Canfield Strategy: What Wins, Counted
Win more Canfield solitaire: keep the waste moving, look ahead, clear columns whole for the reserve, don't rush cards up, and start with Draw 1.
Sunroom Games · Updated
Canfield looks like Klondike's cousin, but it plays very differently. The foundations start from a different card each game, a reserve of thirteen cards waits to be played out, and the columns can only be moved by their top card or all at once. Most deals can be won, yet most games are lost, so the habits you bring to it matter. To find out which matter most, we had the computer play the 1,000 deals our Canfield game hands out, in different ways, and counted the wins.
If you'd like the rules first, see how to play Canfield.
What our test games showed
Every one of these deals can be won: our program found a win for each, knowing where every card is. Playing the way our Hint button does, without that knowledge and turning one card at a time, the computer won 795 of the 1,000. Changing one habit at a time showed what each one is worth:
| One change from the hints' way of playing (Draw 1) | Games won (of 1,000) |
|---|---|
| None: the Hint button's own way | 795 |
| Play the waste onto the columns only when it leads somewhere | 535 |
| Look only one move ahead | 754 |
| Don't put clearing a whole column first | 765 |
| Send every card up as soon as it can go | 768 |
| Forget the order of the stock after seeing it | 787 |
| Don't put reserve cards before other moves | 792 |
Turning three cards at a time instead of one, the same play won only 130. The tips below take the biggest differences first.
1. Keep the waste moving
Every card you play off the waste brings the next one within reach, and with one card turned at a time, that next card is often exactly what a column needs. Playing the waste's top card onto the columns whenever it fits won 795 of our games; holding back unless the move led straight to something better won only 535. Don't let the waste pile up.
2. Look a few moves ahead
Often the useful move is the second or third: move this card, which lets that column go whole onto another, which empties a space for the reserve. Looking only one move ahead won 754 games instead of 795.
3. Clear columns by moving them whole
You can move a column's top card, or the whole column at once, but not part of it. When a column's bottom card fits on the top of another column, move the lot: the empty space fills at once from the reserve, bringing one more reserve card into play. Without that priority, our test games won 765 instead of 795.
4. Don't rush cards up
A card on a foundation can't come back down to hold the next one in a column. So hold a card back until both foundations of the other color have reached the rank below it: then nothing still in play could need it. Sending every card up as soon as it could go won 768 games instead of 795. This is the same rule that works in Klondike, counted from the starting rank instead of from the Ace.
5. Remember the stock
After one trip through the stock you've seen every card in it, and its order doesn't change except where you take cards out. Use that: if the card you need is three turns away, plan the moves that make room for it. Our Hint button starts planning with the stock only once you've seen all of it, and forgetting the order won 787 instead of 795.
6. Play the reserve whenever it fits
The reserve's top card can go up to a foundation or onto a column, and every one you play brings the next into reach. In about 1 deal in 5, the reserve's top card can be played straight away. Our tests found that putting reserve cards before every other move made little difference (792 against 795), as long as you play them when they fit and clear columns for them.
7. Start with Draw 1
Turning three cards at a time hides two cards in every three, and the classic game is hard: the usual estimate is that people win about 1 game in 30. On our deals, following the hints won 795 games of 1,000 turning one at a time, and 130 turning three. Choose Draw 1 in Settings until the game feels comfortable, then try Draw 3 for a challenge.
How often should you win?
Even on deals we know can be won, the hints' careful play won about 4 games in 5 turning one card at a time and about 1 in 8 turning three. If you're doing that well, you're playing very well. For how Canfield compares with other games, see Can every game of solitaire be won?, and for its better-known cousin, our Klondike strategy guide.