rules

Foundation Rules

• There are eight foundations, one for each suit (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs appear three times across the three decks).
• An Ace may move to an empty foundation to start a new foundation pile.
• Foundations build up by the same suit in ascending order: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.
• For example, the 4♠ may move onto the 3♠, and the 5♠ may move onto the 4♠, and so forth.
• Only the top card of each foundation is visible and movable at any time.

Tableau Rules

• There are nine tableau piles.
• Tableau piles build down by the same suit in descending order.
• For example, the 8♠ may move onto the 9♠, and the 7♠ may move onto the 8♠, and so forth.
• Sequences of cards built down by the same suit can move together as a group to another tableau pile, provided the bottom card of the moving sequence is one rank lower and the same suit as the top card of the destination pile.
• A King may move to an empty tableau pile. No other cards may move to an empty tableau pile.
• All face-up cards in a tableau pile are movable, including those that have face-down cards beneath them.
• When a face-up card is moved from a tableau pile, the face-down card directly beneath it is automatically turned face-up, becoming available for play.

Stock and Waste Rules

• The stock consists of all cards not dealt to the tableau or foundations at the start of the game.
• When the stock is tapped or clicked, one card is dealt face-up to the waste pile.
• The top card of the waste pile is the only movable card from the waste.
• There are no redeals in Triple Interchange Solitaire. Once all cards from the stock have been dealt to the waste, no further cards can be drawn. This restriction makes the game significantly more challenging than variants with unlimited redeals.

Gameplay

Typical Turn Sequence

During each turn, a player may perform any of the following actions:

1. Move a card or sequence from the tableau to a foundation if the move follows foundation rules (the card must be the next in ascending suit sequence).
2. Move a card or sequence from the tableau to another tableau pile if the move follows tableau rules (the card must be one rank lower and the same suit as the top card of the destination pile).
3. Move the top card from the waste pile to a foundation if it is the next card needed in a foundation sequence.
4. Move the top card from the waste pile to a tableau pile if it is one rank lower and the same suit as the top card of the destination tableau pile.
5. Create an empty tableau pile by moving all cards from a tableau pile to other locations, then fill that empty space with a King (from the tableau, waste, or stock).
6. Draw from the stock by clicking the stock pile to reveal the next card to the waste pile when no other moves are available or desired.

A player may continue making moves until either all cards are moved to the foundations (winning the game) or no legal moves remain and the stock is exhausted (losing the game).

Introducing New Cards

New cards enter play through the stock pile. When a player clicks or taps the stock, one card is dealt face-up to the waste pile. This card becomes the active card available for play. If the waste card cannot be played to a foundation or tableau, the player must draw another card from the stock. This process continues until the stock is completely depleted.

When No Legal Moves Remain

If a player reaches a state where no legal moves are possible and the stock pile is empty, the game is lost and cannot be won from that position. This occurs because Triple Interchange Solitaire does not allow redeals of the waste pile back into the stock.

Winning & Losing Conditions

Winning Condition

A player wins Triple Interchange Solitaire when all 156 cards have been successfully moved to the eight foundations, with each foundation containing all 13 cards of its suit in ascending order from Ace to King. Since there are three complete decks, each suit will have three complete sequences in the foundations.

Losing Conditions

A player loses the game under the following circumstances:

• The stock pile is exhausted and no legal moves remain to continue play. Because there are no redeals, once the stock is empty, the game cannot proceed.
• Cards become permanently buried in the tableau beneath face-down cards in such a way that they cannot be accessed or played, making it impossible to complete the foundations.
• The game reaches an unwinnable state where the remaining cards cannot be organized into valid sequences due to the constraints of the tableau and foundation rules.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Empty Tableau Piles

When a tableau pile becomes completely empty (all nine cards have been moved), the empty space can only be filled by a King or a sequence beginning with a King. No other card or sequence may be placed in an empty tableau pile. This rule is crucial for strategic play, as it limits where Kings can be repositioned and affects the flow of the game.

Face-Down Card Revelation

When a face-up card is moved from a tableau pile, the face-down card directly beneath it is automatically revealed and turned face-up. This mechanic ensures that players gradually gain access to more cards as the game progresses, though it also means that cards may be revealed that cannot immediately be played.

No Redeals

Unlike some solitaire variants that allow the waste pile to be reshuffled back into the stock for additional passes through the deck, Triple Interchange Solitaire permits only a single pass through the stock. Once all cards have been dealt from the stock to the waste, no further cards can be drawn. This restriction significantly increases the difficulty of the game.

Difficulty and Win Rate

Triple Interchange Solitaire is classified as a medium-difficulty game with a balanced skill-to-luck ratio. Players typically win approximately 1 in 3 games (approximately 33% win rate) when playing optimally, making it a challenging but achievable variant. The minimum number of moves required to win, assuming perfect play and optimal card distribution, is 156 moves—one move for each card in the three decks.