Whitehead Solitaire

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    Moves:0
    Website by Multitude Creative

    How to Play Whitehead

    Whitehead starts from the Klondike layout and turns it around. Every card in the columns is dealt face up, so you can plan from the first move, and red cards build on red while black builds on black.

    Building by color gives you plenty of places to put a card, but runs only move together when they are all one suit. A 6 of hearts on a 7 of diamonds is a legal build that can't travel as a group, and that is what makes the game tricky.

    Setup

    Twenty-eight cards are dealt face up into seven columns of one to seven cards. The other 24 cards form the stock, and the four foundations start empty.

    Rules

    • Foundations build up in suit from Ace to King.
    • Columns build down by one rank in the same color: red on red, black on black.
    • A group can move together only if it runs down in one suit.
    • Any card or suit run can move to an empty column.
    • Click the stock to turn one card onto the waste. The top waste card can go on a column or a foundation.
    • There is one pass through the stock.

    How to win

    Move all 52 cards to the foundations. Once the stock and waste are gone, autocomplete can finish the game when the rest go up in order.

    How often can Whitehead be won?

    We ran our own solver on 200 shuffled deals of this version. It found a win in 56 of 200 (28%), showed that 4 could not be won, and ran out of its budget of 20,000 positions a deal on 140.

    Those undecided deals may still be winnable, so treat the win count as a minimum. The solver can see every card, including face-down ones, so it measures what the cards allow, not how often a person will win.

    Whitehead Strategy

    • Prefer same-suit builds when you have a choice. A heart on a heart can move with its run later, while a heart on a diamond splits the run.
    • Since everything on the board is visible, trace a plan before your first move. Find the Aces and count what is on top of them.
    • Empty columns take any card here, so they are worth more than in Klondike. Use one to take apart a mixed run that is blocking you.
    • Decide about each waste card before you turn the next one, because you will not see the stock again.
    • Avoid long mixed-suit columns. They are legal and they look tidy, but you can only take them apart one card at a time.

    Whitehead FAQ

    How is Whitehead different from Klondike?

    All the column cards start face up, columns build by the same color rather than alternating, only one-suit runs move together, any card can fill an empty column, and there is one pass through the stock.

    Why won't my run move?

    The whole group has to be in one suit. A run like the 8 of hearts, 7 of diamonds and 6 of hearts is legal to build, but it has to be moved one card at a time.

    Does any card go in an empty column?

    Yes, any card, or a run in one suit.

    Can I go through the stock more than once?

    No. This version gives you one pass, drawing one card at a time.