Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (14 page)

Build tableau piles by alternating color in descending rank (e.g., play 7 of hearts on either 8 of spades or 8 of clubs). As long as you follow the color-matching rules, it is OK to move tableau cards in groups. When a tableau slot is vacant, fill it with a card from the reserve (or, if that is empty, from the waste pile).

Turn over stock cards one at a time, and play them either to the foundations or tableau, or to the waste pile. The top card in the waste pile may be played at any time. There is no redeal in Gate.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   medium
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   medium
   
3. DECKS
   : 1
   

Gaps is a blast once you master its unique method of dealing cards and building foundations. The game is fast-paced and requires more concentration than strategy. Your odds of winning are about 1 in every 20 games.

HOW TO DEAL
Shuffle a fifty-two-card deck, and remove the 2s. Place the removed 2s face-up in a column, then deal twelve face-up cards in a row next to each 2. After dealing, remove the four aces to create four “gaps.” Your final tableau will look something like this:

2 of hearts—4 of hearts—8 of diamonds—9 of clubs—J of clubs—6 of hearts—Q of spades—Q of diamonds—K of diamonds—3 of clubs—7 of clubs—6 of diamonds—K of spades

2 of spades—
gap
—4 of diamonds—8 of hearts—5 of clubs—7 of spades—3 of spades—J of spades—6 of spades—9 of spades—5 of spades—9 of diamonds—Q of hearts

2 of clubs—10 of hearts—4 of spades—10 of diamonds—3 of diamonds—8 of spades—K of hearts—7 of diamonds—5 of diamonds—J of diamonds—9 of hearts—
gap
—10 of clubs

2 of diamonds—8 of clubs—4 of clubs—5 of hearts—
gap
—3 of hearts—
gap
—J of diamonds—6 of clubs—10 of spades—K of clubs—7 of hearts—Q of clubs

WINNING
The goal is to create four rows organized by suit, in ascending rank from 2 to king.

HOW TO PLAY
Start by filling gaps. The card to the left of a gap determines what card may be used to fill it—and it’s always the next-highest card of the same suit. So, in the example above, move 3 of spades into the gap next to 2 of spades, 10 of hearts into the gap next to 9 of hearts, 6 of hearts into the gap next to 5 of hearts, and 4 of hearts into the gap next to 3 of hearts.

The only limitation is that if the card immediately to the right of a gap is a king, you may not fill that gap. Continue until all four gaps are blocked by
kings. Once this happens, pick up all cards that are not in proper suit and sequence with the 2 at the beginning of their respective rows. Add back in the four aces, shuffle the cards, and deal into the gaps left in the existing four rows, so each row once again contains thirteen cards. Remove the aces to create four new gaps, and continue as before. In the row below, for example, you would pick up 8 of diamonds, 9 of clubs, J of clubs, 6 of hearts, 7 of hearts (these two hearts are not in proper sequence), Q of diamonds, K of diamonds, K of spades, leaving 2 of hearts, 3 of hearts, J of diamonds, Q of hearts exactly as they are.

2 of hearts—3 of hearts—8 of diamonds—9 of clubs—J of clubs—6 of hearts—7 of hearts—Q of diamonds—K of diamonds—J of diamonds—Q of hearts—
gap
—K of spades

You are allowed two redeals.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   high
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   long
   
3. DECKS
   : 2
   

This game (originally from Bavaria) is childishly simple to play and fiendishly difficult to win (the odds of doing so are 1 in every 50 hands). Luck plays almost no role. Instead you need skill, stamina, and more than a little patience.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), and deal eight cards face up. These are your tableau
and
foundation piles—in German Patience there is no distinction.

WINNING
Build the eight tableau/foundation piles in ascending rank (suit and color do not matter) so that each pile contains thirteen cards total. This game allows
continuous ranking
.

HOW TO PLAY
Suit and color do not matter in German Patience, only a card’s rank (so you may build any eight on any seven, any seven on any six, etc.). Move cards one at a time, never in groups or sets. When you have no moves left, turn up the topmost stock card and play it to either the tableau/foundation or to the waste pile. The topmost waste card may be played at any time.

There is no redeal in German Patience, which makes it a very difficult game to win.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   high
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   medium
   
3. DECKS
   : 1
   

Solitaire golf is not exactly a gimme: The odds of winning are less than 1 in 20 games. Luck plays a role, but skill does, too. And like the real game of golf, Solitaire Golf may be moving along very smoothly, then all of a sudden—shank, triple bogey, game over.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and deal seven tableau piles (five cards per pile) all face up, with all cards visible. The remaining seventeen cards are your stock.

WINNING
The goal is to clear away the entire tableau, moving all cards to a single waste pile. At the end of the game, count how many cards are left in the tableau; this is your score. As in golf, the lower the score, the better.

HOW TO PLAY
Tee off by taking the topmost stock card and placing it, face up, on the waste pile. You may now move the topmost tableau cards to the waste pile, one at a time, as long as they are one up or one down in rank (suits and colors do not matter). So, if your top waste card is 7 of diamonds, for example, you may remove any 6s or 8s from the tableau.