Canfield (solitaire)

Canfield (US) or Demon (UK) is a patience or solitaire card game with a very low probability of winning.

[6] The game is first recorded in 1891 in England by Mary Whitmore Jones as Demon Patience.

She describes it as "by far the best game for one pack that has yet been invented," and goes on to say that its "very uncomplimentary name" seems to derive from its ability to frustrate.

"Truly a mocking spirit appears to preside over the game, and snatches success from the player often at the last moment, when it seems just within his grasp."

"[7][8] In Henrietta Stannard's 1895 novel, A Magnificent Young Man, Mrs. Bladenbrook invites the curate to "show me this wonderful new game of yours".

Fry confirms that the game is called Demon patience "because the player is so often beaten by the awkward position of a single card which avoids any appearance at the critical period in a perverse manner which at times is quite demoniacal.

[a] For example, in 1908, George Hapgood's work contains rules for "Demon Patience", plagiarised from Whitmore Jones and describing what is now called Canfield in America, and rules for "Canfield" which describe what is now called Klondike.

Confusion subsequently arose because the name Canfield was transferred in North American circles to the British game of Demon,[19] while Britain followed early American sources in giving the name Canfield to the game now known in America as Klondike.

More recently, it has been argued that the game originally played at the casino was in fact Klondike, and not the one known in the US today as Canfield.

[20] Cards on the tableau are packed in descending order and alternating colour, turning the corner from Ace to King if need be; while the foundations are built up in suit sequence, wrapping from King to Ace if necessary.

Beehive is a much simpler solitaire game that uses a Storehouse layout, but requires players to match cards of the same value, and is geared towards children.

[24] Running a computer solver on 50,000 random Canfield deals has shown that about 71% of all games are winnable.