What Is the Reserve in Canfield Solitaire?

Canfield has two features that most solitaire games do not: a reserve pile and a foundation that starts from a different rank each deal. Both confuse new players, so here is how they work.

The reserve

Thirteen cards are dealt to the reserve, with only the top card face up. The top reserve card can be played to a foundation or a column. When a column becomes empty, the top reserve card moves into it automatically. After the reserve is gone, an empty column stays empty until you fill it with any card or sequence, including the top waste card.

The base card

The next card dealt becomes the foundation base card. Its rank is the starting rank of all four foundations, so if it is a 7 every suit is built 7, 8, 9 and so on up to King, then Ace up to 6. Columns build down in alternating colours and wrap, so a King can go on an Ace. The status bar shows the base rank.

How to use them

Empty the reserve: its cards are the hardest to use and the ones that block you, so play them whenever you safely can. The stock turns three cards at a time with unlimited redeals, and cards cannot come back from a foundation. See the Canfield guide and play Canfield.

Frequently asked questions