Question 1

How do you play Canfield Solitaire?

Accepted Answer

One card is turned to a foundation and that rank becomes the base for all four — so a game might build from 7s rather than Aces. Build the foundations up in suit, wrapping past the King back to the Ace. Build the tableau down in alternating colour, also wrapping. Thirteen cards sit in a reserve, and whenever a tableau column empties the top reserve card drops into it automatically.

Question 2

Is this free? Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

Free, and there is no account. Open the page and play. Settings, statistics and bookmarks are kept in your own browser rather than on a server.

Question 3

Can I undo a move?

Accepted Answer

As many as you like, with the Undo button or Ctrl+Z — and Redo to put them back. Nothing is scored on undos, so there is no reason not to explore.

Question 4

Can I replay the same deal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every game has a deal number in the bottom corner, and adding it to the URL as ?deal=... opens that exact game. Restart replays the one you are on; New game gives you a fresh number.

Question 5

Does it tell me when I am stuck?

Accepted Answer

Yes, immediately. The status bar says so the moment no legal move remains, rather than leaving you to work it out by clicking everything. A dead end is information, not something to hide.

Question 6

Is there a hint button?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It picks the best move the engine can see and highlights where it goes. It is not a solver — it will not tell you whether the deal is winnable — but it will never suggest an illegal move.

Question 7

Can I play on a phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Cards resize to fit rather than making the board scroll, and every action has a tap target big enough for a thumb.

Question 8

Why do the foundations not start on Aces?

Accepted Answer

That is the whole idea of Canfield. One card is turned up at the start and its rank is the base — if it is a 7, every foundation runs 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2 and so on round to the 6. A player’s first move is to look at what the base turned out to be, because it changes which cards are useful.

Question 9

What is the reserve for?

Accepted Answer

It is thirteen cards, face up, of which you can only ever play the top one. It drains into the tableau automatically whenever a column empties. Getting through it is most of the game — a reserve you cannot break into is the most common way a Canfield deal dies.

Question 10

Can I put any card into an empty column?

Accepted Answer

No, and this is the rule people get caught by. While the reserve still has cards, an empty column is filled from the reserve automatically and nothing else may go there. Once the reserve is exhausted, an empty column can be filled from the waste.

Question 11

What are the odds of winning Canfield?

Accepted Answer

About 35% of deals are winnable with perfect play, and the practical rate for a good player is nearer 10–15%. That is much harsher than Klondike, and it is exactly why the game was profitable in a casino.

Question 12

Why is it called Canfield?

Accepted Answer

Richard A. Canfield ran a gambling house in Saratoga in the 1890s and sold players a deck for $50, paying $5 for every card they got to a foundation. A player needed eleven cards home to break even. The house did very well.

Question 13

Can I keep going through the stock?

Accepted Answer

Yes — unlimited redeals, three cards at a time. That sounds generous and is the only reason the game is winnable at all: with one pass it would be close to hopeless.

Question 14

Can a King go on an Ace?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Both the tableau and the foundations wrap round in Canfield, which follows from the base not being an Ace — a foundation starting on 7 has to get past the King somehow.

Question 15

How is Canfield different from Klondike?

Accepted Answer

Three things: the foundations start on a random rank rather than Aces, there is a thirteen-card reserve that feeds the tableau, and there are only four columns instead of seven. The tableau builds the same way — down in alternating colour — but with four columns there is far less room to manoeuvre.

Question 16

Is Canfield the same as Demon Patience?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Demon is the older British name for the same game; Canfield is the American one, after the casino owner. Some sources also call it Fascination.

Question 17

Should I always play a card to the foundations?

Accepted Answer

No, and this is the main skill. A card sent home cannot come back, and in a four-column game you often need it on the tableau to unload the reserve. Auto-finish here only plays moves that are provably safe — where nothing left on the table could still want that card.

Question 18

What is the best opening move?

Accepted Answer

Look at the reserve before anything else. The reserve is the constraint that decides the game, so the question is always "what does this let me take off the reserve", not "what can I play right now".

Question 19

Is every Canfield deal winnable?

Accepted Answer

Definitely not — around two thirds are not, however well you play. If you get stuck the status bar will say so straight away rather than leaving you clicking.

Question 20

How long does a game take?

Accepted Answer

Five to ten minutes, and a losing deal often much less — the game tends to lock up quickly rather than dragging on.

Question 21

What does the score mean?

Accepted Answer

Ten points per card on a foundation, so a completed game is 520. It is a progress measure rather than a competitive one; the interesting number is how far you got on a deal you could not finish.