Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (17 page)

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

Intrigue has plenty to recommend it. The odds of winning are good (1 in every 3 games), and yet it’s not a blind-luck game. You need to concentrate in order not to miss the obvious plays.

HOW TO DEAL
Shuffle two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), and remove a random queen. This is your first tableau card. Next, continue dealing cards, face up, on the queen until one of three things happens: you turn up a 6 (which you then should move to the foundation row above); you turn up a 5 (which you then should move to the foundation row below); or you turn up another queen (with which you should start a new tableau pile). Continue until the last queen is dealt.

WINNING
Build sixteen total foundation piles: eight piles above, built in ascending rank from 6 to jack regardless of suit; and eight piles below, built in descending rank from 5 to king. This game allows
continuous ranking,
and suits do not matter.

HOW TO PLAY
There is no redeal, so take a minute to review the board after you deal that final queen. The topmost tableau cards may be played to the foundations or—this is the
only
tableau building allowed in Intrigue— on an uncovered queen. An uncovered queen is considered a “vacant” space, and any available card may be played to it.

The topmost stock card may be played to the foundations or any tableau pile. When the stock runs out, the game is over.

VARIATION: LAGGARD LADY

The rules are exactly as above, with one critical difference. You may not move 5s or 6s to the foundations faster than you deal queens to the tableau. For example, with four queens on the tableau and four 6s in the foundations, the next 6 turned up may not be played to the foundations. Instead, it must be played to the tableau, which makes it harder to retrieve later in the game once all queens are dealt.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   low
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   short
   
3. DECKS
   : 2
   

It’s likely this game was invented by a patriotic Brit in honor of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, celebrating her fifty years as monarch. Jubilee is an easy game to win. The hardest decision is how to organize your tableau.

Hint: Put all your queens into a single pile.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), remove all kings, and arrange them in a single row. These are your eight foundation cards. There is no starting tableau in Jubilee; the remaining cards are your stock.

WINNING
Build each foundation pile
by suit
in the following order: K, A, J, 2, 10, 3, 9, 4, 8, 5, 7, 6, Q.

HOW TO PLAY
The stock starts with ninety-six cards. Turn these up one at a time and play them either to the foundations or to one of four tableau piles (the game starts with four empty tableau piles). The topmost tableau cards may always be played. There is no other building in Jubilee.

You are allowed one redeal once the original stock is exhausted. Gather the tableau piles (starting with the rightmost) and place one atop the other. Turn them over (do not shuffle) and continue dealing as before.

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

King Albert was the king of Belgium until 1934. Though we don’t know why the game was named in his honor, we do know that King Albert is a difficult game to win (you should win 1 in every 26 games), which is why it’s widely known as “Idiot’s Delight.” That’s no insult intended to King Albert or his noble descendants.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and deal nine cards (all face up and visible) in the first tableau pile, eight cards in the second, seven in the third, etc. Your ninth and final tableau pile will have just a single card. Next, deal the remaining seven cards (all face up and visible) to your reserve.

WINNING
Build four foundation piles by suit in ascending rank from ace to king.

HOW TO PLAY
Move aces to the foundations as they become available. Play the topmost tableau cards to the foundations, or use them to build on other tableau piles in descending rank by alternating color (e.g., on 8 of hearts, build 7 of clubs or 7 of spades). You may move cards only one at a time, not in groups or sets. Fill vacant tableau slots with any available card. Each of the seven reserve cards may be played at any time. And no, you may not move cards from the tableau to the reserve. Nice try. There is no redeal.

(Basic Solitaire)

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