How to Play Canfield Solitaire

Canfield begins with only 4 cards in the tableau, but the rest of the pack is divided between a reserve and a Draw 3 stock. The reserve keeps refilling empty columns while the stock turns up cards in threes. On top of that, the foundations can start on any rank, and an Ace is only one of 13 possibilities. Playing well means keeping an eye on all of it at once.

This guide follows the version played on Canfield Solitaire. It uses a single deck, 4 tableau columns, a 13-card reserve and unlimited stock passes.

The Saratoga Springs story

The game is named after Richard A. Canfield, a gambler who took over the Clubhouse in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1894. Some time after 1900 he began letting players buy a deck for $50 and paid them $5 for every card they got onto the foundations, so it took 10 cards just to break even. The researcher Michael Keller later argued that the game dealt at the Clubhouse was probably Klondike, and the two names were mixed up for a long time (background on Wikipedia).

Setting out the reserve, tableau and first foundation

Deal 13 cards face down into the reserve and turn its top card face up. Place the next card on one of the 4 foundations. Its rank becomes the base rank for all 4 foundation piles. Deal one face-up card into each of the 4 tableau columns. The remaining 34 cards form the stock, with an empty waste space beside it.

The opening foundation card also fixes where every suit must begin. If it is a Jack, the other 3 foundations wait for their Jacks. If it is a 4, all 4 suits begin with a 4. The suit of the opening card does not change the order of play. It simply gives one foundation a head start.

Build each foundation up by suit

A foundation accepts cards of a single suit in ascending rank. Begin with the deal's base rank, then continue upward. The sequence wraps after King, so a foundation that starts on Jack runs Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2 and onward until it finishes on 10. A foundation that starts on 4 finishes on 3.

Only one exposed card moves to a foundation at a time. The card can come from the reserve, the waste or the open end of a tableau column. You cannot lift a tableau sequence onto a foundation as a group. Each card must reach its matching suit pile in order.

Build the tableau down in alternating colors

Tableau cards descend by one rank and alternate color. A red 8 may sit on a black 9, while a black 8 needs a red 9. Suits do not have to match. Canfield also wraps ranks in the tableau: a King may be placed on an Ace of the opposite color.

A correctly ordered group can move together. For example, a black 9, red 8 and black 7 can be lifted as one unit and placed on a red 10. You can also move just part of a run here, starting from any card in it, as long as the cards from that point on are in order.

The reserve refills empty columns

Whenever a tableau column becomes empty, the top reserve card moves into that space automatically. The next reserve card is then turned face up. This refill happens while cards remain in the reserve, so you cannot use an empty column as free storage during the early part of the game.

You may play the exposed reserve card to a foundation or onto a legal tableau card. If another move empties a column, the current reserve card fills the gap. Only after all 13 reserve cards have entered play can an empty column accept any movable card or ordered group.

Turn the stock 3 cards at a time

Tap the stock to turn the next 3 cards onto the waste. Only the top waste card can be played. Play it to a foundation or the tableau if it fits, and the card below becomes available. If the top card cannot move, you may turn the next 3 and cover it.

When the stock runs out, turn the waste over and begin another pass without shuffling. There is no fixed limit on passes in this version. Because the order stays intact, removing one waste card changes which cards will be exposed together on the next pass. You do not have to memorize the whole stock, but it helps to notice a base card, or a card the tableau is waiting for, that keeps turning up just under a card you can't play.

Empty columns after the reserve is gone

Once the reserve is empty, a cleared column stays open. Any exposed card or valid tableau group may enter it. The space can separate a crowded sequence, hold a card from the waste or give a long group somewhere to wait while its destination is uncovered.

Empty space is useful, but the win still requires all 52 cards on the foundations. Avoid filling a gap with a card that has nowhere to go next. A card that can soon go up to a foundation, or a group that can move on again, is usually a better choice than a lone card that will just sit there.

Reading a new Canfield deal

1. Read the base rank on the foundations and look for the other 3 cards of that rank.
2. Check whether the exposed reserve card can move to a foundation or tableau.
3. Inspect the 4 tableau cards for foundation moves and alternating-color builds.
4. Draw from the stock when the visible reserve and tableau moves are finished.
5. Recheck the reserve after every cleared column because its top card will have changed.

This order keeps the first few moves tied to the cards that are actually available. Later stock passes take more attention because playing a waste card changes the packet order, but the same checks still apply.

Players who enjoy a strict stock and visible tableau may also like Forty Thieves. For a broader comparison of reserve, tableau and pairing games, see the main types of Solitaire.

Play Canfield Solitaire

By Sam R., Solitaire.cx editor. Screenshots are from real games on this site. How these guides are written.