Braid

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card order
3. The parts of the layout
4. Setup
5. Playing
6. Winning
7. Tips for beginners
8. Variants

Overview

Braid – in German Der Zopf – is a patience (a card game for one player, also called solitaire) for two decks. Down the middle of the table lies a braid of twenty cards; around it are four corner cards and eight side cards. Your goal is to sort all 104 cards onto eight piles, two for each suit. These piles don't start with the Ace but with the rank of the first card turned up after the deal, and they run round the corner from King to Ace. The game is won only if the braid is cleared completely.

• Players: 1
• You need: two standard 52-card decks without jokers (104 cards), shuffled together, and a large table.
• Time: about 20 minutes per game.

Card order

The ranks run A – 2 – 3 … 10 – J – Q – K, and in Braid they go round the corner: after the King comes the Ace again, then the 2. So Q, K, A, 2 is a proper sequence.

The parts of the layout

• Braid: twenty face-up cards in a zigzag column down the middle, each half covering the one before. Only its last card – the one at the bottom, not covered by any other card – can be played.
• Corners: four face-up cards, one at each corner of the braid.
• Side cards: eight face-up cards, four on the left and four on the right of the braid.
• Foundations: eight piles, two per suit, where you collect the cards. The first card of every foundation has the same rank – the rank of the base card turned up after the deal.
• Stock: the face-down pile of the remaining cards.
• Waste: the face-up pile onto which you turn cards from the stock.

Setup

1. Shuffle both decks together.
2. Deal 20 cards face up down the middle of the table as the braid: lay each card slanting, alternately from the left and from the right, so that it half covers the card before.
3. Deal one card face up at each of the four corners of the braid.
4. Deal four cards face up to the left and four to the right of the braid: the side cards.
5. Turn up the next card – the 33rd. This is the base card: put it on the foundations. The seven other cards of its rank start the other foundations when they turn up.
6. The remaining 71 cards are the stock. Leave room next to it for the waste.

Playing

There are no turns – you make one move after another, in any order.

1. To a foundation: when another card of the base rank becomes available, start a new foundation with it. On each foundation build upwards in the same suit, going round the corner: with base 8, a ♥ foundation runs 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ J♥ Q♥ K♥ A♥ 2♥ … 7♥.
2. Available cards: the last card of the braid, the four corner cards, the eight side cards and the top card of the waste may all be played to a foundation. There is no building anywhere else – cards only ever move to the foundations or into spaces.
3. Corner spaces: when a corner card has gone, you may fill its space with the last card of the braid – and only with that card. This is how you work your way into the braid.
4. Side spaces: a space among the side cards may be filled only from the stock – with the top card of the waste or the next card you turn up. You may leave it empty until a useful card comes.
5. The stock: turn the stock one card at a time onto the waste. Only the top card of the waste is playable; when you play it, the one below becomes available.
6. Going through again: when the stock is used up, turn the waste over (without shuffling) to form a new stock. You may do this twice – three passes through the stock in all.

Example: With the layout above, the 9♥ in the top left corner goes on the 8♥. Fill the corner with the J♥ from the end of the braid; now the 7♣ is the braid's last card. The 10♥ from the right side goes on the 9♥, and the J♥ from the corner follows. That corner is filled again from the braid, with the 7♣. The empty side space waits for a card from the stock.

Winning

You win when all 104 cards are on the eight foundations, 13 on each – the braid, corners and side cards all cleared. The game is lost when the third pass through the stock is over and no move is left.

Tips for beginners

• The braid decides the game. Whenever a card from the braid (or a corner) and a card from the waste could go to the same foundation, take the one from the braid.
• Before you turn the next stock card, check the braid, the corners and every side card.
• Use side spaces wisely: put a waste card there if it frees a card below it on the waste that you need.
• Remember that each card exists twice – look out for the second copy before you give up on a foundation.

Variants

All optional – agree before you start.

• Duplicates: in Ella von Haunstein's old German rules, if two identical cards (same suit and rank) turn up in the braid while you deal it, you may put one of them back into the stock.
• Building on the side cards: in Hannelene Juhl's version, you may build on the side cards down in alternating colours (a red 7 on a black 8), sideways into rows, but only one card at a time. A side space may then take any single card or the next card of the stock.
• Up or down: in PySolFC and many computer versions, you decide with the first card you add to any foundation whether all foundations go up or all go down (7♥ or 9♥ on the 8♥).
• Long Braid: deal 24 cards to the braid instead of 20.