Easthaven

Intro

Easthaven Solitaire, originally called Aces Up Solitaire, is a common card game played with a 52-card deck of standard playing cards and goes back to at least the early 1930's.
It's kind of a cross between Spider Solitaire and Klondike Solitaire.

It's claimed that an average player can win about 25% of their games and a good player from 40% to 50%.

The game requires some level of skill to do well; however, a good part of the game is luck. It's not uncommon to be dealt a randomly generated game where the player has no appreciable chance of winning.

Goal

The goal of Easthaven Solitaire is to build all 4 ordered suits from the ace to the king in the foundations.

How to Play Easthaven Solitaire

When the game starts, a pile of 3 cards is dealt into each of the 7 tableau columns, of which only the top card in each pile is face-up and visible. The remaining 31 cards are sent face-down to the stock.

Within the tableau, cards are built down by rank in alternating colors. An ordered run or any length may be moved from the bottom of one pile to the bottom of another pile, but always the target card must be both next in rank to the top card being moved and of the opposite color.

When the last card is removed from atop of a hidden card, it's automatically brought into play by turning it face-up. When all cards are removed from a pile, its column is then empty. A vacant column may be filled with any ordered run of one or more cards.

In order to build suits, the player can move one card at a time to the foundations. If the card is an ace, it begins a new build, if not, it must be next in rank for its suit. A card is allowed to be moved from the foundations to the tableau, as long as it's to a legal location.

When there are no more useful moves to be played, the players click on the stock. This sends a face-up card into each column, or just 3 on the last deal. No card can be moved to the stock.

The process of moving cards and dealing new ones continues until all of the cards have been dealt from the stock. The game is now won if the player can move all of the remaining cards from the tableau to the foundations, else the game ends when the player decides to discontinue play.

Easthaven Strategy

Here are a few tips on how to win at Easthaven Solitaire:

• Before a deal of the stock, always verify that there are no useful moves that can be played. This is not to suggest that all possible moves have to be enacted, but if there is no good reason not to play a particular move, it probably should be played.
• Move order matters. It's often possible to accomplish more than one objective concurrently. For example, if moves are made in the correct order, it could be possible to guarantee a hidden card turned in more than one column, while moving cards in a different order would not.
• When there is a choice, it's generally best to expose a hidden card in the pile that contains the most hidden cards. One case not to do so could be when it's crucial that a column be vacated as soon as possible.
• Since a king cannot be placed onto another rank, if the game is to be won, at some point the king will have to be moved into a vacant column. It the king traps much needed cards, it's better to remove the king sooner than later.
• It's important to vacate one or more columns. In the early to mid-game, a column usually isn't a lot of help other than to turn a hidden card or two. However, in the late game, it's crucial to be able to vacate columns, both to turn any remaining hidden cards and to order the tableau. By the final deal, the ideal is to have no more than one ordered run per column.
• Turning hidden cards is a priority. There's still a good chance of winning if only a few are left by the endgame, if not, then the chances get worse and worse the more hidden cards remain, especially if they are low ranks.

Layout

The game screen is made up of 3 separate areas.

The tableau is located in the center of the screen. It consists of 7 columns. Each column either contains a vertically overlapped pile of one or more cards or is empty, depending on the current state of the game. This is where pretty much all the action takes place during gameplay.

The foundations area is located above the tableau. It consists of 4 rectangles. Each rectangle is a foundation where a suit can be built from the ace to the king.

The stock is located in the upper corner. This is where the reserve cards are held that are put into play as the game progresses. At the start of the game the cards in the stock are face-down and squared. In order to deal from the stock, the player must click on it. This causes a face-up card to be dealt into each of the tableau columns, except for the last deal which deals what's left.