SOLITAIRE The Great Euixpean Game of '^ Patience '^^ FOR ONE OR MORE PLAYERS HOW TO PLAY FORTY OF I'HE MOST INTERESTING AMERICAN, ENGLISH, GER- MAN AND FRENCH GAMES Completely Illustrated PRICE - - 25 CENl S Class Book n !' , ^ / .^ '''**»^sff^ Copyiight]^^. COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr SOLITAIRE PRICE, 25 CENTS Copyright, 1909 by C. C. BROCK )l r U B L I S II E D H Y C. C. BROCK 542-544 ELLICOTT SQUARE BUFFALO. N. Y. LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two GoDies Received MAR 10 1909 Ccpyritnt tntry \IlASS O. XXc. No. COPY 3.^ v'U \i> \ ^^^y N -i A ^^ ^ ^ ^ Union and Times Press Buffalo. N. Y. PREFACE T N compiling this little book, the endeavor has been to make it as complete as possible, and to comprise most of the best- known forms of an unpretending but very useful game. Many of those included in this collection have been taken from an Eng- lish book, ''Games of Patience," and rewritten; others have been taken from translations of a French book, but these have also been re-written, and illustrations added, so that the solitary learner will find no difficulty in mastering the most intricate of the games. In the hope that it will solace some weary and lonely hours, and afford a quiet amusement to those sorely in need of one, this little volume is launched upon its way. I NTRO D U CT I ON LET no one despise the game of Solitaire. Many are apt to do so, and to look down on it as altogether puerile, because it is humble among games; it knows no fierce altercations of exultation or despair; it gives no scope for finesse; there is no adversary to outwit and defeat; in short, there is no excitement about it of any sort, Nevertheless, it has its uses, and there are many overworked brains, lonely hearts, and pain-racked nerves, that can testify to them. Ladies living alone who have to sit through solitary evenings reading, writing or working, till their brains are dazed and fingers sore, have found it an immense relief to put books and work aside, get out the cards, and amuse themselves with a game of solitaire before going to bed. We know of hard-worked professional men who play it regularly every evening; it makes a break in their thoughts, and keeps them from dwelling at night on the business which has been absorbing them all day. Doctors say that in such cases it is most valuable, for that any unexciting game soothes the brain, and is the best remedy against insomnia. Many invalids, condemned to lie on a dreary couch the live-long day, look forward to their evening game of solitaire as the most enjoyable time of their sad existence. The game has also another quality: it can be played alone. Often an invalid will lie wearying for a game to take her thoughts off her pain. But give her a small take and two packs of cards, and she will be able to amuse herself without interfering with anyone else, or feeling herself a- bore to her companions. But it does not always require overwork or invalidism to prove the value of this solitary game; there is yet another experience, probably within the knowledge of all. Who has not at some time or other known the utter dreariness of a wet day at a small seaside country place — the meach and streets de&erted; nothing to be seen but a leaden sky and a leaden sea; nothing to be heard but the monotonous drip of the rain; the paper read through, even to the advertisements; the small stock of very ancient books at the library exhausted. Nothing to be done between meal-times but to yawn? Yes, cards can be bought anywhere. Let the unhappy victim of ennui secure two packs and interest himself in the intricacies of one of the more difficult games as described in this volume, and he will find that Solitaire will prove in the full sense of the words a veritable pastime. Solitaire, therefore, claims to be not only of negative, but of positive merit; and one charm of the game — or, to speaw more correctly, the series of games — is the infinite variety. There are some to suit every taste. The many players who like a hard nut to crack, and require a game which is interesting, and difficult of achievement, the successes bearing the proportion to the failures of about one in ten; the many others who do not care to puzzle their brains overmuch, but like a placid amusement with a "happy ending" — each of these will find games to suit them in this collection. The solitary student who has pored over his books till he can see no longer, the lonely lady, the husband and wife tired of whist and bridge, the young people home for the holidays who want a game that will take in several players — in short, whether it is the old or the young, the one or the many, Solitaire does its harmless best to please and amuse them all. SIR TOMMY SOLITAIRE. This is said to be the first Solitaire invented; but who the Sir Tommy was who gave his name to it — whether it was invented by him, or for his special amusement — we do not know. It has the character of being a very aggravating Solitaire, for, though apparently simplicity itself, it is very difficult to do, unless the cards are ^extremely favorable. The object to be accomplished in this game is to build up packets from the ace to the king; and you do not follow suit, but take the cards accord- ing to their significance. One pack only will be needed, with which you will proceed to form four heaps. As the aces turn out, you place them below these heaps, packing on them at 'every opportunity. There is no rubbish-heap to be made. A^ the cards are dealt you place them — sup- •^a"^ aVa ol 1 Mk o o 4. 