Canfield – Rules
Play Canfield against the computer
1. Quick overview
| Name | Canfield (in Britain: Demon) |
| Game type | Patience for one person |
| Players | 1 |
| Recommended age | 10 and up |
| Duration | one game 5–10 minutes |
| Material | 52 cards |
| Goal | Move all cards onto four foundations, starting with the rank of the base card. |
| Difficulty | hard – only some games come out |
What is it about? A reserve of 13 cards blocks the game. The foundations do not start with the Ace but with the rank of a randomly turned base card and continue in a circle.
2. Cards and material
- Deck: 52 French cards.
- Circular ranking: … Q, K, A, 2, 3 … – King and Ace are connected.
3. Setup and start
- Count out 13 cards as the reserve, top card face up.
- Put one card face up on a foundation as the first base card – its rank applies to all four foundations.
- Four cards face up as the tableau.
- The remaining 34 cards form the stock.
4. Goal and winning
- Won: All 52 cards are on the foundations.
- Lost: No move possible.
5. Play in detail
- Foundations: Each starts with a card of the base card’s rank and builds up in the same suit (across King–Ace).
- Tableau: down, alternating red/black, also in a circle (a King may go on an Ace).
- Sequences: Whole ordered sequences may be moved.
- Empty spaces are filled at once with the top reserve card. Once the reserve is empty, any card may go there.
- Stock: Three cards at a time onto the waste; the top one is playable. The stock may be gone through any number of times.
Example. The base card is the 8 of hearts. As soon as another 8 is free, it starts a new foundation. On the 8 of hearts follow the 9, 10 … King, Ace, up to the 7 of hearts.
6. Scoring
- Won or not.
- Historically: stake of 52 dollars, 5 dollars back per card placed.
7. Special rules and important situations
- Reserve empty: After that, empty spaces may be filled freely.
- Drawing three: Only the top card of the three is playable.
8. Variants
| Variant | What changes? | For whom? |
|---|---|---|
| Draw one | One card at a time from the stock. | Beginners |
| Storehouse | Base cards are always the twos. | Variety |
| Rainbow | Tableau without colour alternation. | Experts |
On cardgames.zone you choose whether 1 or 3 cards are drawn, and the difficulty.
9. Tips for beginners
- Reserve first: Every card out of the reserve is a gain.
- Do not clog the tableau: Leave room for reserve cards.
- Foundations with care: Do not place everything at once that you still need in the tableau.
10. Summary in 10 steps
- Shuffle 52 cards.
- 13 cards reserve, top card face up.
- Turn up a base card.
- Four cards as the tableau.
- Rest as the stock.
- Foundations from the base rank, in a circle.
- Tableau down, red/black.
- Fill empty spaces from the reserve.
- Draw three cards from the stock.
- All cards placed: won.
11. Frequently asked questions
Why is the game called Canfield?
After Richard A. Canfield, who offered the game in his casino.
May a King go on an Ace?
Yes, in the tableau the order runs in a circle.
Origin & history
The name goes back to Richard A. Canfield, who ran a casino in Saratoga Springs at the end of the 19th century. There, players supposedly bought a deck for 52 dollars and got 5 dollars back for each card placed on a foundation. In Britain the same patience is called “Demon”.