Grandma Sawyer's Game

Family: Yukon
Categories: New
Variants: Yukon, Scorpion, Wasp, Double Scorpion, Russian Solitaire
Also known as:

Grandma Sawyer’s Game is a somewhat easier variant of Russian Solitaire. It was sent to us by a fan of Solitaire Till Dawn who has been a faithful supporter for over 25 years, and the game is named in honor of her grandmother who taught her the game. For fun, Solitaire Till Dawn uses Klondike’s casino-style scoring. (No, we don’t pay off on your winnings; the money scores are just for fun!)

Layout

There are four foundations, which are initially empty. There are six tableau piles, fanned down. The first tableau starts with just two cards face-up. The remaining tableaus start with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 cards face-down, and each has seven face-up cards atop their face-down cards.

Play

Top cards of tableaus are available for building onto the foundations, which build up following suit. Only an Ace may be played to an empty foundation.

All face-up cards in the tableaus are available for moving among the tableaus, which build down following suit. The moved card and the rest of its fan all move together, even if they are not all in sequence. Only Kings or fans whose bottom card is a King may be played to an empty tableau pile.

Goal

The goal is to move all the cards onto the foundations. Solitaire Till Dawn uses casino scoring by charging $52 a game, and paying back $5 for every card played to the foundations. (It’s not real money, so don’t worry!)

Tips

Play cards to the foundations as soon as possible; there is never any reason to delay.

Look for ways to reveal the face-down cards, and make those moves first whenever possible.