Montana

“Montana” Solitaire: Detailed Game Rules

“Montana” is a classic card solitaire known for its strategic gameplay.

🎯 Objective:

To build all cards into four ascending suit sequences. Each row must start with a Two and end with a King. The rightmost cell remains empty.

🃏 Game Start and Layout

1. Use a standard deck of 52 cards.
2. The cards are thoroughly shuffled and dealt face up into 4 horizontal rows of 13 cards each.
3. At the start of the game, all four Aces are immediately removed from the layout. The four resulting empty spaces are called “gaps”. These gaps are your main tool throughout the game.

♠️ How to Make Moves: Key Rules

All gameplay revolves around moving cards into gaps according to strict rules.

• Only a card that meets the following criteria can be placed into a gap:
  • It is of the same suit as the card to the left of the gap.
  • It is one rank higher (the next in seniority) than the card to the left.

Note

Example: If there is a 7 of Clubs to the left of a gap, only the 8 of Clubs can be placed into that gap.

• Since Aces are removed at the start, the lowest card is the Two.
• Special Case: If a gap is in the leftmost position of a row, only the Two of the suit that should start there can be placed into it.
• Each move of a card creates a new gap, allowing you to continue moving cards. Your strategy should aim to build sequences from Two to King step by step.

🔄 Reshuffling the Layout

If available moves run out, you have the option to reshuffle the remaining cards on the layout (except those already in correct sequence).

The game has two difficulty levels that limit the number of reshuffles:

• Easy Level: The layout can be reshuffled 4 times.
• Expert Level: The layout can be reshuffled 2 times.

🏆 Winning and Losing Conditions

• Win: All four rows are built into correct suit sequences: from Two (left) to King (right). The last cell in each row must be empty.
• Lose: You have exhausted all possible moves and cannot reshuffle the layout anymore, while the solitaire has not been solved.

🧠 Strategy Tips

• Plan ahead. Before making a move, think about what new gap it will open and whether it will be useful to you.
• Try to clear the right side of the tableau. The ability to place a King in its rightful place is key to victory.
• Pay close attention to suits. A common beginner’s mistake is to confuse the suits of the cards to the left of the gaps.

Ready to put these rules into practice?