Canfield Solitaire

Also called Demon Patience, Canfield was invented by Richard A. Canfield in his Saratoga casino around 1900. The casino sold the deck for $52 and paid the player $5 for each card sent to the foundation — a brutal return for the casino, since average play wins only ~6 cards. Today we play without the buy-in, but the structure remains: a 13-card reserve, a random starting rank, and a stock pile that punishes overuse.

How to Play Canfield

• Deal four cards face-up to four tableau columns.
• Deal 13 cards face-down to a reserve pile (only the top card is playable).
• Deal one card face-up to start the first foundation. This card's rank becomes the foundation base — all four foundations start from this rank and wrap (e.g., if the foundation starts on 7, you build 7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A-2-3-4-5-6).
• Tableau builds down in alternating colors. Move single cards or proper sequences.
• Empty columns are auto-filled from the reserve.
• Stock is flipped three at a time, and you can cycle infinitely.

3 Canfield Strategy Tips

1. Reserve is your priority. The reserve auto-fills empty columns, so emptying tableau columns is how you cycle through the reserve.
2. Build sequences that match the starting rank. If the foundation starts on a 7, you want lots of 7s, 8s, 9s available on the tableau to chain quickly.
3. Don't fear the loss. Canfield is a low-win-rate game by design — strong play wins around 10%. Walking away from a stuck hand is good practice.

FAQ

Try Another Variant

• Klondike — the classic.
• Forty Thieves — two-deck hardcore.
• Golf — fast pairing game.