Pytience - A Collection of Patience Solitaire Games in Python

This project aims to be a small collection of console solitaire card games built on a common framework. The first such game is Klondike (or "Classic Solitaire"). Requires Python 3.7+. To install, run pip install pytience.

Klondike

The game is played via text command according to standard rules.

Starting the game

Run klondike in your terminal. The screen will be cleared and replaced with a view of the foundation, tableau, and game stats. If you've played before, it will automatically load the last state. The tableau is displayed as fanned down piles, with the "bottom" card at the top of the column, and each card below it built on top of the previous. The foundation piles are squared.

The previous command is displayed in the prompt, and hitting return will execute it again.

Score: 0
Stock: 24
Waste: []
Foundation: [♠]  [♦]  [♣]  [♥]
Tableau:
0    1    2    3    4    5    6
---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---
6♣   #    #    #    #    #    #
     A♦   #    #    #    #    #
          4♠   #    #    #    #
               5♦   #    #    #
                    7♥   #    #
                         4♦   #
                              8♠

klondike[type ? for help]>

Deal a card from the stock

To deal a card, run deal (or just d). A single card will be taken from the top of the stock, revealed, and placed fanned right on top of the waste pile. The stock count will decrease by 1. If you deal until the stock is empty, the waste will be returned to the stock and recycled.

Score: 0
Stock: 23
Waste: [8♥]
Foundation: [♠]  [♦]  [♣]  [♥]
Tableau:
0    1    2    3    4    5    6
---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---
6♣   #    #    #    #    #    #
     A♦   #    #    #    #    #
          4♠   #    #    #    #
               5♦   #    #    #
                    7♥   #    #
                         4♦   #
                              8♠

klondike[deal]>

Move tableau cards

To choose a card (or pile of cards) by using the tableau (or t) command:

tableau <from_pile> [<card_num> [to_pile]]

Arguments for pile and card numbers are zero-indexed. If a chosen card has cards on top of it, that card and the cards on top of it are moved together. If card_num is omitted, it's assumed to be the top card in the pile. If to_pile is omitted, it will try to put single cards in the foundation, and then seek a pile in the tableau.

The tableau or t command can be omitted entirely, and integers will be assumed to be tableau arguments.

Some examples:

• tableau 2 2 3 - Move the 3rd card from third pile to the fourth pile. 4♠ will move below 5♦, and the next card will be revealed.
• t 1 - Move the top card from the third pile to the first available foundation or tableau pile. The A♦ will be moved to the foundation, and the next card will be revealed. Moving a card from the tableau to the foundation will earn you 15 points.
• 0 - Move the top card from the first pile. The 6♣ will find a home below 7♥, and the first column will be empty. Only a king may be placed there.
• 4 4 - Move the 5th card from the 5th column. The 7♥ (and any cards on top of it) will move below the 8♠

If all of the above commands are run in order, the tableau might look like this:

Score: 15
Stock: 23
Waste: [8♥]
Foundation: [♠]  A♦  [♣]  [♥]
Tableau:
0    1    2    3    4    5    6
---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---
[ ]  2♥   #    #    #    #    #
          J♦   #    #    #    #
               #    #    #    #
               5♦   A♣   #    #
               4♠        #    #
                         4♦   #
                              8♠
                              7♥
                              6♣

klondike[tableau 4 4]>

Move waste cards

Choose the top card from the waste using the waste (or w) command:

waste [<tableau pile>]

If the tableau pile argument is omitted, it will attempt to put the top waste card in the foundation (worth 10 points), or else the tableau (worth 5 points). If there is a spot in the foundation and the tableau, it would be advantageous to specify the tableau pile and make a second move from the tableau to the foundation, earning you 20 points combined.

Move foundation cards

Sometimes you may need to move a foundation card to the tableau to open a spot for a waste card or another move.

foundation <c(lubs)|d(diamonds|s(pades)|h(earts)> [<tableau pile num>]

Specify the suit to pull the foundation card from, and optionally the tableau pile number. If the pile number is omitted, it will seek a fit. Making a move from the foundation will penalize you 15 points.

Start a new game

Throw out the current game and create a new one with new, or n.

Undo

Every move you make will be recorded. You can undo all of them, one at a time, using the undo (or u) command.

Solve

If the stock and waste are empty, and all of the tableau cards are revealed, solve will move a single card to the foundation for you. This is a convenience, since there are no moves left that can make the game unsolvable.

Save

Each move you make will save the current game to ~/.pytience/klondike.save. You can specify your own save file with:

save [filename]

Load

Using the command load [filename], you may load a previously saved game.

Help

Using help or ?, you can see all of the above commands, their syntax, and their descriptions.

Quit

Quit the game using quit, q, or ctrl-d.

Seeing the game state

The only undocumented command is _dump (formerly _state). Use it to see a JSON representation of the game state.