What is Colours Solitaire?
Colours Solitaire (also spelled Colors) is a foundation game with an unusual color-pairing rule. Rather than building by suit, foundations build by color — red and black alternating in the same pile, or two red suits on one foundation and two black suits on another, depending on the implementation. The four foundations start on specific ranks (2, 3, 4, 5) and build upward with wraparound through King then Ace. The first card played to any foundation locks in the color assignment for all four.
Full rules
One 52-card deck. Foundations start on ranks 2, 3, 4, and 5, building upward with wraparound by color (not suit). The color pairing — which colors go to which foundations — is determined by the first card placed on any foundation and locks for the rest of the game.
Stock deals one card at a time. Each card goes to a foundation (if it fits the color and the next needed rank) or to one of several waste piles. Waste top cards are always available. Win when all 52 cards reach foundations.
The color-pairing commitment
The most important decision in Colours happens early: the first card placed on any foundation sets which color goes to which pair of foundations for the entire game. A poor first placement can make large sections of the deck permanently difficult to route, because the color pairing determines which waste pile holdings are useful and which are stranded.
Before making the first foundation placement, scan the available waste cards to identify which color assignment would make the most cards immediately playable.
Read the Colours strategy guide →
Wraparound foundation sequences
Foundations starting at 2, 3, 4, and 5 and building with King-to-Ace wraparound means each foundation completes a full 13-rank cycle. A foundation starting at 3 builds: 3→4→5→6→7→8→9→10→J→Q→K→A→2. Planning around the full cycle — not just the immediate next rank — prevents the common mistake of treating early-rank cards as less urgent when they are actually one step from the wraparound completion.
Related deal-and-place games
- Canfield — single base rank; suit foundations; reserve pile
- Calculation — arithmetic interval foundations; four waste piles
- Sir Tommy — four waste piles; suit foundations; stock-deal-only game
Related games and reference