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Canfield Solitaire is a fast, tricky cousin of Klondike Solitaire. You turn three cards at a time from the stockpile, build the four foundations up in suit from a base card that changes every game, and race to clear the 13-card reserve. Since you can’t access all the stock cards, you must pay attention to what’s buried and what you need to free in order to progress in the game.

Canfield Solitaire Objective

Win Canfield Solitaire by moving all 52 cards to the four foundations. Each foundation holds one suit and starts with the base card, which is a different rank every game.

At the start, 13 cards are dealt to the reserve with only the top one face up. One card goes to its foundation, and its rank becomes the base rank for all four foundations. Four more cards are dealt face up to start the four tableau piles, and the other 34 cards make up the stockpile.

Every deal here can be won. Each game is solved by a computer before it’s dealt, so there’s always a way to move all 52 cards to the foundations. The computer can see every card, including the ones buried in the reserve and stockpile, so finding the way through can still take careful planning and sometimes more than one try.

Canfield Solitaire Rules

• Build the foundations up in suit from the base rank. If the base rank is 8, each foundation goes 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2, and on up to 7. After the King comes the Ace.
• Build the tableau down in alternating colors. A card goes on a card one rank higher and the opposite color, such as the 6♥ on the 7♣. The ranks wrap in Canfield Solitaire, so a black King can go on a red Ace.
• Move runs of cards together. You can move a single card or a group of cards that alternate colors. Some versions of Canfield only let you move a whole pile, but here you can move part of one, as in Klondike.
• Turn three cards at a time from the stockpile. Only the top card of the waste pile can be played. When the stockpile runs out, click it to turn the waste pile back over and go through it again, as many times as you like.
• Move a card back off a foundation if you need it. The top card of a foundation can go back to the tableau, except the base card.

The Reserve and the Base Card

The reserve is the heart of Canfield. Its top card can always be played, to a foundation or onto the tableau, and the next card turns face up as soon as it moves.

When a tableau pile is emptied, the top reserve card fills the space on its own, so emptying piles is the fastest way to work through the reserve. Once the reserve is empty, you can fill an empty pile with any card or run.

The base card changes every game, so check it before your first move. The empty foundations show the base rank, and every foundation has to start with a card of that rank.

Canfield vs. Klondike

Canfield plays much like Klondike Turn 3, but a few differences change how you plan each game.

• There are four tableau piles, not seven, and every card in them is face up.
• A 13-card reserve takes the place of the face-down cards. Getting through it is what wins the game.
• The foundations start from the base rank, not the Ace, and the ranks wrap from King to Ace.
• An empty pile fills from the reserve, so it doesn’t wait for a King. Once the reserve is empty, any card or run can fill it.

Canfield is named after Richard Canfield, a casino owner in the 1890s. In Britain the same game is often called Demon.

Tips and Strategies to Win Canfield Solitaire

• Play the reserve first. Whenever the top reserve card can go somewhere, move it. The reserve is the only place cards stay hidden.
• Empty tableau piles on purpose. Each empty pile pulls the next reserve card into play, which moves you closer to clearing it.
• Keep the base rank in mind. Cards of the base rank start the foundations, so free them early, and remember that the card just below the base rank is the last one each foundation needs.
• Go through the stockpile with a plan. Turning three cards at a time, you can only reach every third card, so plan how to free the cards you need. Sometimes that means holding back a play from the waste pile so different cards come up on your next pass.
• Don’t rush cards to the foundations. A low card on the tableau may still be needed to hold the next card of the other color, especially while the reserve is full.

Canfield is one of the most difficult Solitaire games. Winning takes patience and planning, so take your time and think a few moves ahead.