Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (11 page)

The rules for discarding are straightforward: whenever two or more adjoining cards total 10, 20, or 30 points, discard them. So, all three cards in the hand 3 of diamonds, 7 of diamonds, 10 of hearts would be discarded, because they add up to 20 points (3 of diamonds-7 of diamonds could also be discarded as a pair, since they add up to 10). If you’re playing the literal one-handed version of the game, it’s traditional to place discards face up at the bottom of the deck.

Once you run out of moves, deal a single face-down card from the bottom of the deck and place it, face up, on top of the deck. Keep looking for discards, and if none are available, deal another card from the deck. In Decade, there is no redeal; the game ends when all cards are dealt.

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

Deuces is neither too hard nor too easy (the odds of winning are 1 in every 5 hands), and you will typically be spared the regret inherent in the more strategic Solitaire games. Your job is simply to not overlook obvious moves, and to keep the waste pile as small as possible.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), and remove all 2s. Place them on the table, face up, in two rows of four cards each. These are your foundations. Next, deal four cards in a row below the foundations, plus three cards on each side of the foundations, all face up. These are your ten tableau piles.

WINNING
Build the eight foundations by suit in ascending rank from 2 to ace.

HOW TO PLAY
You may play the topmost card of any tableau pile to the foundations or another tableau pile. Just remember to build foundations by suit in ascending rank and tableau piles by suit in descending rank. You also may move entire tableau piles onto other tableau piles, as long as the suit- matching and ranking rules are followed. What’s unusual is that aces always and only rank high in Deuces (Q-K-A but never A-2-3).

Play a card from the reserve at any time to the foundations or tableau. Failing that, place it face up in a waste pile (the topmost waste card may always be played to the foundations or tableau). Whenever a tableau slot is vacant, immediately fill it with the top card from your waste pile. If the waste pile is empty, play a card from your reserve. There is no redeal in Deuces.

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

Diplomat poses a 1-in-100 game challenge. And while it is easy to learn, it’s very hard to win.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with two fifty-two-card decks (104 cards total), and deal eight tableau piles, topmost cards face up, each with five cards. All other cards form your reserve.

WINNING
Aces are the foundation cards in Diplomat, and the goal is to build the eight foundations by suit in ascending rank from ace to king.

HOW TO PLAY
The game starts with eight empty foundation piles, to be filled by aces as they become available. The topmost tableau cards may be played to the foundations by suit in ascending rank, or to another tableau pile in descending rank (suits and colors do not matter). When a tableau slot is vacant, you may (but are not required to) fill it with another tableau card or the topmost card from the waste pile.

At any time, you may turn up a card from the reserve and play it to the foundations or tableau. Otherwise, move it to the waste pile. The topmost card on the waste pile may always be played to the foundations and tableau. There is no redeal in Diplomat.

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

If you like Canfield, you’ll love Duchess. The two games share many features and are equally difficult to win. The difference is that in Canfield it often feels like you’re going to lose from the get-go. In Duchess, it often feels like you might actually win—until those dastardly last few cards are played. The actual odds of winning are 1 in every 40 hands.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and deal four cards, face up, in a row. This is your tableau. Next, deal four reserve piles (three cards per pile) face up and fanned out, so that all cards are visible. Set aside the remaining cards as your stock. Your cards should look like this:

WINNING
Build four foundation piles, each with thirteen cards organized by suit and in ascending rank. The trick is that the starting foundation cards vary from game to game.

HOW TO PLAY
Your first job is to nominate foundation cards. Select one of your exposed reserve cards (either 9 of diamonds, K of diamonds, X of diamonds, or 3 of spades in the example above), and move it to an empty foundation pile. The rank of this first foundation card determines the starting rank of your other three founda tion piles. If you select 9 of diamonds, for example, the other foundation piles must start with 9 of clubs, 9 of hearts, and 9 of spades. Once the foundations are established, build each pile by suit in ascending rank (9 of hearts-10 of hearts-J of diamonds-Q of hearts-K of hearts-X of diamonds-2 of hearts…8 of hearts), using up to thirteen cards.