LEONI’S OWN



OBJECTIVE OF LEONI’S OWN:  Build four foundations from Ace to King and four from King to Ace

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 player

NUMBER OF CARDS: 104 cards

RANK OF CARDS: (low) Ace – King (high)

TYPE OF GAME: Solitaire

AUDIENCE: Adults


INTRODUCTION OF LEONI’S OWN

Leoni’s Own is a double deck solitaire game with an interesting layout and mode of play.  All of the cards are dealt out to the tableau and moved to the foundation piles as they become available.  While this game does rely heavily on luck and the distribution of cards, having a keen eye does improve the player’s chance of winning.  Keep an eye out for available plays because a missed opportunity can cost the game.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Remove one Ace and one King of each suit from the deck.  Place them out in a row to begin the foundation piles.  Aces are to be built up to Kings, and Kings are to be built down to Aces all based on suit.  

Deal the remaining cards out into thirteen piles face up.  Imagine each pile to be numbered 1 – 13.  Whenever a card is dealt to a pile that shares its rank, that card is moved to a new pile face down.  This pile contains what are called The Exiles.  For example, if a 9 of Clubs is about to be dealt to pile number 9, that card is instead placed on The Exile pile.  Deal the next card to the 9 pile instead.

THE PLAY

After the deal, spread pile number 13 so all cards can be seen.  During the game, all of the cards in pile number 13 are eligible to be played on the foundations.  The top card of every other pile is also eligible for play onto the foundations.  Play as many cards as possible from the tableau following the above mentioned rules.

Once play is blocked, flip over the top Exile card.  Play that card to a foundation if it can be played there.  If it is unable to be played, put it under the pile of the same number.  Then, take the top card of that pile and place it underneath as well.  For example, if you flip over the exiled 7 of Hearts, and it is unable to be played to the foundations, place it at the bottom of pile number 7.  Then, take the top card of pile number 7 and also place it under the pile.  Doing so will allow for a new top card to be exposed and possibly played to the foundations.

Whenever a King is uncovered during play, immediately place the King under the 13 pile and flip over the next Exile card.

If at any point two foundations meet in suit and sequence, they may be combined.  The Ace or King that began the foundation must remain in place.    Combination of the foundations must occur immediately.

Two redeals are permitted.  To do so, pick up the piles in reverse order, starting with pile number 13 and working backwards to pile number 1.  The remaining Exiles are placed at the bottom of the new deck of cards.  Redeal in the same way as the beginning of the game.

WINNING

When all of the cards are placed in the foundation piles based on suit, the game is won.  If the game is blocked after the second redeal, the game is lost.

Mark Ball
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