Play Canfield Solitaire online
Canfield is one of the great classics, and one of the harder ones. A 13-card reserve sits beside four small piles, and the foundations start on whatever rank the deal gives you.
How to play
- The reserve holds 13 cards with only the top one face up. Play it whenever you can.
- The four piles are built down in alternating colours. You can move ordered runs between them.
- The foundations. One card starts the first foundation, and its rank becomes the starting rank for all four. You'll see it on the empty spots. Build up in suit, going from King round to Ace when you get there.
- Empty piles fill from the reserve straight away. Once the reserve is empty, any card can go in a space.
- The stock turns three cards at a time, and you can go through it as often as you like.
- The goal is to get all 52 cards onto the foundations.
Tips
- Empty the reserve. It's the main obstacle. Most wins come from getting every reserve card into play.
- Remember the starting rank. If the foundations start on 9, the 8s are the last cards of each suit, so don't hold out hope for them early.
- Move whole piles to make spaces. An empty pile pulls the next reserve card into play.
- Mind the order of the waste. With three cards turned at a time, playing one card changes which cards you'll see next pass.
Questions people ask
- Why do the foundations start on a random rank?
- That's the rule in Canfield. The first card dealt to the foundations sets the starting rank for all four suits, and they build up from there, wrapping from King to Ace.
- Is Canfield hard?
- Yes. Most deals are lost, even with good play. Unlimited passes through the stock and unlimited undo help a lot.
- Who was Canfield?
- The game is named after Richard Canfield, who ran a gambling house in Saratoga Springs, New York, around 1900. The usual story is that customers bought a deck for 52 dollars and were paid 5 dollars for every card they got onto the foundations.
- Is Canfield the same as Demon?
- Yes. In Britain the same game is usually called Demon.
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