XV

THE DEMON (WITH ONE WHIST PACK)

AN old but excellent game, perhaps the best of all games for a single pack. It is, however, decidedly difficult, and is supposed to have received its title from its highly exasperating character.

Deal thirteen cards from the top of the pack, and place them to the left of the board, squared together and face upward, one card being thus visible. The next four cards are dealt in a row, face upward, a little further to the right. The fifth card of the pack is then placed, face upward, vertically above the first of the row of four.

This fifth card will be the foundation of a packet to be built upon, upward and in suit. As the other three cards of the same denomination come out they are also made the foundations of three similar packets. In the diagram below the first foundation card is the five of diamonds. The packet of thirteen cards is called the "stock," the four cards laid out in a row are to be the heads of four columns, and these columns are to be built upon in downward sequence, with cards alternately red and black. The remaining cards, kept in hand, are called the "reserve." For purposes of building, either upon the foundation packets or upon the columns, the top card of "stock" is always available. If this card, or any of the four "column" cards, had been a five, it would have been put out at once for another foundation, and the vacancy in the row would have been supplied from "stock." Since, in the case of our diagram, there is no other five visible, we proceed to deal from the reserve, always taking three cards at a time, and turning them in a squared packet face upward. Should it be possible to build with the faced card of the three, then the second card may be used, and if this also will build, then the third and last.

If the faced card of the three cannot be built with, three more cards must be taken from reserve and treated in the same way, and so on until the whole of the "reserve" cards have been gone through. Should there be only two cards at the end of the reserve, you are allowed to build with either of them.

In the diagram shown, the game goes as follows:

The first three cards from "reserve" show the 10 of hearts. Nothing can be done with this, so three more cards are taken, showing the 6 of diamonds. This is placed on the 5 of diamonds (our first foundation card), showing the card beneath it to be the 10 of clubs, with which again nothing can be done. The next three cards from reserve show the ace of spades, which is placed on the 2 of hearts; the card beneath is the 7 of spades, placed on the 8 of hearts. The king of hearts is taken from "stock" and laid on the ace of spades. The 7 of diamonds is now exposed in " stock," and is built on the 6 of diamonds, exposing in "stock" the 2 of spades. The next three cards from "reserve" show the 5 of hearts, which is put out for a second "foundation," exposing ace of clubs, which is useless. The next three cards show the queen of clubs, which is laid on king of hearts, exposing 7 of hearts, which is laid on the 8 of spades, exposing 5 of clubs, which is put out as a third "foundation." The remainder of the "reserve," dealt in threes, supplies no available card.

We now take up the "reserve" from the table, not disturbing the order of the cards, and begin to deal again, in threes, from the top as before, and in a short time we arrive at the second diagram below:

THE DEMON (just started):

The 6 of hearts has just come up, and has been placed on the 5. Now the 7 of hearts, in the third column, can be moved on to the 6. In laying out the "columns," let the cards overlap (although in the diagram, for typographical reasons, they are not so shown).

A sequence may always be moved from one column to another. Thus, if the first column should be extended to a black 9, the 8 and 7 in second column may be moved on to it. The 2 of spades in "stock" could be then moved into the vacancy, exposing a fresh card. It is very desirable to reduce the "stock" as quickly as possible.

The process of dealing by threes from "reserve" is continued until it is found to yield no further result. When you are thus blocked, only one grace is permitted. You may move one top card from a foundation packet and place it (if it will fit in) either at head or at foot of a column. Should this device not set the game going again, you have failed. It is not a game that often comes out. If it succeeds, all the cards will have been transferred to the foundation packets.