Canfield Solitaire: foundations start at the rank of the first card dealt to them, empty columns refill from the reserve, and the stock turns three at a time.
What is Canfield Solitaire?
Canfield Solitaire is a one-deck solitaire game in which you move all 52 cards onto four foundations that start from a rank set by the deal, working from a 13-card reserve, four short columns and a stock turned three cards at a time. It is known for being hard to win, and most of that comes from the reserve: 13 cards you can only reach from the top, one at a time.
Two rules make it feel different from Klondike. The foundations do not start at Ace, and ranks wrap around: on the foundations an Ace follows a King, and in the columns a King can be placed on an Ace.
How to play Canfield Solitaire
The deal: 13 cards form the reserve, with only the top card face up. The next card goes face up onto the first foundation, and its rank becomes the starting rank for all four foundations. One card goes face up into each of the four columns. The remaining 34 cards are the stock.
Foundations: each foundation starts with a card of the starting rank and builds up in suit. After the King comes the Ace, then the 2, and so on. If the starting rank is 9, a finished foundation runs 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2 and up to 8. The empty foundation spaces show the starting rank, so you never lose track of it.
Columns: build down in alternating colours, with the same wrap, so a black King may go on a red Ace. A correct run, or any part of it ending at the bottom of a column, moves as a group. When a column empties, the top card of the reserve moves into it by itself. Once the reserve is empty, any card or run can go into an empty column.
Stock and reserve: tap the stock to turn three cards onto the waste; only the top waste card can be played. When the stock runs out, tap again to turn the waste back over and go through it as many times as you like. The top reserve card and the top waste card can be played to a foundation or a column. Foundation cards stay where they are. You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations.
Canfield strategy
Work on the reserve above all. A Canfield deal is almost always lost with cards still in the reserve. Every reserve card you play turns up the next one. When you can play either a reserve card or a waste card, the reserve card usually wins, because the waste card will come round again on a later pass and the reserve card will not move unless you move it.
Empty columns are reserve moves. Since an empty column is filled from the reserve at once, clearing a column is the same as playing a reserve card. Join columns together whenever the colours and ranks allow, so that a column empties and pulls the next reserve card out.
Know which rank goes last. The rank just below the starting rank finishes each foundation. With a starting rank of 9, the 8s are the last cards of every suit, so they cannot help on the foundations until the very end. Keep them where they do the least damage, and avoid covering reserve-blocking cards with them.
Read the stock in groups of three. Only every third card is reachable on a pass. When you play a card from the waste, the groups shift and different cards come within reach on the next pass. If a card you need is stuck in the wrong position, playing one waste card earlier in the pass can bring it to the top.
Use the wrap. Runs such as 3, 2, A, K, Q in alternating colours are legal. Players used to Klondike often miss these moves, especially on the foundations right after a King.
Canfield rules in our version and other variants
Our Canfield has one rule set and no menu options: a 13-card reserve, four columns, a starting rank set by the deal, wrap from King to Ace, the stock turned three at a time with no limit on passes, and empty columns filled from the reserve automatically.
Other variants exist, such as turning the stock one card at a time, limiting the number of passes, or starting every foundation at a fixed rank. These change how often deals can be won but keep the reserve at the center of the game.
Where Canfield comes from
The game is named after Richard A. Canfield, who ran a well-known gambling house in Saratoga Springs, New York, around 1900. The story told about it is that a player bought a deck for 50 dollars and received 5 dollars for each card placed on a foundation, so the house came out ahead on most deals.
In Britain the same game is usually called Demon, a name that fits how rarely it comes out.
Play Canfield Solitaire on Hevagames
Our Canfield runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, with nothing to download. Drag a card or a run, or tap a card and then where it should go. A double tap sends a card to a foundation if it fits, otherwise to a column. Tap the stock or press D to turn three cards. The reserve shows how many cards are left in it. On a keyboard, the arrow keys move between piles and Enter picks up and places; Z or Backspace undoes and N deals a new game.
Undo has no limit and each undo counts as a move. The deal in progress, with the last 60 undo steps, is saved in your browser and survives a reload. The top bar shows moves, time and score.
Scoring: 10 points for each card on a foundation, including the first card that set the starting rank. A win adds a bonus of 1000 minus 2 per move and minus half a point per second, never below zero. The timer starts with your first move, and your best score is kept on your device.
How to play
- 1One card is dealt to the first foundation. All four foundations start at that rank and build up by suit, going on from King to Ace.
- 2The four columns build down in alternating colors; an Ace can take a King. Runs move together.
- 3When a column empties, the top reserve card fills it automatically. Once the reserve is empty, any card can fill a column.
- 4Tap the stock to turn three cards onto the waste. You can go through the stock as often as you like.
- 5Move all 52 cards to the foundations to win.
Controls
Tips
- Empty the reserve first; it is the main thing standing between you and a win.
- Play reserve cards to the columns whenever you can.
- Watch the starting rank shown on the empty foundations.
