Ivory Tower / discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page Ivory Tower.

Three questions about the rules

Linael 1234471308|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

I have three questions regarding the rules of Ivory Tower:

1. Do you place cards in the Tower and Resource pile in such a way that only the last card is visible, or are you allowed to see all cards that build the Tower and Resource piles ?
2. Is it allowed to turn over three more cards from the deck if the top most card of the draw pile could be placed either on a Resource pile or on the Tower ?
3. Is it allowed to move the highest card from the Tower to a Resource pile ? I.e. is the last card you placed on the Tower still available ?

last edited on 1234471426|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover by Linael + show more

Re: Three questions about the rules

pmagnus 1234548662|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

1. This is up to you. Since it's solitaire, you can give yourself more (less) information to make it easier (harder). I have typically played so that I could see every card in the Resource piles but only in the top card in the Tower.

2. Yes.

3. No.

Linael 1234767717|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

1. Makes sence as an "optional" rule - including point 3 (last card in tower is not available, so
there is no point to have all Tower cards visible).

2. So I could, at the beginning of the game, page through the draw pile completely before I
really start my game.

3. Maybe this should be stated in the rules.

Anyway, thank you for the fast answer.

When reaching the end of the deck...

noursy 1238318393|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

When you reach the end of the deck and you have only one or two cards left in your hand, do you simply lay down these cards onto the draw pile, or do you take the draw pile, put it back behind the few cards you are holding, and lay down three cards? This is of importance: when you draw cards three by three, only the top one is accessible; however, if you proceed as suggested, the next time you go through the deck, you will access cards that were previously not accessible, which makes the game easier.

And yet another question: when you draw the cards three by three, are you allowed to see all three cards, or only the top one?

Re: When reaching the end of the deck...

pmagnus 1238380115|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

If there are only one or two cards left, I look at the last card before flipping the draw pile over and going through 3 by 3. So the 1st and 2nd card in the draw pile won't come up just by going through again and again. Your suggestion would make the game easier.

I only look at the top card when drawing three by three. Looking at all three cards would make the game easier, although it might induce option paralysis.

As with all solitaires, you are welcome to adopt whatever variant you prefer. Making the game easier might not be a bad thing.