Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (32 page)

Turn over another stock card when you run out of moves. The game ends once the stock is exhausted.

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

This game earns high marks in both the “creative layout” and “highly entertaining” categories. Building a windmill is not easy, but the pace of the game is quick, and there’s just enough skill required to keep things interesting. The odds of winning are 1 in every 12 hands.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), remove one ace and four kings, and place these foundation cards on the table with the ace in the center and the kings on the diagonal. Next, deal eight tableau piles (one card per pile, face up) in the form of a cross like so (T = tableau):

The remaining cards are your stock.

WINNING
Build the king foundations in descending rank (suits and colors do not matter) from king down to ace. The tricky part is building the lone ace foundation with all remaining cards (fifty-two total) in ascending rank. Once again, suits and colors do not matter.
Continuous ranking
is permitted.

HOW TO PLAY
Tableau piles may never contain more than one card, which means no building on the tableau. Fill tableau vacancies with cards from the stock or waste. The topmost cards on the king foundations may be played to the ace foundation. When you run out of moves, turn up a stock card and play it to the foundations, or leave it face up on a waste pile. The topmost waste card may always be played. There is no redeal.

VARIATION: SINGLE-DECK WINDMILL

This Windmill variant uses only one deck of cards. Start by removing all 2s and placing them on the table as your tableau piles, leaving spaces for the foundations and reserve in a windmill pattern like so (F = foundations):

The goal is to build the foundations from 3 to ace by suit in ascending rank. You may build down on the tableau by suit in descending rank (ranking is continuous). Only the topmost tableau cards may be moved. The reserve card may be played either to the foundations or the tableau. When the reserve is empty, fill it with any available card. All other rules are the same as the basic game, except in the single-deck game, you are allowed one redeal (pick up the waste pile, turn it over, and continue dealing).

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

Yukon is a close relative of Klondike, and a logical game to graduate to. Nobody is sure of the Alaskan connection with these two games—it’s a mystery lost in the mists of time. The odds of winning Yukon are 1 in every 13 hands.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and deal seven tableau columns in the pattern below (D = face down):

WINNING
Build four foundations by suit and 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 and in alternating color (e.g., on 8 of hearts you may play 7 of spades or 7 of clubs).

Move cards one at a time or in groups; unlike many other solitaire games, it is OK to move groups of cards even if they are not properly sequenced; the only requirement is that the two cards
being joined
follow the building rules above.

Fill tableau vacancies with any king or group cards starting with a king. Whenever a face-down tableau card is the leading card in its column, turn it face up. There is no stock. The game ends when you’re out of moves.

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

Zodiac has a solid pedigree. Its rules were standardized in 1914, and ever since, the game has remained popular in Solitaire circles. The odds of winning are 1 in every 25 hands.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), and, in a single row, deal eight reserve piles with one card per pile, face up. In Zodiac, the reserve is also called the “equator.” Next, deal twenty-four tableau piles (also one card per pile, face up) in a circle surrounding the equator. The tableau is also called the “zodiac.”