German Patience

German Patience is a solitaire card game which is played with two decks of playing cards shuffled together. It is an unusual game because building in the tableau or playing area is up, as opposed to building down in many others. Despite its name, it is not known if this game originated from Germany.

It is very difficult to win, and the winning odds for an average player are about 1 in 200 games. Thomas Warfield's solitaire game Bavarian is a variant that makes this an easier game.

Rules

The object of this game is to form eight columns of thirteen cards each. Each column starts with any card and ends with the card a rank lower than the first. In this game, building is round-the-corner, i.e. an Ace can be built over a King and a Deuce (or Two card) can be placed over an Ace.

At the start of the game, each column in the tableau starts with one card. The cards in the tableau are built up regardless of suit. Only the top card of each column is available for play and cards are moved one at a time. Spaces can be filled with any card.

When there are no more moves that can be made, the stock is dealt one a time. Any card that cannot be placed onto the tableau is placed on the waste pile, the top card of which is available for play.

The game ends soon after the stock has run out (although some rule sets allow a redeal by picking up the waste pile and turning it face down to make a new stock). The game is won when all cards are built onto the tableau in eight columns of 13.

See also

  • List of solitaires
  • Glossary of solitaire

References

  • Parlett, David. The Penguin Book of Patience
  • Pritchard, D.B. Patience Games
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Patience or Solitaire by type - (list, glossary)
Closed games
Simple builders
  • Amazons
  • Auld Lang Syne
  • Birthday
  • The Clock
  • Clock
  • Cotillion (Contradance)
  • Leoni's Own
  • Musical (Betsy Ross, Fairest, Four Kings, Plus Belle, Quadruple Alliance)
  • Precedence
  • Quadrille (La Française; Captive Queens)
Reserved builders
  • Carpet
  • Eagle Wing
  • Golf
  • Duchess of Luynes (Grand Duchess)
  • Queen's/King's Audience
  • Matrimony
  • Monte Carlo
  • Moojub
  • Odd and Even
  • Patriarchs
  • Pyramid
  • Royal Cotillion
  • Royal Rendezvous
  • Sultan (Emperor of Germany)
  • Tri Peaks
  • Windmill
Simple packers
  • Batsford
  • Big Ben
  • British Constitution
  • British Square
  • Congress
  • Corona
  • Deauville
  • Deuces
  • Diplomat
  • Emperor
  • Following
  • Fortune's Favor
  • Four Seasons
  • Gargantua
  • Herring-Bone
  • Klondike
  • Napoleon at St Helena (Forty Thieves)
  • Napoleon's Square
  • Red and Black
  • Westcliff
Reserved packers
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Aces
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Builders
  • Interregnum
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  • Tournament
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Blockades
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Packers
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  • Box Kite
  • Bristol
  • Four Corners
  • Heads and Tails
  • Intelligence
  • Martha
  • Miss Milligan
  • Mount Olympus
  • Pyramide
  • Russian Solitaire
  • St. Helena
  • Stonewall
  • Yukon
  • Zodiac
Spiders
  • German Patience
  • Rouge et Noir
  • Scorpion
  • Simple Simon
  • Spider
Open games
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  • Archway
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  • Crescent
  • Intrigue
  • Salic Law
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Open packers
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Competitive games