Canfield Solitaire Rules︱How to Play and Win

The objective of Canfield Solitaire is to move all of your cards to the four foundation piles, which sounds simple enough. But while these piles ascend in order by suit, they most likely won’t start with an ace. Instead, the card that starts your foundation piles depends on which base card was dealt during set up. The differing base foundation card as well as the hidden reserve pile all make this card game particularly difficult to win.

While Canfield is similar to Klondike Solitaire, it is referred to by many as Demon Solitaire. That might give you some insight into the difficulty of this Solitaire card game. With a win rate of 8.94% compared to Klondike’s win rate of 32.91%, Canfield Solitaire may be simple to set up, but it is difficult to play.

You can rise to the challenge and play Canfield Solitaire online for free at Solitaired, using the rules and tips in this post to win.

Canfield Solitaire Objective

You win by moving all cards to your four foundation piles, which ascend in order by suit. The base foundation pile card is dealt at the beginning of the game and determines which rank your foundation piles start with.

Canfield Solitaire Setup

If you know how to set up Solitaire, you only need to understand a couple of differences to find your way around Canfield Solitaire. Understanding each element of the Canfield Solitaire setup is important for playing and winning the game. Using a 52-card deck, your cards are arranged into these different sections:

• Reserve: First, deal 13 cards facedown with the last card in the column face up.
• Foundation piles: Although there are four foundation piles, a single card is dealt into the first foundation pile which will become your base card or the starting card for each of the foundation piles. For example, if you deal an eight of spades, the other three foundation piles will also start with eights and end with sevens. As you build, once you reach the king, the next card should be an ace.
• Tableau: This element is most like Klondike Solitaire. The tableau piles will be your main playing area. There will be four columns to arrange the cards in descending order alternating by color as you work to get cards into the foundation piles. In Canfield, you need to wrap your columns, which means once you get to an ace, the next card you play can be a king as long as it’s the opposite color.
• Stockpile: The remaining cards (34) will be placed facedown. You will draw three at a time and place them face up in the waste pile. You can cycle through this pile as many times as necessary.
• Waste pile: This is where you place your cards from the stockpile. During gameplay, you can only play the top card of the waste pile. However, if you play the top card, you can then play the next card in the pile.

Canfield Solitaire Rules

Knowing how to play Solitaire gives you a great foundation to learn how to play Canfield, but even if you’re brand new to Solitaire games, these game rules will help you quickly understand how to play the game.

Only Move Face-Up Cards

Just like most Solitaire games, you can only move cards that are face up and available. These include the top card from the waste pile, top cards from foundation piles, and cards or sequences of cards on the tableau. You will use face-up cards to arrange your tableau and move individual cards to their foundation piles.

On the tableau, you can move singular cards as well as an entire descending sequence. To move a sequence, it must descend in order but alternate in color and be placed on a card of opposite color and one rank higher. So a sequence that begins with a black ten can move on top of a red jack.

Some cards you move will reveal other face-up cards. So if you play a card from the waste pile, you can then play the next card that is revealed. You can also play cards back into the tableau from their foundation piles. If the five of spades is needed to make more moves but is the top card of its foundation pile, you can play it back into the tableau.

Build Sequences in Descending Order but Alternating in Color

important, and you can move both single cards as well as whole sequences.

You can move a single card onto another as long as the card being moved is one rank lower and the opposite color of the card you’re placing it on. So you can move the five of spades or clubs onto any red six, whether it be of diamonds or hearts.

The same is true of sequences. You can move a sequence or column of cards as long as the first card of the sequence is placed on top of a card that is one rank higher and an alternate color. If you want to move a sequence that begins with a queen of hearts or diamonds, the entire sequence can be moved onto a king of clubs or spades.

Since sequences may not descend solely from ace to king, when any sequence ends in an ace, you may place a king of an alternating color on top of it, wrapping it into a new sequence.

Build Foundation Piles by Suit That Descend in Order and Wrap

Just like in Klondike Solitaire, the foundation piles are sorted by suit. Though they will not necessarily begin with aces, the base card from the initial deal becomes the base card for all foundation piles. So if your base card is a ten of spades, all your foundation piles will begin with a ten.

You will build these sequences in ascending order, and when you get to the king, you will wrap the pile by playing an ace so you can continue finishing the pile. The last card depends on the initial foundation card dealt. So if your foundation card is a ten, you will end your pile with a nine.

Fill Empty Tableau Columns with Reserve Cards or Waste Cards

When one of your tableau columns is empty, it can be filled with the top card of the reserve or waste pile. Unlike Klondike Solitaire, in Canfield Solitaire, you can move any rank of card to an empty tableau column, not just a king. Moving cards from the reserve is helpful as it will reveal hidden cards.

If you run through all 13 cards in the reserve piles, you can fill empty columns with cards from the waste pile.

