Canfield♠

01 /

Players and cards

This patience for 1 player uses 52 cards without jokers. Choose the strict profile: draw 3, unlimited stock passes, whole-column moves and no returning foundation cards. Ranks run cyclically A–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–J–Q–K.

02 /

Deal and opening

Shuffle. Count 13 cards into one closed reserve and expose its top. The next card starts the first foundation and sets the base rank for all 4 suits. Deal one exposed card to each of 4 working columns. The remaining 34 form stock; waste is empty. Reserve is one pile, not 13 separate cells.

03 /

Playing a turn

An empty foundation accepts only its base rank. Build upward in suit, wrapping K–A, stopping at exactly 13 cards, one rank below the base. A foundation starting 6 runs 6–7–8–9–10–J–Q–K–A–2–3–4–5. Never remove foundation cards.

Columns build downward in alternating red and black, wrapping A–K. An exposed top card may move to a suitable occupied column or foundation. A complete correctly built column may move together, but do not cut off a lower partial sequence.

04 /

Reserve and empty columns

Reserve top may move to a foundation or column; expose the next after removing it. Immediately fill every empty column from reserve before other moves. Never put cards back into reserve. Once reserve is exhausted, an empty column accepts only waste top, not a card from another column. With waste empty, the space awaits a future draw.

05 /

Stock and repeated passes

Turn 3 stock cards onto one waste, preserving packet order: only the last exposed card is playable. Removing it reveals the previous one. Deal a final short packet as it stands. When stock empties, turn the whole waste over without shuffling and draw 3 again. Passes are unlimited; this does not reveal hidden reserve cards.

06 /

Scoring

Ordinary patience needs no monetary score. A personal log may count foundation cards out of 52: our optional progress measure, not a promised payment per card. Track time and undos separately if desired. Historical casino tariffs are a separate mode and are not used.

07 /

Ending the game

Win with all 52 cards on four foundations of 13. If a full pass repeats stock and waste order and no legal move advances play, the attempt is blocked: another unchanged pass adds nothing. Stop or separately allow undo-assisted search. A redeal starts a new attempt; no draw applies.

08 /

History and selected variant

Canfield is associated with American casino proprietor Richard Canfield and called Demon in British tradition. An association of name and casino does not prove personal invention; no inventor or precise date is asserted here. Implementations differ on spaces and partial-run moves: this uses eSolutions’ strict profile rather than mixing them.

09 /

Worked example

Base card is 6♣. An available 6♥ starts the heart foundation, but A♥ cannot start it. If a column ends A♣, an available K♥ may go on it: downward across ace with alternating colour. The 6♣ foundation next accepts 7♣; after K♣ comes A♣ and its final card is 5♣.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Common questions