The legendary casino solitaire — pay $52, earn $5 per foundation card. Build foundations up from a random starting rank with a 13-card reserve.
Canfield Solitaire is a free online version of the classic casino card game invented in the 1890s. Canfield Solitaire is named after Richard A. Canfield, a famous 1890s casino owner who offered the game at $52 per play, paying $5 per foundation card. Unlike Klondike, Canfield starts with a 13-card reserve pile and foundations that build up from a random rank, wrapping from King back to Ace. With a theoretical win rate under 7%, it remains one of the most challenging solitaire variants ever created.
Thirteen cards are dealt face-down into a reserve pile with the top card turned up. One card is placed on the first foundation, setting the base rank for all four foundations. Four tableau columns each receive one face-up card. The remaining cards form the stock, which deals three cards at a time to a waste pile. Build tableau columns down in alternating colors. Build foundations up by suit from the base rank, wrapping King to Ace. Empty tableau columns are automatically filled from the reserve.
Canfield uses a 13-card reserve pile instead of a 7-column cascading tableau. Foundations start from a random rank (not always Ace) and wrap around from King to Ace. You draw 3 cards at a time from the stock. Empty tableau columns are automatically filled from the reserve. These differences make Canfield significantly harder than Klondike.
Canfield Solitaire has a theoretical win rate of roughly 3-7% with perfect play, making it one of the hardest solitaire variants. In practice, most players complete fewer than 5% of games. The casino origins reflect these odds — Richard Canfield profited because players rarely placed all 52 cards on the foundations.
At the start, 13 cards are dealt face-down into the reserve pile with the top card turned face-up. Whenever a tableau column becomes empty, the top card of the reserve automatically fills it. You can also play the top reserve card onto foundations or tableau columns during normal play. The reserve counter shows how many cards remain.
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Last updated: April 2026 · whatifs.fun — Free interactive games, experiments & simulations