EAGLE WING



OBJECTIVE OF EAGLE WING:  Build the four foundations in ascending order according to suit 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 player

NUMBER OF CARDS: 52 playing cards

RANK OF CARDS:  Aces may be high, low, or the corner.

TYPE OF GAME: Solitaire

AUDIENCE: Adults


INTRODUCTION OF EAGLE WING

Eagle Wing is a solitaire game that also goes by the name Thirteen Down.  The tableau is built in a shape that mimics the spread wings of an eagle.  The starting cards in the foundation are random, and the player begins with one foundation pile started.  Players do not build upon the tableau which makes this a difficult game to beat.  There is a 5% chance of winning.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Shuffle the entire deck of 52 cards thoroughly.  Deal thirteen cards face down to form the body of the eagle.  Deal eight cards in a row face up so there are four on one side of the body and four on the other side.  Deal one card face up directly above the body to form the first foundation pile. The rest of the cards form the draw pile.  

Any cards in the wings that match the rank of the foundation pile should be moved immediately to the foundation row.  The spaces in the wings are filled with a card from the body pile.

THE PLAY

Players are trying to build the foundation piles in ascending order beginning with the card determined by the deal and ending with the next lowest.  For example, if the first foundation pile dealt was a 7♠, the other 7’s must be uncovered.  The piles are built up to the King, then Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  The 6’s will be the top card of the foundation piles upon completion.

After moving any available foundation cards from the wings and filling the spaces with cards from the body, begin drawing from the draw pile one card at a time.  Cards from the draw pile are played directly to the foundations.  If the drawn card cannot be played, it is discarded face up to the waste pile.  Cards from the wings, and the top cards from the draw and waste piles are always playable to the foundations.

Once the body pile is down to one remaining card, turn it face up.  That card does not have to be used to fill any spaces on the wings.  It remains face up until it can be played on a foundation.  Once the wings can no longer be filled with cards from the body pile, fill the spaces with the top cards from the draw or waste piles instead.  The choice of which of the two piles to use is yours.

Once the draw pile is depleted, flip the waste pile over and begin again.  If you must do this a third time, you lose.  

WINNING

Win by correctly playing all of the cards to their foundation piles in two reshuffles or less.

Mark Ball
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