Games of patience, or (card) solitaires as they are usually called in North America, have their own 'language' of specialised terms such as "building down", "packing", "foundations", "talon" and "tableau". Once learnt they are helpful in describing, succinctly and accurately, how the games are played. Patience games are usually for a single player, although a small number have been designed for two and, in rare cases, three or even four players. They are games of skill or chance or a combination of the two. There are three classes of patience grouped by object.
Shamrocks is a solitaire game akin to La Belle Lucie. The object is the same as the latter: move the cards into the foundations.
Canfield (US) or Demon (UK) is a patience or solitaire card game with a very low probability of winning. It is an English game first called Demon Patience and described as "the best game for one pack that has yet been invented". It was popularised in the United States in the early 20th century as a result of a story that casino owner Richard A. Canfield had turned it into a gambling game, although it may actually have been Klondike and not Demon that was played at his casino. As a result, it became known as Canfield in the United States, while continuing to be called Demon Patience in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It is closely related to Klondike, and is one of the most popular games of its type.
Bisley is a patience or card solitaire which uses a deck of 52 playing cards, and while difficult, it often can be completed successfully. It is closely related to Baker's Dozen, but the foundations are built upwards from Ace and downwards from King simultaneously. It is one of the few one-deck games in which the player has options on which foundation a card can be placed.
Matrimony is a patience or card solitaire game that uses two packs of 52 playing cards. It is a difficult game which depends mostly on luck and is sometimes mechanical.
Big Ben is a patience or card solitaire which uses two decks of playing cards mixed together. It is named after Big Ben, the nickname of the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London.
Queen's Audience, sometimes known as King's Audience, is a pictorial patience or solitaire card game which uses a single pack of 52 playing cards. It is so named because the Jacks and their 'entourage' end up adjacent to their respective Queens as if having an audience with them.
Archway is a patience or solitaire card game of the open builder type that uses two packs of 52 playing cards. Its goal is to bring all 104 cards into the foundation. It was invented by David Parlett, and is based on an old French solitaire game called La Chatelaine.
La Belle Lucie is a patience or card solitaire where the object is to build the cards into the foundations. It is considered to be representative of the "fan" family of solitaire card games, and has a pleasing layout.
Algerian or Algerian Patience is a unique and difficult patience or card solitaire using two decks of playing cards. The object of the game is to build 8 foundations down from King to Ace or up from Ace to King in suit.
Aces and Kings is a challenging and original solitaire game using two decks of playing cards, and was created by Thomas Warfield. The object of the game is to build 8 foundations down from King to Ace or up from Ace to King without regard to suit.
Backbone is a unique and difficult patience or card solitaire game using two packs of playing cards. The object is to move all cards to the foundations.
Batsford is a patience or card solitaire similar to Klondike except that it uses two decks instead of one. The cards are turned up one at a time during a single pass through the deck, and there is also a reserve pile available for a single King.
Beetle is a difficult patience or solitaire card game using two decks of playing cards. The game is similar to Spider, except the Tableau cards are faced up. The object of the game is to group all of the cards into sets of 13 in suit.
Box Kite is a moderately difficult patience or card solitaire using two packs. The object of the game is to move all of the cards to the foundations. It is a variant of the old game of St. Helena.
Casket is a moderately easy solitaire game using two decks. The object of the game is to move all of the cards to the foundations.
Corona is a relatively long and difficult patience or card solitaire using two decks. The object of the game is to move all of the cards to the foundations. Successfully winning the game is considered difficult.
Royal Parade is an old, English, two-pack patience of the half-open builder type. The object of the game is to move cards to the foundations to create a 'gallery' full of picture cards.
Australian Patience is a patience or card solitaire using one deck of playing cards. This game is a challenging combination of Klondike and Scorpion, and is also closely related to Yukon. The object of the game is to move all of the cards to the Foundations.
Double Canfield is a patience or card solitaire game using two decks of playing cards. The object of the game is to move all of the cards to the Foundations.
American Toad layout
