Patience terms
On Patiencen.org, you are sure to come across some terms that you don't use elsewhere or have perhaps never even heard before. That's why these technical terms are explained here in alphabetical order, briefly and clearly.
Alternating colors
An alternating color order is usually laid alternately in black and red. For example, a 6 or 6 is placed on a 7 or 7.
Ascending sequence
A sequence of cards where each card is one rank higher than the previous, starting with the Ace and ending with the King. For example: Ace, 2, 3, 4, …, Queen, King.
Auxiliary cards / helper cards
Cards or small piles used in certain patience variations to assist play, often placed temporarily outside the main layout.
Auxiliary row
A line of cards used as a support area in some patience games.
Auxiliary stack
A stack of cards used as a supplementary resource during play.
Build up & build down
When cards are placed on top of others in numerical order, the action is called building up (increasing rank) or building down (decreasing rank).
Colour
Refers to the colour category of the cards: there are black cards and red cards. The black cards are Clubs and Spades, the red cards are Hearts and Karo.
Column / Row
This is the name for a position where cards can be placed in a horizontal or vertical sequence.
Dead cards
These cards (temporarily) no longer participate in the patience game.
Descending sequence
A sequence of cards where each card is one rank lower than the previous, typically starting with the King and ending with the Ace: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, …, 2, Ace.
Different suit
In a different-suit order, the card suit does not matter at all. For example, a 9 can be placed on a 10, or a 3 on a 4.
Face-up and face-down cards
Face-up or revealed playing cards are laid with the picture side facing up, so you can see the value of the card. Face-down playing cards are laid with the back side facing up.
Family
A group of cards of the same suit (e.g. all Hearts), arranged in sequence from Ace through King or vice versa: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King
Flute
Cards in a horizontal row that are laid in ascending or descending order in same-suit or alternating-color overlapping sequence are called flutes.
Foundation cards / base cards
Cards placed at the start that serve as the basis for building sequences, such as initial Aces or Kings, depending on the rules.
Free row / free space
An empty row or space that becomes available during play. Depending on the game, this space may be filled again with cards, a sequence, or another arrangement.
Layout / Tableau
The arrangement of cards on the table at the beginning of a patience game. Many games have a defined pattern for how cards are initially placed.
Moving
This is the name for arranging matching cards, for example, in many patience games a 9 can be placed on a 10.
Next card in sequence
A card that is placed onto another according to the game’s rules, usually in ascending or descending order.
Overlapping / fanned
When cards lie partially on top of each other so that only part of the lower card is visible.
Pairs
Pairs are either two cards of the same value, such as 10 and 10, or of the same suit, such as 4 and 6.
Pile
When cards are turned over from the talon and don’t fit into the tableau, they are placed on a so-called pile, which in most patience games can also be used from the top.
Placing
Depending on the patience, cards can be placed horizontally or vertically on other cards. A card is placed so that half of the lower card is covered. This is also called overlapping.
Playing up
Playing up refers to placing cards on the foundation and subsequent cards, as these are usually arranged above the tableau. Once something has been played up, it (usually) may not be taken back into the tableau.
Reserve cards
Cards that can be put aside under the main layout to make room for new moves or to try different strategies.
Same suit
A same-suit order or sequence consists of a single suit, either , , or .
Sequence / Ladder
Cards in a vertical row that are laid in ascending or descending order in same-suit or alternating-color overlapping sequence are called sequences or ladders.
Skipping sequence
This card sequence is not built up or down with directly consecutive values. This can be the sequence 2, 5, 8 and Jack, as shown in the picture gallery.
Succeed
A patience has succeeded when all playing cards have been arranged according to the rules into the appropriate order, meaning the respective goal has been reached.
Talon
The talon is the name given to the face-down stack of cards at the start of the game, from which, after being laid out, there are still cards left over that are used for the rest of the game. This packing of cards is also known as a block or draw pile.