Canfield is the solitaire with a reserve pile that refuses to cooperate. Thirteen cards sit in a stack you can only take from the top, the foundations start from whatever rank the deal decides, and the stock comes out three cards at a time. It is harder to win than Klondike, and that is its appeal: most deals are a struggle, and clearing the reserve feels like real progress.
How to play
The layout. After the shuffle you get:
- the reserve: 13 cards in one pile, with only the top card face up;
- four tableau piles of one face-up card each;
- one card already on the first foundation;
- the stock: the remaining 34 cards, face down, with a waste pile beside it.
The base rank. The card dealt to the first foundation sets the starting rank for all four foundations. If it is a 9, each foundation must start with a 9 of its own suit, then build 10, J, Q, K, A, 2 and up to 8. The count wraps past the king, so every foundation ends one rank below the base.
The tableau. Piles build downward in alternating colours: a red 4 on a black 5, and so on. Wrapping works here too, so a king can be placed on an ace of the opposite colour. You can move the top card of a pile, or any properly built run from the top, onto another pile where its lowest card fits.
Empty tableau spots. When a tableau pile empties, the top card of the reserve fills it automatically. Once the reserve is gone, an empty spot can take any card or run, from the waste or from another pile.
The stock. Tap the stock to turn three cards onto the waste; only the top waste card is playable. When the stock runs out, tap it again to turn the waste back over. There is no limit on how many times you can go through.
Winning. Get all 52 cards onto the foundations.
Controls. Tap a card to send it to the best legal spot, or drag it where you want. Undo takes back moves one at a time, Hint points at a useful move, and Finish plays the remaining cards to the foundations when the game is clearly won. The top bar shows your move count and time, and New game deals again.
What makes Canfield hard
Two things limit you. The reserve releases only one card at a time, and only when a tableau spot opens. And the stock in threes hides two out of every three cards on each pass. Since the base rank is random, you can’t count on aces and twos being the first cards you need; in one deal it is the jacks, in another the sixes. That randomness is the defining feature of the game and is why memorised Klondike habits don’t carry over.
Strategy
Empty the reserve first. Almost every decision should serve that aim. A tableau spot that empties is a new reserve card in play, so look for moves that clear a single-card pile or shift a run onto another one.
Don’t fill the tableau with stock cards you don’t need. Building long runs from the waste can block the reserve’s next card from finding a home. Play from the waste when it helps free a tableau spot or feeds a foundation.
Track the base rank. Note it as soon as you see the deal. Cards one rank below the base are the last ones each foundation needs; there is no hurry to free them.
Use passes, but learn the cycle. With three-card draws, the order of cards that turn up only changes when you take one off the waste. If a full pass gives you nothing, playing even one waste card shifts which cards appear next time.
Keep two piles of different colours open. With only four tableau piles, a pile topped by the wrong colour can make the reserve card unplayable for a long time. Try to keep one red and one black end available.
Undo is part of the game. Canfield deals can often be won only by trying a line, seeing it fail, and backing up. There is no penalty for undoing, so explore.
For a solitaire that is easier to win with the full deck in view, try Yukon; for the classic stock-and-tableau game, Klondike.
If you enjoy Canfield Solitaire, try Clock Solitaire or Color Clash next.
