Playing Blind Alleys

by redllar

Blind Alleys is a simplified and easier version of Klondike.

Winning

The game is won when all of the cards are moved to the Foundation, with a pile built for each card suit type, and with each pile in Ace to King rank order.

The Layout

The Deal

Each Foundation pile is dealt an Ace in clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades order.

6 Tableau piles are created by dealing cards from the Stock. The first pile is dealt one face up card. The second pile is dealt one face down card and one face up card. The third pile is dealt two face down cards and one face up card. The fourth pile is dealt three face down cards and one face up card. Etc. If the "Auto card flip" option is turned on, a final face up card is dealt to the Waste.

Game Play

You may move 1 card (easy play) or 3 cards (hard play) from the top of the Stock pile to the Waste pile by left-clicking on the top card of the Stock pile. The cards will automatically be flipped face up as they are moved by the game.

If there are cards in the Waste pile and the Stock pile is empty, you may move the contents of the Waste pile back to the Stock pile by left-clicking within the Stock pile. The cards will automatically be flipped face down as they are moved by the game.

You may move any uncovered, face up Ace to any empty Foundation pile.

You may move any uncovered, face up card to the top of a Foundation pile if that card is of the same suit color and is next in ascending rank order.

You may move any uncovered, face up card to any empty Tableau pile.

You may move any uncovered, face up card to the end of a Tableau pile if that card is of a different suit color and is next in descending rank order.

You may move any stack of face up cards from a Tableau pile to the end of another Tableau pile if the first card in the moved stack of cards is of a different suit color and is next in descending rank order.

You may turn any top, face down Tableau pile card face up by left-clicking on it.

Notes

Moves from a Foundation pile to a Tableau pile are allowed.

Decks

1 deck.

Difficulty

Easy play is quite easy. Hard play is harder but not as hard as Hard Klondike.

Strategy

Try to uncover the face down Tableau cards as quickly as possible. Try to not let a Foundation pile by itself get too far ahead of the others. Only move from the Waste to the Tableau if it will help out by allowing a subsequent Tableau move that will uncover a face down card.

Easy Play

1 card at a time is dealt from the Stock to the Waste.

Hard Play

3 cards at a time are dealt from the Stock to the Waste.