Solitaire card games/Auld Lang Syne

Perhaps the simplest solitaire game in the world, but also the least likely to win.

The game

First, the four aces are separated from the rest of the deck and placed on the layout as the foundations. The object of the game is to build each of the foundations from Ace to King regardless of suit.

Four cards are dealt below the aces, each starting a tableau pile. The player then determines whether any of the four cards can be built on the foundations. In this first deal of four (and in succeeding deals), when a card is played and leaves a gap it is not filled until the next deal. Furthermore, there is no building or playing in the tableau.

When the player has built all the cards on the foundation that can be played, or if the cards cannot be played at all, a new set of four cards is dealt, one over each tableau pile. This process is repeated until all cards are dealt. There is no redeal.

The game is won when all cards are built onto the foundations. This is rare; according to Morehead and Mott-Smith's The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games, it can be achieved once in 100 games. This is far too optimistic. The chance of winning is actually about 1 in 3,000, and only if you allow that the player can opt not to move cards to the foundations.

Variations

• An even harder version of Auld Lang Syne is Tam o'shanter, the only difference is that the aces are not removed in the beginning and are placed in the foundation piles as they appear.
• A slightly easier to win variant is known as Scuffle, in which after all the cards in the stock is exhausted, they are shuffled and redealt, this version allows two redeals.