Flip Cards from the Stockpile When You Get Stuck

When you run out of moves in the tableau and foundation piles, use your stockpile by simply clicking the top card. This will deal you three cards face up into the waste pile. You can play the first card from the waste pile on your foundation piles or the tableau.

If you play the first card, the second card becomes available. If you cannot use the card you can click on the stockpile again to reveal the next three cards.

Cycle Through the Stockpile as Often as You Need To

There is no limit to how many times you can cycle through the stockpile. So you can run through it as often as you like, especially if you’re trying to see what’s left in it or trying to find a card that you think you can play.

Once you use a card from the stockpile the cards will shift when it refreshes. So you’ll find new cards being turned up. So be sure to watch and remember each of the three cards flipped in case you need buried ones later to play.

Strategies for Winning

Because of the more difficult nature of Canfield Solitaire, there are a few strategies you might consider to help boost your chances of winning.

• Make the reserve cards a priority. The reserve cards are the only cards in the tableau that you cannot see. Using these cards will help you to access the hidden cards. Some of your foundation cards may be in the reserve, so you want to get them into play as soon as possible so your game can progress.
• Consider foundation base cards. Paying attention to your base card will help you determine your best moves and understand which cards may block your play. If you have a foundation card of six, starting your sequences with fives when you can is ideal, but you also know that a five on your reserve pile will end up blocking play until you get an empty column.
• Cycle through the stockpile first. Given that you can cycle through the stockpile an endless number of times, it is good to cycle through and note the cards first. You will want to look at the movable cards as well as those underneath to see what cards are available.
• Build foundation piles evenly. It is best to evenly build your foundation cards. When you build one foundation with cards three or more ranks higher than the other piles, you may lose the opportunity to play the cards you need. Because your tableau alternates by color, there are two possible cards for each play (black or red of the same rank). Tying one up in its foundation pile quickly cuts your possibilities in half.
• Skip moves from the waste pile when necessary. The waste pile operates in groups of three. Whenever you use a card from the waste pile, the pile shifts, and new cards in the cycle of three become available. The more cards you use, the more you shift the position of each group of three. This is why it is important to know what you have in your stockpile as it may be best to delay another move so you can go through the shifted cycle and access the card you need.

Is Canfield Solitaire Difficult to Win?

Canfield Solitaire has a win rate of about 7%. This is substantially lower than the win rate of other Solitaire games such as Klondike Solitaire with a win rate of around 30% or Free Cell Solitaire in which almost every game is won.

Although these factors make it difficult compared to other Solitaire games, you can work around them to win:

• Not as much play is available as there are fewer tableau columns. Play is limited with so few tableau columns, but because you get unlimited redeals when you play Canfield on Soltiared, you can practice maneuvering in a new game as often as you like.
• The reserve pile has hidden cards. The reserve pile is quite the twist, but since you only play with one deck of cards, there are just 13 cards in this pile. What makes it difficult is that you can only see them one at a time, the rest are hidden. But by going through the stockpile first, you can figure out what cards are in the reserve, you just can’t know the order in which they’ll appear.
• The stockpile deals in groups of three. You can simply use each card one by one. You can only use the top card or the first of the three cards placed into the waste pile. However, you can see what cards are underneath. So you can at least know where cards you need are located, even if they remain buried.

Other Solitaire Variations to Try

Whether Canfield sounds like a challenge you want to try or you think you might be better off with something simpler, you can find a wide range of choices in terms of difficulty and style:

• Klondike Turn 1: One of the easier Solitaire games, Solitaire 1 follows the rules of Klondike Solitaire with a stockpile from which one card at a time is flipped into the waste pile. Simply arrange all cards into foundation piles ascending in order from ace to king by suit to win.
• Solitaire Turn 3: Solitaire Turn 3 is just like Solitaire Turn 1 except it boosts the difficulty level by only allowing cards to be pulled from the stockpile in groups of three. Only the top card can be played in the tableau.
• FreeCell Solitaire: If you need a break from the more difficult Solitaire games, you might try your hand at FreeCell Solitaire. In FreeCell, there are no hidden cards. You must still arrange foundation piles according to suit and starting with the ace, but you have four free cells for temporary storage.
• Golf: Golf can be about as difficult or even more so than Canfield Solitaire, but because it’s played differently, you get a different challenge. In Golf, you pair cards that are one rank higher or lower in the tableau with the top card on the single foundation pile. You must clear the tableau only to win.
• TriPeaks: To win in TriPeaks Solitaire, you must move every playing card from the tableau (organized in “peaks”) to the waste pile. Cards must be one rank above or below the card in the foundation pile. This is a bit easier than Canfield and has a higher win rate among users.

Rise to the Challenge and Play Canfield Solitaire

Maybe you’re an experienced Solitaire player, or maybe you just want to try something new. Either way, Canfield Solitaire is a great game to practice your strategy and take your Solitaire skills to a whole new level. Follow the rules from our post, use our tips for winning, and play free Solitaire games online today!