The rules of Easy Harp

Setup

Two 52-card decks, without jokers, are shuffled together: 104 cards, each one in two copies. 9 columns are dealt with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 cards, 45 cards in all: in each column, only the last card is face up, and the other 36 are hidden. The remaining 59 cards form the stock, face down. Beside it are the waste pile, empty, and 8 empty foundations.

Allowed moves

• On a column: a card goes on a face-up card of the opposite color (red on black, black on red) and one rank higher. A 7 of hearts goes on an 8 of spades or clubs.
• Duplicate cards: every card exists twice, so a black 6 has four possible places (the two 7s of hearts and the two 7s of diamonds).
• From the waste pile: only the top card can be played, onto a column or its foundation.
• A hidden card that is uncovered turns over by itself and becomes playable.

Ranks run from ace (lowest) to king: ace, 2 through 10, jack, queen, king.

Only one card at a time

This is the rule that distinguishes Easy Harp from Klondike: between columns, you move only the top card. An already ordered sequence (a black 8, a red 7, a black 6) cannot move as a unit, even if its first card could go elsewhere: you must break it up one card at a time, starting at the bottom. If you try anyway, the app refuses and, with the "Interactive Rules" setting (enabled by default), reminds you of the rule. The Examples page shows this refusal in an actual game.

The empty column and the sequence led by a king

An empty column accepts only a king. This is also the only exception to the one-card-at-a-time rule: a sequence starting with a king, in alternating colors and descending ranks, can move as a unit to an empty column (up to 13 cards, from king to ace). It cannot go anywhere else. Any other card is rejected on an empty column, even to uncover a face-down card.

The foundations

There are 8 foundations, 2 per suit. Each takes a single suit: ace first, then 2, 3 and so on up to king, one card at a time. In the app, each space is reserved for a suit: an ace goes onto an empty space of its own suit, never one of another suit. A card dropped anywhere in the foundation area automatically finds a foundation that accepts it; if there are two, it goes to the first.

The stock and the passes

Tap the stock to turn one card face up onto the waste; only the top card of the waste can be played. When the stock is empty, a tap returns the entire waste to the stock, face down, in the same order, and you start again. Passes are unlimited and free: no points are deducted.

The end of the game

The game is won when all 104 cards are on the foundations. The app does not declare a loss: when no useful move is left, you undo moves or start a new game.

What the app adds

These points are specific to the Easy Harp app; other versions of the game score differently.

• No auto-play: no card goes to the foundations by itself, and the game does not finish by itself. Tapping a top card sends it to a foundation that accepts it when possible; two quick taps (the "Double tap" setting, on by default) then look for a spot on the tableau (the longest column first, then an empty column for a king). You can also drag the cards.
• Taking back from a foundation: the top card of a foundation can be taken back by dragging and placed on the tableau, without gaining or losing points.
• Undo: the last 100 actions; undoing removes the points earned by the undone move, but the move counter does not go back down.
• Numbered deals: each game has a deal number, from 1 to 999 999, represented as a code (for example EH1-N-AAAAAAF). The New Game window offers "New Deal" (chosen at random), "Daily Deal" (the same for everyone that day) and "Same Deal" (replay the current deal). See the FAQ.

Scoring in the app

The score starts at 0 and never falls below 0. A game won without taking cards back from foundations always totals 1 220 points for the 104 cards on foundations and the 36 cards turned face up, plus 5 for each card moved from the waste to the tableau.