4. 9 descending ratio — as a queen on a king, a seven on an eight, a two on a three. The aces, as they appear, must form a row above, and these are built ,npwards. Cards that cannot find a place in either of these rows go on to the rubbish heap. So far the description sounds very much like other games of Solitaire; but there is this peculiarity, that two cards of the same color must never be put together — on a red ace you will place a black deuce; on a black six, in the first row, a red five; and you will find it a very bewildering thing to do. Whenever you make a vacancy in the first row, by transferring a pile to an ace packet, the vacancy is to be filled from the rubbish heap. As you are allowed to turn the latter once, it is generally owing to some oversight on your part when you fail in the game. NARCOTIC SOLITAIRE. This game is so called because it is said that the monotonous dealing out the cards over and over again induces drowsiness, and is a remedy for insomnia. It is to be doubted, however, whether sometimes when they wilfully persevere in coming out just wrong, it may not rather induce strong language than sleepiness. It is played with one pack in the following way: Deal four cards in a row; if there are two of the same value place the right hand one upon the left, thus bringing two together; the same if there are three of the like sort. Continue dealing thus, always packing tbe sets together on the left. When the pack is exhausted, take up the packets in order, beginning with 16 the right hand one, and deal out again; this process has to be repeated many times. When four of the same value are dealt across they are dis- carded, and the gam'e is won when all the cards are got rid of in this way. It is strange, however, how often when the player has packed four together and thinks that surely they will come o,ut right next deal, one of them persists in going round the corner as it were, and leaving its com- panions with an interloper; it is often more than half-an-hour before the sets are all thrown out. CLOCK SOLITAIRE. Only one pack is used for this game. Lay out twelve cards as shown in the Diagram, facing upwards, but not choosing the cards. If any court cards (i. e., king, queen, or jack) occur, place them underneath the pack in your hand; then proceed by placing cards from the top of this pack on any two cards in the clock-face that, when added together, make eleven — such as eight and three, seven and four, if you can succeed in finding elevens, until your pack is exhausted, when each card in the original clock- face will be covered by a court card, and the game brought to a successful termination. SQUARE SOLITAIRE. Square Solitaire requires no illustration. Form three sides of a square, thus: Place four cards along the top, and four on each side, horizontally. Two packs are requisite, which should be shuffled together. Now proceed to deal out. In the centre of the square place the deuces, as tjhey come out, and build upon them until each edifice is crownnd by an ace. You are ,also allowed to place on the twelve fundamental cards any of the same suit, in a descending line — as a nine on a ten, then an eight on the nine, and so on. Whenever you take one of these packets to build on the deuces, fill up the vacancy from the rubbish heap which you are forming with those cards that cannot be placed. There is no second turn in this game; it therefore be- hoves the player to be on the alert, and allow no opportunity of packing to escape. 17 REVERSE SOLITAIRE. Shuffle two packs together, then lay out twenty-one cards in three TOWS of seven cards each. The cards are to be alternately open and reverse; that is, the first will be face upwards (open), the second face downward, and so on, as shown in the accompanying Diagram. , As each row begins and ends with an open card, there will be twelve open and nine reverse. Having laid them out, survey the board, to see if 4, + 1 4- 4» . you can find a reverse card between duplicates (i. e., between two kings, two sixes, etc.); if there is, the reverse and the card on its right are thrown out, and the gap closed up by bringing the rest of the row to the left. Now deal round on the open cards again, throwing out the reverse card and its right-hand duplicate packets as soon as it appears. When a row is reduced to three, both the right and left-hand packets are dismissed with their reverse. If