How to Play Canfield Solitaire
Deal a 13-card face-down reserve with its top card up, turn one more card to fix every foundation's base rank, and deal four single-card tableau columns. Foundations build up in suit from the base rank and wrap King to Ace; the tableau builds down in alternating colour and also wraps. Win by banking all 52 cards.
The rules, step by step
- 1Deal the reserve, the base card, and the tableauThirteen cards form a face-down reserve with the top card turned up. One more card is turned face up to found the first pile — its rank becomes the base rank for every foundation. Four tableau columns each get one card.
- 2Foundations build in suit from the base rankEach foundation opens with a card of the base rank and climbs up in suit, wrapping King back to Ace, until it closes one rank short of where it started.
- 3The tableau builds down, alternating colour, and wrapsA card may be placed on a card one rank higher of the opposite colour. Unusually, a King may land on an Ace — the run continues downward past the wrap.
- 4Fill empty columns from the reserve firstWhile the reserve has cards left, only the reserve's top card may fill an empty tableau column. Once the reserve is empty, any face-up card may go there.
- 5Turn the stock three at a timeClicking the stock deals three cards face up to the waste. Redeal the waste back into the stock as many times as you need.
- 6Bank all 52 cards to winThe game is won when every card sits on one of the four foundations, each a complete 13-card wrapped run.
Try it — the rules above, running
New game deals a fresh shuffle, Hint highlights a legal move, and the three-dot menu at the end of the bar holds redo, auto-finish, today’s deal, the keyboard shortcuts and the rule set.
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Today’s deal
Everyone playing Canfield today gets deal #3638011217. It changes at midnight UTC.
Track the month on the daily challenge page.
Replay a deal
Every deal is a pure function of its number, so deal #20260726 is the same shuffle on any device, any time.
Keyboard
- U / Z
- Undo
- R
- Redo
- H
- Hint
- N
- New deal (asks first)
- F
- Full screen
- Space
- Turn the stock
- A
- Auto-finish
- Esc
- Deselect, or leave full screen
What makes up the Canfield deal?
- 1Square the reserveDeal 13 cards face down into one pile and turn only the top card face up.
- 2Fix the base rankTurn one more card face up to start the first foundation. Its rank is now the base rank every foundation must open with.
- 3Deal the tableauDeal one card face up to each of four tableau columns.
- 4Set the stock asideThe remaining 34 cards form the stock, turned three at a time with unlimited redeals.
How do the wraps work?
| Pile | Builds | Wraps |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Up, in suit, from the base rank | King back to Ace |
| Tableau | Down, alternating colour | King onto Ace |
When can you fill an empty tableau column?
While the reserve still holds any cards, only the reserve's current top card may go into an empty column — this is what keeps the reserve as the priority all game. Once the reserve is used up, any face-up card, of any rank, may fill an empty column.
How do you win more often?
- Empty the reserve before anything elseTwelve of its thirteen cards are hidden from the start, and only the reserve can fill an empty column while it still has any left. A move that frees the next reserve card is almost always the best move on the board.
- Remember the wrap goes the "wrong" wayA King can sit on an Ace, both in the tableau and, in its own way, on the foundations. Players who assume the 2-on-Ace direction end up stuck looking for a move that was never legal.
- Do not bank a card the tableau still needsOnce a rank is on the foundation, the card that would have built onto it in the tableau loses its home. Look at what is still buried before sending a mid-rank card up.
- Treat the four tableau columns as temporary, not permanentWith only four columns and one card apiece to start, there is far less room to park cards than in Klondike's seven. Plan a move as much by what it frees in the reserve as by where it lands.
Common questions about canfield solitaire
- Do you always start a Canfield foundation with an Ace?
- No. Whatever card is turned up to found the first pile sets the base rank for all four foundations, and it is picked by the deal, not chosen by you.
- How many times can you go through the Canfield stock?
- As many times as you like on this board. Some house rules cap it, but unlimited redeals are the more common modern setting.
Ready to stop reading? Play canfield solitaire on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.