Read the opening deal

One card sets the foundation base rank. Four cards start the tableau, and only the top of the thirteen-card reserve is visible. The remaining cards are in the stock.

The base-rank foundation

Canfield’s defining feature: foundations do not start on Aces. The first card dealt sets the base rank for all four suits. If that card is a 7, all four foundations build 7→8→9→10→J→Q→K→A→2→3→4→5→6. The three remaining base-rank cards can start their suit foundations when accessible. Check which base-rank cards are already exposed before drawing.

Read the full Canfield strategy guide →

Reserve and wraparound tableau

The 13-card reserve is Canfield’s other core structure. Only the top card is available at any time; the other twelve are face-down until uncovered. Tableau sequences wrap around — Ace goes on 2, King on Ace — and alternate colors.

Canfield variants

The seven board variants are available from the selector above. A brief summary of what each changes:

Selective Canfield — choose your base rank before play from 5 dealt options
Superior Canfield — all 13 reserve cards visible; otherwise identical to standard
Thirteen Up — fixed base rank 2; same-suit tableau; draw one; max 2 redeals
Variegated Demon — two decks, 8 foundations, Aces pre-placed, draw three
Chameleon — 3 columns, draw one, no redeals, any-suit downward build
Rainbow — 4 columns, draw one, no redeals, any-suit downward build

Key strategic concepts

Think in full wrapping cycles. If the base is 9, the full sequence is 9→10→J→Q→K→A→2→3→4→5→6→7→8. Cards just above the base are urgent; cards just below the base will be last. In draw-three, only the top waste card is playable at a time. Check the exposed reserve and tableau cards before covering a useful waste card with another draw.

Rainbow is part of The Heights · Canfield family and is a variant of Canfield.

More Canfield family games

Canfield — Compact reserve patience with wrap-around foundations.
American Toad — Two-deck patience with a 20-card reserve.
Chameleon — Canfield variant: 3 columns, any-suit, no redeals.
Selective Canfield — You choose the foundation base rank.
Superior Canfield — Visible reserve, unlimited redeals.
Thirteen Up — Canfield with 2s as base, same-suit building.

Also try

Baroness (Pairing & removal) — Discard pairs summing to 13.
Golf (Golf & adjacency) — Play cards one above or below the waste top.
Ninety-One (Grid & sequence puzzles) — Move top cards among thirteen piles until their values add to 91.