Canfield Solitaire has a fascinating history — it was originally a gambling game where you bought a deck of cards for $52 and won $5 back for every card on the foundation. The house almost always won. Today it's played for fun, but it's still one of the hardest solitaire games around.
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Play Free Solitaire →The Canfield Layout
Canfield (also called Demon Solitaire in the UK) uses one 52-card deck. Setup:
- Reserve: 13 cards dealt face-down in a pile, with the top card face-up
- Foundation: One card dealt face-up to start the first foundation; all four foundations start at the same rank as this card
- Tableau: 4 columns of 1 card each
- Stock: Remaining 34 cards
Canfield Rules
Foundations build up by suit starting from the designated rank (wrapping from King to Ace). Tableau columns build down in alternating colors. The top card of the reserve is always available to play. Stock is dealt 3 at a time.
The reserve is what makes Canfield unique — as you clear cards from the tableau, the reserve automatically replenishes from the top, keeping the tableau full (up to 4 columns). This creates a continuous flow of new cards but limits your freedom to create empty columns.
Why Canfield Is So Hard
Canfield's win rate is estimated at around 1 in 30 games for average players — one of the lowest of any standard solitaire game. The challenges:
- The reserve constantly refills the tableau, making it almost impossible to create empty columns
- The foundation's starting rank is random, creating wrapping dependency chains that are hard to manage
- Drawing 3 from stock limits access to buried stock cards
- The limited 4-column tableau provides very little maneuvering room
Basic Canfield Strategy
- Get all four foundation starting-rank cards to the foundation as quickly as possible
- Keep the tableau in alternating-color order as much as possible — this gives you the most flexibility for new cards
- Watch the reserve carefully — the cards coming up from reserve drive your planning
- Cycle the stock multiple times — key cards are often buried and need multiple passes to surface
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the win rate for Canfield Solitaire?
Canfield has one of the lowest win rates of any solitaire game — approximately 1 in 30 games (about 3%) for average players. Even with perfect strategy, most estimates put the theoretical maximum around 5–8%.
What is the difference between Canfield and Klondike?
Canfield has a reserve pile that constantly refills the tableau, random foundation starting rank (not always Ace), and a Draw 3 stock. Klondike starts foundations from Ace and has no reserve. Canfield is significantly harder.
Is Canfield Solitaire the same as Demon?
Yes. Canfield is the American name; Demon is the British name for the same game. The rules are identical.
Why was Canfield used as a gambling game?
The legendary gambler Richard Canfield sold decks for $52 and paid $5 per card on the foundation at game end. Given the ~3% win rate and average score of a few foundation cards, the house kept most of the $52. It was deeply unfavorable for players.
How is the starting rank determined in Canfield?
The 14th card dealt sets the foundation rank — this is the card placed on the first foundation pile. Whatever rank it is (Ace, 5, King, etc.), all four foundations must start from that rank and build up by suit from there.