What is the foundation in solitaire?

In Solitaire, the foundation refers to one of the four piles where you build up each suit from Ace to King in ascending order. The goal of the game is to move all the cards to these foundation piles, thereby completing the game.

Key points about the foundation in Solitaire:

1. Placement: The four foundation piles are usually located at the top right corner of the table or screen, depending on the platform you are playing on.

2. Initial cards: At the beginning of the game, the foundation piles are empty. However, as you play, you will gradually move cards from the tableau (the main playing area) to these piles.

3. Building sequence: To move a card to the foundation pile, you must place it directly on top of the corresponding suit's Ace. From there, you continue building up the sequence in ascending order (Ace, 2, 3, and so on) until the King is placed on top.

4. Suit segregation: Each foundation pile can only contain cards from a single suit. This means you will have one pile for each of the four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.

5. Sequential order: Cards must be moved to the foundation piles in sequential order. For example, if the foundation pile already has a 5 of hearts, the next card placed on top must be a 6 of hearts.

6. Empty foundation piles: When a foundation pile becomes empty during the game, it can only be filled with an Ace of the corresponding suit. In other words, a King cannot be moved back to an empty foundation pile.

7. Game completion: The game is considered successfully completed when all the cards from the tableau are moved to their respective foundation piles, resulting in all four piles containing all 13 cards of a single suit in ascending order.

The foundation piles play a crucial role in Solitaire, as they are the ultimate objective of the game. Strategically planning your moves and maximizing the use of foundation piles is key to winning the game.