SOLITAIRE

also called Patience, a family of card games played by one person. Solitaire, the most widely played kind of card game, has more forms than all other card games put together. Most games are played with one or two 52-card packs, the cards usually ranking king (high), queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, ace. In some games the ace ranks above the kinge.g., in Klondike, wherein cards from a seven-column tableau may only be played on the foundation of an ace. In Canfield, probably the most popular solitaire, the ace may be played onto a king on the foundation and is followed with 2, 3, etc. The following terms describe features common to all Solitaire games: 1. The layoutthe cards dealt on the table. 2. The tableauthe distinctive arrangement of the cards that may be played, or built, upon (excluding the foundations). 3. The foundationscards of designated rank on which other cards build sequentially. 4. The stocka pile of cards that is part of the layout in some games. 5. The handcards not used in the layout. 6. The talona discard pile of cards turned up from the hand that cannot be built upon the tableau or foundations. 7. Available cardscards of the tableau, stock, etc., transferred to other parts of the layout. Usually, certain cards of the tableau are not available until uncovered by transferring cards above them. 8. A spacea gap in the tableau created when all the cards of one pile have been transferred elsewhere. 9. Rowshorizontal lines of cards. 10. Columnsvertical lines of cards.