How to Play Tournament Solitaire
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.
Scoring
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.
The Play Field
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.
"Busting The Deck"
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 Ace Column
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.)
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.
Wildcard
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 restriction 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.