Queen of Italy

Last updated

Queen of Italy (also known as Terrace) is a patience or card solitaire game played with two packs of playing cards. It is a very strategic game that rewards careful planning, [1] since the cards that potentially block the game are presented at the start, and with care it can be completed about half the number of attempts. [2]

Contents

Rules

First, the player deals eleven overlapping cards in a row. These cards form the reserve or terrace. After leaving a space below the terrace for the foundations, the player lays four cards in a row. The player then chooses which of these four cards starts the first foundation. The player places the chosen card on the foundation row, immediately fills the gap it left with a new card from the stock. The player adds five new cards beside these four to form the tableau.

The player builds the foundations in alternating colours, wrapping from King to Ace if necessary. The cards on the tableau are available to build either on the foundations, or on other cards in the tableau. Cards on the tableau are built down on each other, also in alternating colours, and the player immediately fills any gap with a card from the stock. The player moves one card at a time, and when building cards form a column, only the top card is available for play. The top card (the exposed card) of the terrace is the only card available for play and the player can only use it to build on the foundations.

When there are no more possible moves on the tableau, the stock is dealt one card at a time and placed on the wastepile, the top card of which is available to be built on the foundations or the tableau. The top card of the wastepile is also used to fill a gap on the tableau whenever it occurs. However, when the stock runs out, there is no redeal; the game ends soon after.

The player wins the game when all cards end up in the foundations—and loses whenblocked after dealing the entire stock.

Variations

Since this is an old and classic game, several common variations exist, including Blondes and Brunettes, Redheads, and Falling Star, and General's Patience. In some cases the initial foundation card is decided by the deal rather than the player. In other cases empty spaces are filled automatically from the stock or by the waste pile, or can be filled by using cards from the tableau. Sometimes a single re-deal is allowed. General's Patience requires the foundations to be built up by suit rather than alternate colours.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of patience terms</span> List of terms used in the card games known as patiences or solitaires

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napoleon at St Helena</span>

Napoleon at St Helena is a 2-deck patience or solitaire card game for one player. It is quite difficult to win, and luck-of-the-draw is a significant factor. The Emperor Napoleon often played patience during his final exile to the island of St Helena, and this is said to be the version he probably played. Along with its variants, it is one of the most popular two-deck patiences or solitaires. The winning chances have been estimated as 1 in 10 games, with success typically dependent on the player's ability to clear one or more columns. The game is the progenitor of a large family of similar games, mostly with variations designed to make it easier to get out.

Musical is a patience or card solitaire using a single deck of 52 playing cards. It is similar to another old game called Calculation except there is no tableau to play in and there is only one wastepile rather than four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windmill (card game)</span>

Windmill is a solitaire card game played with two decks of playing cards; it is a relatively mechanical game that isn't won that frequently. It is so called because of its distinctive initial layout, which resembles a windmill's sails. It is also known under the name Propeller.

Sir Tommy, also called Old Patience, is a patience or solitaire card game using a single pack of 52 playing cards. It is said to be the ancestor of all patiences, hence its alternative title. It is a half-open, planner type of patience game in the same family of card-building games as Calculation and Strategy. It is also known as Try Again and Numerica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Quilt (card game)</span> Patience or solitaire card game

Crazy Quilt is a patience or solitaire card game using two decks of 52 playing cards each. The game is so-called because the reserve resembles the weaves of a carpet or an arrangement of a quilt, with cards alternating vertical and horizontal rotations.

Eagle Wing is a Patience game which is played with a deck of 52 playing cards. The game takes its name from the tableau which depicts an eagle-like bird spreading its wings in flight. It is somewhat related to the Canfield variant Storehouse.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diplomat (card game)</span> Patience card game

Diplomat is a patience or solitaire card game which is played using two decks of playing cards shuffled together. Its layout is similar to that of Beleaguered Castle, and the play is similar to Forty Thieves. It can be completed successfully more often than not.

Red and Black is a patience or card solitaire which uses two decks of playing cards. The game is so called because all building is done in alternating colors of red and black. It is not related to another similarly named solitaire game of Rouge et Noir, although Red and Black can also be known under that name. It is part of the Napoleon at St Helena family of patiences and solitaires.

Duchess or Glenwood is a patience or solitaire card game which uses a deck of 52 playing cards. It has all four typical features of a traditional patience or solitaire game: a tableau, a reserve, a stock or talon and a wastepile. It is relatively easy to get out. It is a reserved packer, the same type of game as Canfield or Demon. Arnold describes it as "an interesting game with a fair chance of a favourable outcome."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado (game)</span>

Colorado is a solitaire card game which is played using two decks of playing cards. It is a game of card building which belongs to the same family as games like Sir Tommy, Strategy, and Calculation. It is considered an easy game with 80% odds of being completed successfully.

Westcliff is the name of two closely-related patience or card solitaire games of the simple packer type, both of which are played using a deck of 52 playing cards. One version is particularly easy to win, with odds of 9 in 10; the other is harder with odds closer to 1 in 4. The game has a variant, Easthaven.

The Plot is a Patience game which is played with two decks of playing cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Seasons (card game)</span>

Four Seasons is a patience or card solitaire which is played with a single deck of playing cards. It is also known as Corner Card and Vanishing Cross, due to the arrangement of the foundations and the tableau respectively. Another alternate name is Cross Currents.

British Constitution is an English patience or card solitaire played with two packs of playing cards. It is a card game with a high chance in winning.

British Blockade, also known as Parallels, is an old English patience or card solitaire of the blockade family which is played with two packs of playing cards. The name British Blockade was given to distinguish it from French Blockade which, however, is not a blockade game. The name Parallels is simply derived from the fact that the cards are lined up in rows parallel to each other.

Zodiac is a solitaire card game which is played with two decks of playing cards shuffled together. An old game, it first appeared in Lady Adelaide Cadogan's book Illustrated Games of Patience. It is so-named probably because of its "globe"-shaped layout. It had many variations until its rules were standardized in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gate (card game)</span>

Gate is a patience or card solitaire game played using a pack of 52 playing cards, and is a member of the Canfield family. It gets its name because the cards are laid out in such a way that they form a gate. Average players can expect to win 99% of their games.

Following is a patience or card solitaire that uses a single pack of playing cards. It is so called because a player has to follow a rotation of suits. It was first described in 1892 in Games of Patience by Mary Whitmore Jones and has since appeared in other books and software.

References

  1. ↑ "Queen of Italy" in 10 More Popular Builder Solitaire Card Games, PlayingCardDecks, 2 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "Terrace" (p.247) in The Complete Book of Card Games by Peter Arnold, Hamlyn Publishing, 2010. ISBN   978-0-600-62191-1
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.