Vanishing Cross is a popular solitaire card game. Here's how to play:
Object: To build a 13-card sequence for each suit in each corner of the layout.
Advertisement
The cards: Standard 52-card deck
: Visualize a three-by-three square grid, like that used in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. That is how you will lay out the cards. The four corners of the grid are where you will build the foundations in ascending order.
When you begin, only the upper-left corner will have a card in it. You may build foundations going round-the-corner (king to ace to deuce) as needed. The five center squares of your grid -- those that form a cross -- are your tableau. Build sequences in these piles in descending order. There is no need to follow suit or alternate colors for tableau sequences.
Playing: Shuffle the deck, and deal a single card faceup onto each of the five squares of the tableau spaces.
Next, place one card faceup onto the upper-left corner. This card sets the base number for the other three foundations. The rest of the cards are your stock, from which you will turn cards faceup one at a time into a discard pile until the stock is exhausted. You can do five things with each card you put into play from the stock:
- Start a foundation corner.
- Build on a foundation if it's the next higher card in the suit.
- Build on any tableau pile.
- Put it on any empty tableau space.
- Add it to the discard pile.
If your first foundation card is a 5, all the other foundation cards will be 5s. Your ascending sequence will be 5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A-2-3-4. Cards in the tableau may be played at any time, but only the top card can be moved to a foundation pile or another tableau pile. You may not take a card from a tableau and place it on discard pile. Only the top card of the discard pile may be put into play, and it can be placed on foundations or tableau piles. Spaces in the tableau must be kept filled as long as you have cards available. You can move one or more cards from a tableau pile, the available card from the stock, or the top discard. Use cards from the stock one at a time. You can go through the stock only once.In the above diagram, if the next card you turn up is the 5, play this card in a corner location; if it's the 10, play it on the J; or if it's the 2, play it on an empty tableau space or on the discard pile.
Advertisement