you succeed in clearing the board, you have accomplished the game, whether you have dealt out all the cards or not. BISLEY SOLITAIRE. This is a game for one pack only, and the possibilities of accomplishing it vary very much. Sometimes the cards work off without the slightest difficulty; at others there are obstacles which, even with the most careful manipulation, prove insuperable, and the only thing to do then is to gather up the cards and try again. The first proceeding is to lay out the pack in four rows of thirteen cards each; but in doing this the first four places are left blank, to be filled with the aces as they turn up. The player therefore begins at the fifth place, putting nine cards only in the first row, unless any aces have appeared. The board being completed, search for twos (which place on their proper aces) and for kings. These latter you take out, and form a row underneath, building on them according to suit, and in a downward direction. Now examine the board carefully to see if there is any packing to.be done; the only cards you can deal with are ''exposed" ones (that is, cards with none below them), so each one you move frees the one above it. The packing can be either upwards or downwards, always following suit, and can be altered at pleasure; for instance, if you wish to free a nine which has a seven underneath it, and there is an exposed six, you may pack tlie seven on it, and afterwards if an eight is placed on the nine, you can unpack again and transfer the seven and six to the nine packet. Sometimes the cards are entirely ' ' chockered, " and no amount 18 of transfer from one packet to another will set them free; this happens when there is a cross-block, say a four under a nine, and an eight under a seven, all of one suit; it is obvious that neither can be reached, and the game must inevitably fail. Often, however, an irrevocable block is caused by want of foresight on the part of the player. If it were allow- able, as in most games of Solitaire, to move a card into a vacancy when one is made in the top row, there would be no difficulty in the game at all, but no such privilege is accorded here, therefore there is no way of removing a cross-block whether natural or made by wrong packing. The combinations on the boa^rd should be thoroughly well studied before any packing is attempted. When you have built an ace up, and its correspond- ing king down till they meet, place the king and its cards on the ace and the packet is then completed. COLORS SOLITAIRE. One pack is used for this game, with which the player makes six rubbish heaps, packing on them as he pleases. As the two, three, four and five turn out, they are placed in a row above; but the two and four must be one color, three and five the other. Suits are not attended to, only colors — hearts and diamonds being used promiscuously together, and ^ 4» ^ ^ ♦

4. 4. O O o o The Missing Link. Now deal out the rest of the cards, packing on the seven foundations in any way you please, and building up the ace packets in their proper suits. It is unfortunate when it so happens that the seven foundations are all low cards, so as to compel you to pack higher ones upon them; but there is one loophole of escape from the difficulty. If you can effect a vacancy in the foundation row by working cards off on to the ace packets, you may place any exposed card in the space; and the often allows an inconvenient king or queen to be removed from blocking cards below it. When all the pack is dealt out, you may then turn up the Missing Link, and if this affords the means of completing the ace packe)ts, the game has succeeded; but it is the last hope, for there is no second turn. 20 PAIRS SOLITAIRE. This is not a very abstruse game, but will serve to while away an idle moment or two. Lay nine cards out in three rows, throw out the pairs, and fill the vacant spaces from the pack. When you come to a stop, you have the privilege of laying down one card, which often sets the game going again, and this you may repeat whenever a stop occurs; but should this card not find a pair, the game has failed. SCOTCH SOLITAIRE. Scotch Solitaire is played with one pack, which is laid out in eighteen packets, sixteen of them consisting of three cards each, the other two of two cards. Take out aces as they appear, and place them below. These aces are built up to the kings in alternate colors. ^ :• ►:• D Rubbish Heap. No. 1. quadrille. These eight formations are to be built upon according to their suits, but in alternate numbers; thus, on the ace you place first a three then five, seven and so on up to the king; while on the deuce even num- bers are placed ^ending with the queen. The rubbish heap may be turned twice. If all the cards are not used then you have lost again. CABLE SOLITAIRE. This is a game with three packs, and an extremely difficult one, success being attained on an average about once in twenty times of playing; but then the pleasant feeling of complacency when that success is attained, quite makes up for the nineteen previous disappointments. The packs must be well shuffled, but each by itself; they are three strands of the cable, which it is the object of the game to twine together. Lay out the first pack in five rows of ten cards each; there will be two cards over which must not be looked at, but laid aside for what fortune-tellers call ''the surprise." Now take the second pack and continue the rows, thus making ten in all, and laying aside the last two cards as before. 