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Forty Thieves' shallower cousin: twelve piles of three instead of ten piles of four, one pass through the stock, and roughly a 25% chance of clearing it.

Limited Solitaire is a member of the Forty Thieves family of two-deck patience games, and its name says it all: you get one pass through the stock, and every move is a single card at a time. Where Forty Thieves deals ten piles of four cards, Limited spreads twelve piles of three across the table, so fewer cards start in play and more of the deck waits face-down in the stock.

That trade turns out to be a fair one. The shallower piles are easier to dig through, and the two extra columns give you welcome room to maneuver, which makes Limited a touch friendlier than its notorious parent. The game is still difficult, with about a 25% chance of winning. Two decks are in play, and success comes down mostly to skill: how carefully you time each card you commit to the tableau.

If you enjoy Limited, try Forty Thieves Solitaire, the game it comes from, or Double Limited Solitaire, which doubles the deck count for a bigger table.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Enjoy playing!

How to play Limited Solitaire

Layout:

8 foundation piles: Build up in suit from Ace to King.

12 tableau piles: Build down in suit. At the start of the game, each pile is dealt three face-up cards.

Stock: Click to flip over cards one at a time to the waste. There are no redeals.

Waste: The top card is playable.

Foundation:

There are eight foundation piles.

A card can be added to a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on an 8 of spades is a 9 of spades. Each pile begins with an ace and is complete at the king.

Cards that become safe to play are sent to the foundations automatically. You can also move a foundation's top card back into the tableau if a pile there will accept it.

Tableau:

Twelve tableau piles of three cards each, every card dealt face up.

A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on an 8 of spades is a 7 of spades.

Cards on the tableau that are not covered by another card are free to be played onto the foundations or any other tableau pile.

Empty tableau spots may be filled with any card.

Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences are not permitted.

Stock and waste:

There is one waste pile and the remaining cards comprise the stock.

When you click on the stock, one card from the stock is dealt to the waste. You get only one pass through the deck.

The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or foundations.