The Plot

Last updated
The Plot
A Patience game
FamilyFan
DeckDouble 52-card

The Plot is a Patience game which is played with two decks of playing cards. [1]

Contents

Rules

First, thirteen cards are dealt, squared up, and turned face up. This pile makes up the reserve. Then a card is placed as the first foundation. Then, below the reserve, twelve cards are dealt in three rows of four cards each.

As they become available, the seven other cards of the samerank as the first foundation card are placed in the foundations as well, and all are built up regardless of suit until each contains thirteen cards. For example, if the card dealt after the reserve is formed is a seven, the other sevens should start the other foundations. But the other foundations cards are subject on this restriction: The first foundation must be built up first until it has thirteen cards. When the first foundation is finished, the other seven foundations can be started and built at the same time.

The top card of the reserve is available for play only on the foundations. The top cards of the tableau piles (initially containing one card) are available for play both on the foundations and on other tableau piles. The tableau cards are built down regardless of suit, and only one card can be moved at a time. Building in this case is round-the-corner, i.e. an ace is ranked between a king and a two.

Spaces in the tableau are filled using only cards from the wastepile or the stock (never from the tableau), but not immediately; the player can leave a space as long as one likes. During the restriction, while the first foundation is still being built, only a card that is of the same rank as the first card of the first foundation can be placed in a space in the tableau. Foundation cards in the tableau cannot be built on other cards or built upon, they can only fill spaces. Once the first foundation is finished (i.e. contains thirteen cards), any card from the wastepile or the stock can be placed on a space.

The stock can be dealt one at a time and unplayable cards can be placed on the wastepile, the top card of which is available for play. There is no redeal.

The game is blocked if it cannot be completed after the stock runs out. The patience is out when all cards are built in the foundations.

Strategy

Because of the restriction, the player is advised to build on the first foundation as fast as possible so when that is done, the player can proceed in the building the other foundations.

Also, the use of the reserve is suggested in every opportunity, and the use of spaces must be maximized, since they may not filled immediately.

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.

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.

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

Bristol is a Patience game using a deck of 52 playing cards. It is a fan-type game in the style of La Belle Lucie. It has an unusual feature of building regardless of suit on both the foundations and on the tableau; it is also one of the easiest to win. It was invented by Morehead & Mott-Smith.

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.

Queen of Italy is a patience or card solitaire game played with two packs 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."

<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.

Deuces or Twos is a patience or card solitaire game of English origin which is played with two packs of playing cards. It is so called because each foundation starts with a Deuce, or Two. It belongs to a family of card games that includes Busy Aces, which is derived in turn from Napoleon at St Helena.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortune's Favor</span>

Fortune's Favor or Fortune's Favour is a patience or card solitaire which is played with a deck of 52 playing cards. It is so-called probably because the chances of winning are completely on the player's side. It is a significantly simplified version of the game Busy Aces, a member of the Forty Thieves family of solitaire games.

Frog is an old French patience or solitaire card game which is played with two decks of playing cards. It belongs to the same family of solitaire games as Strategy, Sir Tommy, Calculation, and Puss in the Corner. Game-play is like Sir Tommy, but with two decks, a fifth waste pile, and a Canfield-like reserve. In its native France it is known as Le Crapaud.

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. The Plot Solitaire Rules, Solitaire Central. Accessed 14 October 2020