There are two variants of the game in terms of how the game begins.

In one variant, the cards are laid out one by one and are immediately put into play if possible. The number of cards to be laid out range from just one card to how many cards the width of the table can allow (usually a second or third row is constructed in the process). While practical, it also allows an element of surprise as the player does not know the next card to be dealt until all possible plays are exhausted.

In another variant, the cards are spread out in one line. While this variant allows for some tactics to be applied, it can prove to be cumbersome when played with a real deck. This variant of the game is implemented in BVS Solitaire Collection and Patience Pack.

No matter the layout variant, the game is the same. A pile can be moved on top of another pile immediately to its left or separated to its left by two piles if the top cards of each pile have the same suit or rank. Gaps left behind are filled by moving piles to the left.

Here's an example: 5 6 10 5 K

According to this example, either 6 or 5 can be placed over 5. These are the only allowable moves.

The game is won when all cards are compressed into one pile. But since achieving this is next to impossible under these rigid rules, Alfred Sheinwold mentions in his book 101 Best Family Card Games (ISBN 0806986352) that it is considered a win when there are five piles or less at the end of the game.

First, one King and one Ace is removed from the shuffled decks and placed in a row as foundations. Right below them, eight piles of four cards are dealt; these piles serve as the reserve.

The King foundations are built down by suit while the Ace foundations are built up, also by suit.

The top cards of the reserve piles are available only to be built on the foundation; there is no building. When there are no more moves possible, the stock is dealt, one card at a time, on the waste pile, the top card of which is available. The cards on the wastepile can be built on the foundations, while it can be built upon by cards from the reserve piles.

When the stock is exhausted, the waste pile (which by then already includes cards from the reserve) is picked up and turned over to become the new stock. This can be done twice in the entire game.

The game finishes soon after the stock is exhausted the third time. The game is won when all cards are built into the foundations.

Forty-nine cards are set up into seven columns of seven cards each. Keep in mind that in each column, the top card, as well as the third, fifth cards from the top and the bottom card, are face up, while the second, fourth, and sixth cards from the top are face down, much like the pattern OXOXOXO.

The object of the game is to release the Aces as they become available and built each of them by suit.

The top cards of each column are the only ones available for play, to be built up by suit on the foundations, or on each other down by alternating colors. A sequence or part of a sequence can be moved as a unit.

When no more cards can be moved, the stock (the remaining cards) is dealt one card at a time. A card that cannot be built on the tableaux or on the foundations is placed on the waste pile, the top card of which is available for play.

The game ends soon after the entire stock has run out. The game is won when all cards are built onto the foundations.

First, four cards are dealt. They would be the reserve. Above it is a space for the foundations. Once an ace is available, it is placed on the foundations and each ace should be placed in order on which they become available.

The first four cards dealt are the bases of the reserve piles, the top card of each being available only to the foundation immediately above it. The exception to this rule is a queen can be moved to its foundation from any pile. The order of placing is A-7-8-9-10-J-Q.

When play goes on a standstill, four more cards are then dealt, one on each reserve pile, and stop to see if any of the cards dealt can be placed on the foundations. Spaces are not filled until the next deal. This process is repeated until the stock runs out. When it does, a new stock is formed by placing each pile over its right-hand neighbor, turn them face down and deal; this should be done without reshuffling. The process of dealing the cards, building to the foundations, and redealing, is repeated without limits until the game is won or lost.

The game is won when all cards are built onto the foundations, with the queens at the top.

Note
When played with a stripped Skat deck, the top cards at completion are Obers. The ranks of the Skat courts are Unter, Ober and King.

Five cards are dealt in a row; they will form the bases of the five piles, the top cards of which are available for play.

In order to win, one has to remove Kings and pairs of cards that total 13. In this game, spot cards are taken at face value, Jacks value at 11, Queens 12, and Kings 13. So the following combinations of cards are discarded:

• Queen and Ace
• Jack and 2
• 10 and 3
• 9 and 4
• 8 and 5
• 7 and 6
• Kings on their own.

When gaps occur, they are filled by the top cards of the other piles; but when there are not enough cards to do this (less than five), cards from the stock are used.

When gaps are filled and no kings and/or pairs of cards totalling 13 are present, five new cards are dealt from the stock, one onto each pile. Game play then continues, with the top cards of each pile, as mentioned above, are available. This cycle of discarding and dealing of new cards goes on until the stock has been used up.

The game is successfully won when all cards have been discarded.

First the four aces are taken out and laid on the tableaux to start the foundations. Then four columns of three cards are placed overlapping each other separately under the aces. After that, nine columns of four cards, also overlapping each other, are dealt to the right of the aces and first four columns. If the player decides to lay out all of the cards, he must make sure that there are four rows of thirteen cards and the first four cards on the first row should be the four aces.

Here is the method of game play:

• Only the bottom cards are available for play. Thus, if the cards are overlapping, it is the exposed card of each column; if the cards are laid out, it is the card at the bottom each column.
• Only one card can be moved at a time.
• The cards on the tableaux can be built either up or down by suit.
• Whenever a column becomes empty, it stays empty for the rest of the game.
• The foundations (the four aces) are built up by suit. However, whenever a King is released and becomes available, it becomes a foundation and is placed above its counterpart ace foundation to be built down, also by suit. The same thing can be done for the three other kings. This rule also gives the player an opportunity to place a card on one of the foundations of the same suit if it can be placed on either of them.

