Objective
The objective of Kartenlegen, also known as Patience or Solitaire, is to move all the cards from the tableau to the four foundation piles. Each foundation must be built from Ace to King in the same suit.
Setup
- Shuffle the cards: Use a standard 52-card deck.
- Create the tableau: Lay out seven piles of cards. The first pile has one card, the second pile with two cards, the third with three cards, and so on until the seventh pile has seven cards. Only the top card of each pile is face up.
- Foundation piles: Above the tableau, place four foundation piles, which start empty.
- Stock pile: The remaining cards form the stock pile, placed face down.
Gameplay Rules
- Moves: You can move cards between the tableau and the foundation piles.
- Within the tableau, cards are placed in descending order and alternating colors (e.g. Red, Black, Red, Black).
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Only a King or a column headed by a King can be moved to an empty tableau space.
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Foundation piles: Foundations must start with an Ace and continue in ascending order within the same suit up to King.
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Stock pile: You can draw cards from the stock pile to use in the tableau or foundations. You can either draw one card or three cards at a time, depending on the variation.
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Turning cards: When no moves are available, you can turn over a new card from the stock pile to open up new possibilities.
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Winning: The game is won when all the cards are sorted correctly on the foundation piles.
Strategy Tips
- Try to uncover as many of the tableau cards as possible to increase your future move options.
- Use Kings strategically, as they can only be placed in empty tableau spaces.
- Sometimes, moving cards from the foundation back to the tableau is necessary to make crucial moves.
- Keep track of the cards' order in the stock pile, especially when drawing three cards at a time.
