In the autumn of 2024, there was a cold November. I know, because I wrote down the rules for a solitaire game that I created in my note book where I also write a lot of other things. I had almost forgot about this solitaire, even though I find it a very nice way to waste my time (or actually, that should be procrastination). The rules are as follows (translated from my notes):
PAGE 1: Sunday, November 24th, morning
This morning is even colder, ~18. It is calm and freezing fog, but strangely enough, it is supposed to be +4 and rain tonight!
Now in the morning, I have played a new solitaire game that I came up with. You preferably play it with a special deck of cards, but it is also possible to play with a regular deck without spades and face cards. You shuffle the cards and place every other card face up in a pile. During the game, you place one card at a time on the table. You may only place a card next to another, not diagonally, still with either the front or back facing up. If one or more cards that are hidden lie between two open cards of the same suit, e.g., [1][x][1] or [3][x][3], the hidden cards are turned face up. If two or more cards with…
PAGE 2: …the same suit lie next to each other, you may remove the cards from the game. You get 1 point for each card you remove, and in the solitaire version, you win if you get 30 points*. If you play against each other, the pile is divided among the players (2 or 3 or 5; if playing with 4 players, discard 2 cards first), and then the players place 2 cards at a time. The game only uses the card’s suit/symbol, except for the following special cards:
- Ace of Hearts: you may move any card of your choice to a new location.
- 5 of Hearts: you may remove all cards that lie diagonally to the 5.
- 10 of Hearts: you may turn all hidden cards face up.
- Ace of Diamonds: all three of the above in any order.
There are also a few special rules as follows.
PAGE 3:
Special 1: if playing solitaire, the Ace of Diamonds is always placed last in the deck. If playing against each other, the Ace of Diamonds has no special powers.
Special 2: if you place an open card next to another open card of the same suit, you must be able to remove 3 or more cards, otherwise both cards remain.
Special 3: once you have placed a card and potentially turned hidden cards face up, you can remove groups of cards and use special powers in any order.
The game is best with square cards and clear symbols and colors. I hope to be able to make such cards soon!
The narrative: an archeologist is trying to decipher a long past astronomer’s work of the celestial movements during the time of the very first lighthouses. Each point in the solitaire represents a reconstructed and solved equation, and getting 30 points means that all off the old equations are restored from oblivion. Of course, the full work is essential to understand the dynamics and meaning of the celestial trajectories when Our Creator was at early work.