Calculation Solitaire
How to play Calculation
Calculation is a one-deck solitaire game of ranks, not suits, in which four foundations count up from an Ace, a Two, a Three and a Four in steps of one, two, three and four, fed from the stock through four waste piles.
Build four foundations by ones, twos, threes and fours, any suit.
About Calculation
An Ace, a Two, a Three and a Four are taken out of the deck to start the foundations, leaving 48 cards in the stock. Each foundation keeps adding its own step and counts on past the King: after a Queen, the foundation that goes up by two wants an Ace, then a Three.
Jacks count 11, Queens 12 and Kings 13, so the foundation that goes up by four runs 4, 8, Queen, 3, 7, Jack, 2, 6, 10, Ace, 5, 9, King.
With four different sequences, the same rank is wanted at very different moments: a Five is the fifth card of the first foundation but the eleventh of the one that goes up by four. Before parking a card, check which foundation will take it soonest, and place it only on cards that will be needed after it.
The goal of Calculation
Build all four foundations up to thirteen cards, each one ending on a King. Suits never matter, only ranks.
How to set up Calculation
Beside the foundations are four waste piles, which start empty. The top card of the stock is face up and ready to play.
Calculation rules
Play the top stock card onto a foundation that wants it next, or park it on any of the four waste piles. Only the top card of a waste pile can move, and only onto a foundation. Cards never move from one waste pile to another, and the stock is played through once, with no redeal.
Click a card to play it: to a foundation that wants it or, for the stock card, to the waste pile the game rates best. Drag a card to choose the pile yourself. With Autoplay off in Settings, only a drag moves a card.
How to win at Calculation
You win when all four foundations are complete. The game is blocked when the stock is empty and no waste pile's top card fits a foundation.
Calculation strategy tips
Kings are the last card every foundation needs, so try to keep them together on one waste pile where they cover nothing else.
On each waste pile, place cards needed soon on top of cards needed later, never the other way round.
Each foundation wants every rank exactly once, so no card is ever dead: before parking one, work out which foundation will take it soonest.
Calculation questions and answers
What order do the foundations build in Calculation solitaire?
In Calculation the first foundation runs Ace to King in order. The second goes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Queen, Ace, 3, 5, 7, 9, Jack, King. The third goes 3, 6, 9, Queen, 2, 5, 8, Jack, Ace, 4, 7, 10, King. The fourth adds four each time, and every foundation ends on a King.
Can you move cards between waste piles in Calculation?
No. In Calculation a waste pile only ever gives its top card to a foundation, and only the stock card can be placed on a waste pile. That is why the order you build each pile in matters so much: a card buried under later cards stays stuck until they are played.
Is every Calculation solitaire deal winnable?
No, some Calculation deals cannot be won however you park the cards. They are also hard to judge: within the search it is allowed, the game's solver settles only about two thirds of Calculation deals and a third of Sir Tommy deals one way or the other, and the rest stay undecided. Switch on Winnable in the menu beside New deal and each new board is shuffled until the solver proves a win exists, skipping the undecided ones, unless it runs out of tries. The daily boards for Calculation and Sir Tommy, the same for everyone each day, are dealt that way too, and the Hint button asks the same solver for a winning line.
What is the difference between Calculation and Sir Tommy solitaire?
Only the foundations differ. In Calculation they start with an Ace, Two, Three and Four already in place and build by ones, twos, threes and fours. In Sir Tommy they start empty, each begins with an Ace, and all build up one rank at a time. The four waste piles and the single pass through the stock are the same in both.
Do suits matter in Calculation solitaire?
No. In Calculation and Sir Tommy a foundation takes the rank it needs next whatever its suit, so only ranks count. The decisions that matter are where to park each card the stock turns up and in what order to stack the four waste piles.