Waste-pile builders · The Greenway
Deal cards one at a time from the stock. Each card must immediately go to one of four foundations (built Ace through King, regardless of suit) or be placed face-up on one of four waste piles. Once on a waste pile a card cannot be moved until it is sent to a foundation — only the top card of each waste pile is available. Clear all waste piles and fill the foundations to win.
Deal from stock, then place the dealt card on a waste pile or foundation.
Sir Tommy is one of the oldest and simplest patience games that involves real strategic decisions. The entire 52-card deck is dealt one card at a time; each card must immediately go to one of four foundation piles (building any suit upward from Ace to King) or one of four waste piles. No card can be moved once placed in a waste pile except to a foundation. The game is won when all four foundations are complete.
One 52-card deck. Four foundation piles accept any Ace to start, then build upward by any suit — the only constraint is that each pile builds in ascending rank order (Ace, 2, 3… King), but any suit can go on any pile. Four waste piles accumulate cards; only the top waste card of each pile is available for foundation play at any time.
Each stock card, one at a time, must immediately go to a foundation (if it fits) or be placed on any one waste pile. Once in a waste pile, a card can only leave when it becomes the correct rank for a foundation and is on top.
Every placement in Sir Tommy is a one-way commitment: once a card goes into a waste pile, it is trapped until every card above it is played. This means the pile you choose for each stock card determines how long that card will be inaccessible.
Compare the covered pile top with the drawn card. A Jack placed on a 3 hides the 3 until the Jack can play, while a 3 placed on a Jack remains available as soon as a foundation reaches 2. Protect access to the ranks the foundations need next.
Sir Tommy’s foundations build upward by rank only — any suit can go on any pile. This means the first Ace played starts a foundation, and the next card placed there is any 2, regardless of suit. This is much more flexible than Klondike’s suit-specific foundations, but it also means careful waste placement matters more, since the foundation sequences are harder to predict.
Sir Tommy is part of The Greenway · Waste-pile builders.