Cascades
Designed by Joe Conard
Players 1
Length ?
Extra Material None

a Decktet solitaire game in two versions

Cascades is a Decktet solitaire game where the player progresses through the deck three cards at a time attempting to legally play all the cards into three tiers (rows). The game ends when all cards are played, or none of the remaining cards are able to be played.

Setup

Cascades can be played with the standard Decktet or optionally with all the pawns and courts. The only card not used is The Excuse.

Shuffle the cards and deal in a vertical column along the left side of the playing area three piles of three cards each, all face down. These are the draw [reserve] piles. The remaining cards will be kept in the deck [stock] to be turned over three at a time during play.

Game play

To begin play turn over the top three cards of the deck and play the top card just to the right of the top draw pile. This forms the beginning of the first tier [foundation row]. Then continue to play from the deck to any tier according to the rules below. Work through the deck three cards at a time.

After the first pass through the deck turn over the top card in the top draw pile. You may play the cards one by one from this pile in the same way that cards were played from the deck. After the second pass through the deck play from the middle draw pile and likewise begin playing from the bottom draw pile after the third pass through the deck. Once a draw pile is free to be played the top card may be played at any time.

Cards are played at the right end of each tier. To play a card on the end at least one suit on the card to be played must match the suit of the card that is already on the end.

For the ranked cards only one of each rank is allowed in a tier. To play a card on the middle or bottom tier that rank must already have been played in the tier above.

Aces and Crowns

Aces and Crowns must also follow suit and there must be an ace in the tier above to play one in a lower tier. Because there are six they can be played two to a tier. No tier may have more than two aces or two crowns played. To play a second ace or crown on a lower tier, the tier directly above it must have two of the same card.

Note that since aces and crowns only have one suit they create a bottleneck of reduced play possbilities on the tier. Be careful when and how they are played.

End Game

The game ends in one of two ways. A winning game will end when all cards in the deck and in the draw piles are played somewhere in the three tiers. A game is lost when after at least trips through the deck there are no playable cards in the deck or on top of any of the draw piles.

The extended deck

The Excuse is not used.

The pawns and courts are optional. Because they have three suits they are both easier to play and they open up the tier so there are more options for the next card to be played.

Because there are four of each, the top tier allows two pawns and two courts to be played, but the second pawn or court can only be played on the top tier when the corresponding card has been played on the bottom tier. So the second pawn or court on the top tier is always the last one played.

Variants

In version 2, an easier version of Cascades, the Aces are removed from the deck and dealt face up to the left of the three rows. (The face-down piles of three are not used.) Cards are played to the rows following the same rank rules, except that a card must match one of the suits on the Aces of that row (rather than one of the suits on the previous card of that row). The player may go through the stack any number of times until all cards are played or no more cards can be played.

Credits

Links

Cascades thread at BGG
Cascades post in the Wiki forums

Comments

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