Courtyard Solitaire
Courtyard is played with two standard decks (104 cards). There are twelve tableaus that contain one cards each. The objective is to move all cards to the eight foundations by building them up by the same suit.
Difficulty: Easy
Rules are easy to understand.
Odds of winning: Low
Win about 1 in 4 games (26%).
Duration: Long
More than 10 minutes per game.
Skill Level: Balanced
Winning involves skill and luck equally.
How to Play Courtyard
Build foundations up by the same suit. Fill empty foundations with Aces. Build tableaus down by the same suit. Empty tableaus automatically fill from the waste, then the stock then with any card. Stock deals one to waste without redeals.
Game Objective
The goal of Courtyard is to move all 104 cards to the foundation piles. You achieve this by building sequences of cards up by the same suit that start with an Ace and end with a King. You win when the eight foundations each contain a complete sequence of thirteen cards.
Foundation Rules
- There are eight foundations.
- The foundations are initially empty.
- The foundations build up by the same suit.
- For example the 3♠ may move onto the 2♠ and the 3♦ may move onto the 2♦. Starting with the 3♣ the following sequence may build on top 4♣ 5♣ 6♣ 7♣.
- An Ace may move to an empty foundation.
Tableau Rules
- There are twelve tableaus.
- Initially containing one card face up in each tableau.
- The tableaus build down by the same suit.
- For example the 6♠ may move onto the 7♠ and the 6♥ may move onto the 7♥. Starting with the 6♣ the following sequence may build on top 5♣ 4♣ 3♣ 2♣.
- The top card is movable.
- Empty spaces are automatically populated with a card from the waste. When the waste is empty spaces are automatically filled from the stock. When the stock is empty any single card may move to an empty tableau.
Stock Rules
- The stock deals one card face up to the waste when tapped.
- A single pass through the stock is permitted. Redeals are not possible. Once on the waste, cards remain until used in a valid move.
Waste Rules
- There is one waste.
- The waste is initially empty.
- The top card is movable.
- Once empty the waste remains empty until more cards move from the stock.
Similar Games
There are 5 games that have a similar play style to Courtyard:
- Corona - Initially containing three cards face up in each tableau.
- Robie - Fill empty tableaus with any card. There are ten tableaus. The tableaus are initially empty.
- Fortunes Favor - One deck. Empty foundations cannot be filled. There are four foundations. Initially containing an Ace in each foundation.
- Preference - One deck. Empty foundations cannot be filled. There are four foundations. Initially containing an Ace in each foundation. There are eight tableaus.
- Squadron - Adds three cells. Fill empty tableaus with any card. There are ten tableaus. Initially containing four cards face up in each tableau.
