Click here for screen shots!
- The Ace Column
- The Play Field
- Scoring
- No Clock Scoring
- "Busting the Deck"
- Wildcard
- Registering and Logging in
Tournament Solitaire is played very similarly to classic Klondike Solitaire. At the beginning of each game 28 cards are dealt to the playing field in seven columns, with the last card in each column dealt face-up. Each column has one more card dealt to it than the column to its left. (The leftmost column contains one card, the next contains two cards, the third contains three, etc.) The rest of the cards are arranged in a draw pile at the bottom left of the play field. Cards are drawn from the draw pile one at a time, and you may only go through the draw pile once per game.
The object of the game is to arrange all the cards in the deck into the ace column (the column to the left of the playing field). Cards from the playing field or the draw pile are played onto the ace columns starting with the ace and moving in order to the king. Ace column plays must be of the same suit. There are four ace piles, one for each suit. (The two of spades plays only on the ace of spades, then the three of spades, etc.)
Cards can be played to the play field from the draw pile (bottom of the screen) or from other columns on the playfield. To draw another card click once on the draw pile. Cards in the playfield are played from the king down to the ace, alternating from red to black. (For example, you can play a Queen of hearts on a King of clubs, or a King of spades) To make a play click on the card you want to play. A small "FROM" icon will appear indicating the card you are playing. To make the play, click on the playfield column or ace column where you want to play the card. If the play is a legal move the card will quickly move to the column you have chosen, otherwise you will hear an error sound to let you know that the move is not legal. Once you have selected a card to play, you can unselect it by clicking on the same card again.
The scoring
of Tournament Solitaire is part of what makes the game so unique and fun
to play. You are scored for each successful play. In the top left hand
corner is a timer. The timer counts down to zero and is reset each time
you make a successful play, draw a new card from the draw pile, or when
the timer reaches zero. When the timer reaches zero a card from the draw
pile is automatically drawn. Your score for each play is the value of the
timer when the play was completed. The faster you play, the more points
you score. Ace column plays are scored the value of the timer times three.
No-Clock
scoring Tournaments are tournaments with no points timer in the upper left
hand corner. These tournaments are scored based on the number of cards
that you move in a play rather than how fast you make the move. This
emphasizes the skill in building long stacks rather than the speed of
play. The larger the stack being moved the higher the points. Each card
moved scores the base amount (usually 200) + a bonus for the number of
cards moved The formula looks like this:
Number of Cards x 200* +
(Number of Cards - 1) x 100
(*This value can be changed, but for
most all NO-Clock tournaments it will be 200)
If that's a little
too much work, here's a scoring grid:
Cards Moved
Total Score
1
200
2
500
3
800
4
1100
5
1400
6
1700
7
2000
8
2300
9
2600
10
2900
11
3200
12
3500
13
3800
Ace plays score the same as a single
card play x 3, or 600 points. All other features work just like any other
tournament. Points are also scored for the amount of time left for the
play when the give-up button is pressed. This score can be from 200 down
to 0.
The object of the game is to build the longest stacks on the
playfield possible. The highest scoring move would be to build a stack
from the king down to the ace and move it to an empty column.
If you arrange all the cards of the deck into the ace piles, we like to say that is a "Busted deck" When you do this, 5200 points (100 points per card) will be added to your score. At the end of each Tournament you play your score is sent back to our game server where it is tallied and posted along with the other players' scores. You can check your standings by clicking on the standings button from the home page.
The wildcard can be played as any card in the deck. To use it click on the card and then click in the location where you'd like to play it. The wildcard will automatically change into the appropriate color and suit for that location. The only restiction is that the wildcard cannot become a card that has already been played. For example if the 3 of diamonds and the 3 of hearts have both been played then the wildcard played on a 4 of spades will not play. The best way to get the hang of the wildcard is to try it out a few times to get the feel for it. Not using the wildcard results in a bonus, if you clear the level. You'll get a new wildcard for each game.
Each time you start Tournament Solitaire you must log in to our game server. It's free to register, and all information is confidential and will not be sold or divulged to another company. If you forgot your username or password click here. If you forget it later, look for the "forgot your password link" on the home page to take to you to this area.