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Climb the foundations from Two up to Ace, since Aces outrank Kings here, and fill empty columns with Aces alone. The deal rises and falls like a mountain ridge.
Swiss Solitaire turns the familiar Klondike formula on its head. Here the Ace is the highest card in the deck, so the foundations begin with the Twos and climb suit by suit all the way up to the Ace — and it is the Aces, not the Kings, that claim empty tableau columns. Even the deal looks different: the nine columns rise from one card to five and fall back to one, a silhouette like a mountain ridge that may well be the game's nod to the Alps.
The reversed ranking takes some getting used to. Kings sit near the top of every sequence instead of anchoring it, and a Two is a dead end on the tableau — nothing can be built on it. With the stock turned one card at a time and no redeal, digging out the buried face-down cards early is what decides most games.
The game is moderately difficult. You'll win a solid share of games here, and it's a single-deck affair where skill and luck split the credit about evenly.
Klondike and Kingsley Solitaire are two solitaire games that are comparable to this one.
The original Solitaire makes a nice change of pace once Swiss's reversed ranking has scrambled your instincts.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Swiss Solitaire
Layout:
4 foundation piles: Build up in suit from Two to Ace — Aces are high in this game.
9 tableau piles: Build down in alternating colors. Dealt as a pyramid of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 cards; only the top card of each pile starts face-up. Empty spaces may only be filled with Aces.
Stock: Click to flip over cards one at a time to the waste. There are no redeals.
Waste: Top card is playable.
Foundation:
There are four foundation piles, one per suit.
The foundations start empty, and the Twos are the base cards. 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. Because Aces rank high, each pile runs from the Two through the King and finishes with the Ace, 13 cards in all — so the only card that fits on the King of hearts is the Ace of hearts.
Cards that fit are moved to the foundations automatically. The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.
Tableau:
Nine tableau piles dealt in a pyramid shape: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 cards. Only the top card of each pile is dealt face-up; the cards beneath are face-down and flip over as they are uncovered.
A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and the opposite color of the pile's current top card. Because Aces are high, a black King fits on a red Ace, while nothing at all can be built on a Two. Face-up cards that form an alternating-color sequence may be moved together.
Empty tableau spots may only be filled with an Ace, alone or together with the sequence built on it.
Stock and waste:
There is one waste pile and the remaining twenty-seven cards comprise the stock.
When you click on the stock, one card from the stock is dealt to the waste. There is only one pass through the stock.
The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or foundation.
