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.
Klondike, also known as Canfield, is a card game for one player and the best known and most popular version of the patience or solitaire family, something which "defies explanation" as it has one of the lowest rates of success of any such game. Partly because of that, it has spawned numerous variants including Batsford, Easthaven, King Albert, Thumb and Pouch, Somerset or Usk and Whitehead, as well as the American variants of the games, Agnes and Westcliff. The distinguishing feature of all variants is a triangular layout of the tableau, building in ascending sequence and packing in descending order.
Clock or Sundial is a luck-based patience or solitaire card game with the cards laid out to represent the face of a clock. It is closely related to Travellers.
Gargantua is a patience or solitaire card game that is a version of Klondike using two decks. It is also known as Double Klondike and as Jumbo.
Interregnum is a solitaire card game using two decks of 52 cards each. It sometimes also is given the name Constitution, although this alternate name can also refer to an entirely different game. The object of Interregnum is to build eight foundations of thirteen cards each, regardless of suit. Building the foundations is unusual compared to most foundation-building games.
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.
Grandfather's Clock is an easy patience or solitaire card game using a deck of 52 playing cards. Its foundation is akin to Clock Patience; but while winning the latter depends entirely on the luck of the draw, Grandfather's Clock has a strategic side, with the chances of winning being around 3 out of 4 games, especially if careful consideration is given to which cards would be released in instances where you have a choice of plays between identical cards.
Canfield (US) or Demon (UK) is a patience or solitaire card game with a very low probability of winning. It was an English game first called Demon Patience and described as "the best game for one pack that has yet been invented", but was popularised in the United States at the turn of the 20th century by casino owner Richard A. Canfield, who turned it into a casino game. 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.
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.
British Square is a patience or solitaire card game which uses two decks of 52 playing cards each. It is a fan-type game in the style of La Belle Lucie. It has an unusual feature of switchback building whereby each foundation is first built up and then built down.
Congress is a patience or solitaire card game using two decks of 52 playing cards each. It is a simple but strategic game which requires skill and careful choosing for it to be completed successfully. It is closely related to Forty Thieves but has eight instead of ten columns. It is sometimes called President's Cabinet, and can typically be completed successfully less than once in 20 games.
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.
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.
Queen of Italy is a solitaire card game played with two decks of playing cards. It is a very strategic game that rewards careful planning, 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.
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."
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.
Alhambra is a solitaire card game which is played using two decks of playing cards. Its unusual feature is akin to that of Crazy Quilt: the cards in the reserve are built either on the foundations or on a waste pile.
Patriarchs is a patience or card solitaire which is played with two packs of playing cards. It is similar in reserve layout to Odd and Even but with different rules of play.
Colours is a solitaire card game which is played using a deck of playing cards. Its gameplay puts it on the same family as Sir Tommy, Strategy, and Calculation.