24 You must now look out for any packing or building that it is possible to do; exposed cards on the board can be packed on one another accord- ing to suit, but always in a downward direction, while all the aces that can be freed must be taken out and built up to their respective kings. Exposed cards can be freely moved from one column to another, and whole sequences may be taken if there is a suitable card to place them upon. Thus, if the ten of hearts has been packed downwards, and in the course of the game the jack becomes exposed, the ten with its sequence can be placed upon it. It is also allowable to move a portion of a sequence if desirable, leaving the upper part stationary. When all the preliminary packing is finished, take up the third pack and commence forming a rubbish-heap, using, of course, every card that is available, either for the board or for the ace packets. If a vacancy can be made in the top row, any exposed card can be placed in it, or a sequence can be moved up into it. The rubbish-heap may be turned once, and then the player's last hope is in *Hhe surprise.,' which often contains cards that enable blocks to be removed, and the game is set going again. But if this does not prove to be the case, there is nothing for it but sorting the cards and laying them out again. FORTUNE TELLING SOLITAIRE. This is a game for three or more players, and is a favorite with young ladies, as being supposed to afford them a glimpse of their future destiny. The four aces are laid in the middle of the board, their significations being: Hearts, loved; diamonds, courted; clubs, married; and spades, single blessedness. The cards are then dealt round, and the players place ;♦ them, face downwards, on the table in front of them. The oldest hand turns the top card. If it is a deuce, it is placed upon its proper ace, and the player turns another, which is put, face upwards,, above his own pack, as shown in the Diagram. The next player then turns a card; the aces are built upon in their right suits, but you may put cards on the exposed packs of any of your neighbors, so long as you do so in the descending sequence, without attending to suit. You may continue to play as long as you can place your cards; when the sequence breaks, the next player goes on. When your first packet is finished, and you have only the exposed one in front of you, you turn that down, and go on as before. If you finish off all your cards on one of the ace packets, it shows what your fate will be; but if your cards work off on your neighlDors' packets, the oracle is veiled, and your fortune remains untold. 25 TRAVELERS' SOLITAIRE. This is a short and easy solitaire. We like to intermix the simple with the complex. One pack only is required, which must be laid out in three rows of four packets (see Diagram), each containing four cards; these packets are to be face upwards. There will be four cards over, to be laid on one side for the present. Now will commence the journeys of the different cards, which are gradually to arrange themselves in their proper stations, from the ace (the first packet) to the queen (the twelfth). In order to accomplish this, you must take one of the four cards that 10 1 2 3 4 9 <;? cp cp 4, 4. ♦ 4- 8 9 9 QUEEN 4. 4. 4. 4. + 9 9? were laid aside, and put it at the bottom of the packet it belongs to. We will suppose that it is an ace; place it, therefore, underneath the first packet. But as there must never be more than four cards together, the top one, which, according to the illustration, is a six, becomes the trav- eler. As it slips into its place, it dislodges the nine of spades, which then sends the seven of clubs to seek its proper home. But No. 7 packet is headed by a king, and in this game there is no room for kings, so his majesty is thrown aside, and another of the four unknown cards taken to commence a fresh series of journeys. At the end of the game the packets should appear in order — all the aces together^ all the twos, and so on, to the queens, the kings lying ignominiously in a discarded heap. It is in the power of the kings, however, to upset the arrangement. If two or three are on the tops of the packets, or in the four ' ' out ' ' cards, you are brought to a stand- still, for, when these four cards are exhausted, there is no way of starting the others on their various journeys home. 26 -mv^ / -■ r^' ^^ _V*?^---^-" LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ■^1 020 237 376 8 •}^ '\sife'