Canfield Solitaire FAQ

Canfield Solitaire is a single-player card game played with one standard 52-card deck. Thirteen cards form a reserve, four are dealt to the tableau, one starts the foundations, and the remaining 34 form the stock. You build the tableau down in alternating colours, build the four foundations up by suit from the base card, and win by moving all 52 cards to the foundations. It is known as Demon in the United Kingdom.

Yes. canfieldsolitaire.app is completely free and runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to buy, download, or install, and there are no video ads, premium tiers, or paywalls. Open the page and a game is already dealt.

No. The game is the website — a 100% browser-based build with no app store download and no sign-up. Your stats are saved locally in your browser, so there is no login to manage.

Canfield is commonly credited to Richard A. Canfield, who ran a well-known casino in Saratoga Springs, New York, around the turn of the 20th century. Players bought a deck for a fixed sum and were paid per card sent to the foundations, so the house edge was built into how hard the game is. In the United Kingdom it is called Demon.

Deal 13 cards to the reserve (top card face up), one card to the foundations, four cards to the tableau, and keep the other 34 as the stock. The foundation card sets the base rank; every foundation starts on that rank and builds up in suit, wrapping from King to Ace. Build the tableau down in alternating colours, playing the top reserve card whenever you can. Turn the stock three cards at a time when you run out of moves. Win by moving every card to the foundations.

The base card is the first card dealt to the foundations. Its rank becomes the starting rank for all four foundations. If it is a 7, each suit is built 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The other three cards of the base rank can go to the foundations as soon as they are available.

While the reserve has cards, an emptied tableau column is refilled automatically with the top reserve card. Once the reserve is empty, any card or ordered run can move into an empty column, including cards from the waste. That is why clearing the reserve is so valuable.

Yes. On the foundations, a King is followed by an Ace. On the tableau, going down, an Ace is followed by a King, so a King can be placed on an Ace of the opposite colour. The base rank decides where each suit starts and ends.

As many times as you like. The stock always turns three cards at a time, and passes are unlimited so a game ends only when you genuinely run out of useful moves. Traditional casino Canfield allowed only a limited number of passes.

Drag a card or an ordered run to its destination, or tap once to pick it up and tap the target column to drop it. Double-click (or double-tap) sends a card straight to its foundation. On the keyboard, Space turns the stock, U undoes, H shows a hint, N deals a new game, and M toggles sound.

No. Cards on a foundation stay there, as in traditional Canfield. Think before you send a card up, and use unlimited undo if you change your mind straight away.

Yes, on the tableau. Any ordered run of alternating colours, each one rank lower than the last, can move together onto a valid column. Cards from the reserve and the waste always move one at a time.

This version tracks progress instead of points: how many of the 52 cards are on the foundations, your move count, and your time. In traditional casino play you paid a fixed sum for the deck and were paid per card on the foundations; here you play for the win.

No. Many deals cannot be won no matter how you play, and you cannot always tell in advance. Sites that track large numbers of games report Canfield win rates in the single digits for human players, far lower than Klondike. If you get stuck, deal a new game.

Only four tableau columns leave very little room to park cards, most of the deck sits in the reserve and the stock where you cannot see it, and the foundations start on a different rank each game. You have to plan around all three at once, and one poorly placed card can lock a column.

Play the reserve whenever you can, because it is the biggest pile of hidden cards. Keep columns short and orderly, move a whole column when that empties it for a reserve refill, and look at the reserve top before every stock turn. Use undo to test a line before committing.

Scan the reserve top, the four tableau columns, and the base card before touching the stock. Play any base-rank cards to the foundations, build the reserve top onto the tableau if it fits, and only then turn the stock.

Klondike has seven columns, hidden cards under the tableau, and foundations that always start on Aces. Canfield has four columns, a 13-card reserve, a base card that sets the foundation rank, and wrapping ranks. Canfield is much harder to win.

The current streak counts consecutive wins. Dealing a new game before winning the current one resets it to zero. Your longest streak is kept as a separate best.

Your games played, games won, best time, fewest moves, most cards on the foundations, and win streak are saved locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. Because the save lives on the device, a different phone, a new browser profile, or cleared site data looks like a fresh start. A game in progress is not saved if you close the tab.

Yes. The layout is built for touch: tap a card to pick it up and tap a column to drop it, or drag directly. The reserve, four tableau columns, and four foundations fit on one portrait screen, and dealing a new game is instant with no page reload.

The game needs a connection to load the page the first time. After that, some browsers may keep the tab playable without a network, but there is no dedicated offline app or installer.

Open Stats from the game menu and use Reset progress, then confirm with the second tap. That clears games played, games won, best time, fewest moves, best foundation count, and streaks on this browser. It cannot be undone.

Any current browser with JavaScript: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop, plus their mobile versions. If cards do not respond, update the browser, allow scripts for this site, and reload.