If you like Canfield, you’ll love Duchess. The two games share many features and are equally difficult to win. The difference is that in Canfield it often feels like you’re going to lose from the get-go. In Duchess, it often feels like you might actually win—until those dastardly last few cards are played. The actual odds of winning are 1 in every 40 hands.
HOW TO DEAL Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and deal four cards, face up, in a row. This is your tableau. Next, deal four reserve piles (three cards per pile) face up and fanned out, so that all cards are visible. Set aside the remaining cards as your stock. Your cards should look like this:
WINNING Build four foundation piles, each with thirteen cards organized by suit and in ascending rank. The trick is that the starting foundation cards vary from game to game.
HOW TO PLAY Your first job is to nominate foundation cards. Select one of your exposed reserve cards (either 9 of diamonds, K of diamonds, X of diamonds, or 3 of spades in the example above), and move it to an empty foundation pile. The rank of this first foundation card determines the starting rank of your other three founda tion piles. If you select 9 of diamonds, for example, the other foundation piles must start with 9 of clubs, 9 of hearts, and 9 of spades. Once the foundations are established, build each pile by suit in ascending rank (9 of hearts-10 of hearts-J of diamonds-Q of hearts-K of hearts-X of diamonds-2 of hearts…8 of hearts), using up to thirteen cards.
Build tableau piles in descending rank and in alternating color. In the example above, you may play J of hearts or J of diamonds on Q of clubs; 7 of spades or 7 of clubs on 8 of diamonds; etc. You may also move groups of cards among the tableau piles as long as you meet the color and ranking requirements.
When a tableau slot is empty, fill it with a card from the reserve or (if the reserve is empty) with a stock card. There’s no rush to fill a vacant slot immediately, so take your time and choose wisely.
When you run out of legal moves, turn up a card from the stock and play it either to the foundations or tableau, or place it face up in a waste pile. You’re always allowed to play the topmost waste card to the foundations or tableau.
In Duchess, you are allowed to redeal just once, by picking up the waste pile and turning it over (do not shuffle).