What is Czarina Solitaire?
Czarina Solitaire is a compact patience game where five tableau piles surround a central foundation group, and empty tableau spaces are automatically refilled from the stock. The foundations build upward by suit with King-to-Ace wraparound — the starting rank is determined by the first card dealt, similar to Canfield. The auto-refill mechanic makes every tableau move a stock-draw in disguise, requiring you to think about what will appear next rather than just what is currently available.
Full rules
One 52-card deck. One card is dealt to each of the five tableau positions (or one card sets the base rank for foundations). Foundations build upward by suit with wraparound from the base rank. Tableau positions hold single cards; when a tableau card is played to a foundation or moved, the position is immediately refilled from the stock.
All five tableau positions are always available to play to the foundation whenever they fit the current foundation sequence. Win when all 52 cards reach the four foundations.
The auto-refill mechanic
In most patience games, you choose when to draw from the stock. In Czarina, the stock draws automatically whenever a tableau position is vacated. This means the sequence in which you clear tableau positions determines the order stock cards appear — not how fast you draw.
The practical effect: before playing any tableau card to the foundation, consider whether the position it vacates needs to be refilled now, or whether waiting to clear another position first would produce a better refill sequence.
Read the Czarina strategy guide →
Wraparound foundation planning
Like Canfield, Czarina uses a base rank determined by the first card — foundations build from that rank through King, then wrap from Ace back to the rank below the base. Tracking the full cycle prevents the common mistake of treating all ranks as equivalent urgency. Cards just above the base rank are urgently needed early; cards just below the base rank will not be needed until the end of the cycle.