The game is won when all cards end up in the foundations. It actually does not matter where the ace and king foundations of each suit would meet and how many cards the ace and king foundations of each suit will have. At the end of one game for example, the K is the only one on its foundation while the rest of spade cards are built on the A; the A remains unbuilt because all club cards are built on the K; the A is built up to 4 while the K is built down to 5; and the A is built up to 8 while the K is built down to 9. In fact, the ace and king foundation of a suit can meet anywhere.

The game starts with twelve piles, each containing a card (the rest form the stock). Cards are built down by suit (e.g., 7-6-5-4) and cards or groups of cards can be moved from one pile to another or to the foundations. The foundations are built up also by suit, starting from the ace. An empty pile will be filled up immediately by a card from the stock.

When all possible moves are done without success, a card is dealt onto each pile, even with those that have sequences. This and the placing of cards on empty piles is done until the stock runs out. After that, any card or group of cards can be placed on any empty space.

The game is won when all 104 cards are successfully moved to the foundations.

First, the kings, queens, and aces are removed from the stock. The kings and queens are discarded, while the aces are placed in a row to form the "Government" or the foundations, which are built up by suit to jacks.

Below the aces, four rows of eight cards each are dealt. This forms the tableaux (also known as the "Constitution").

The cards available for building in the foundations should come from Row 1 (also known as the "Privy Council") only. Furthermore, cards in Row 1 can be built down by alternating colors. Available for building in Row 1 are the top cards of the piles in Row 1 (initially containing only one card per pile) and the cards from Row 2. Only one card can be moved at a time.

When a card leaves from either Row 1 or 2, the space it leaves behind must be filled with any card from the row immediately below it, not necessarily the one immediately below the space. The space, in essence, is pushed downwards until it reaches Row 4 (the "People Row"), where it is filled with a card from the stock. This is the only way cards from the stock enter the game. Furthermore, cards from the stock cannot be played directly to the foundations. If no more spaces appear in Row 4 with cards still undealt from the stock, the game is lost.

The game is won when all cards are built in the foundations up to jacks.

The entire deck must be dealt into twelve piles of cards. Any arrangement will do, but for convenience, two rows of six piles each will be form. During dealing, one Ace and one King of each suit is removed, all of which will form the foundations. The Aces are built up while the Kings are built down, all by suit.

During the process of dealing the twelve piles, cards that can be built on a foundation must be built. Also, none of the twelve piles should be left out, i.e. when a card is immediately built on a foundation, the next card is dealt on the pile the previous card left.

No building is done during the process of dealing until all cards are dealt. Afterwards, the top cards of each pile are built on the foundations or on each other's piles. The cards on the piles are built on each other either up or down by suit. Building can go on both directions, but a King cannot be placed over an Ace and vice versa. Only one card can be moved at a time, and any empty pile can be filled with any card.

After the player has made all the moves she can make, the piles are collected in the reverse order the piles are dealt and the process is repeated. This redeal can be done twice in the game.

The game is won when all cards end up in the foundations.

There are two ways that the queens are played in this game: either they are laid in the center of the tableaux immediately or shuffled into the deck and laid out later. Either way, their role is just purely decorative and have no further part in the game.

The game starts by laying the cards from the stock one at a time into a wastepile in search for fives or sixes. Once any of these cards are found, it becomes a foundation and can be placed on a circle surrounding the area where queens are placed; it can be built upon immediately. The foundations' places in this circle are irrelevant.

The fives are built down and the sixes are built up, all by suit. Here's the chart of which cards are placed on these cards:

5  4  3  2  A  K
6  7  8  9 10  J

After the foundation cards are found, the rest of the stock is dealt to look for cards that can be built in to the foundations. In case the queens are shuffled into the deck, when a queen is found, it is placed on the center.

Once the stock runs out, the cards are gathered from the wastepile and become the new stock from which cards are to be dealt. This can only be done twice in the whole game.

The game is won when all the cards are in the foundations with the face cards (kings and jacks) are at the top of each foundation.

Before the game starts, all fives and sixes are separated from the shuffled decks and placed on the table. These sixteen cards are the foundations; the fives are built down to aces, then kings, while the sixes are built up to queens, all by suit.

The stock is dealt one at a time, and cards that cannot be built yet on the foundations are placed on a wastepile, the top card of which is available for play on the foundations. The predominant rule sets allow only one redeal. To do this, the unplayed cards on the wastepile are picked up and turned face down to make the new stock.

The game is won when all cards are built on the foundations. Autodrop is disabled for this game.

The cards are dealt into 13 piles (or columns) of four cards each. The top card of each pile is available for play.

There are no foundations in this game; the object is to form four suit sequences each running from King down to Ace.

A card can be built in only two ways:

• Over a card that is of the same suit and of a higher rank, or
• Over a card that is of the same rank but of a different suit.

For example, the 8 of spades can be built over the 9 of spades or any other 8 (such as the 8 of clubs).

One card can be moved at a time unless a sequence has been made. If a sequence of cards follows either one of the following two guidelines:

• Sequences that are built down by suit
• Sequences of cards with the same rank

When a column becomes empty, it can only be filled by a King or a sequence starting with a King.

The game is won when the object above is fulfilled, forming four suit sequences each running from King down to Ace.