Descending colour columns
Move legal alternating-suit descending suffixes to make two complete columns.
Logic & rule checking
- Players
- 1–3 cooperatively
- Time
- 10–20 minutes
- Materials
- A1–A4 and B1–B4 cards; four column mats.
Prepare
A and B are two suits, with ranks 1–4 once each. Lay four face-up columns, written bottom-to-top: [A4,B3], [B4,A3], [A2], [B2,A1,B1]. The initial columns may contain a disorder, which is why the puzzle is not already solved. All cards remain visible.
Play
Move one exposed top card, or an entire top suffix whose ranks descend by one and suits alternate from bottom to top. Place it on another column only when its bottom card is one rank smaller than the target’s top and of the opposite suit. An empty column accepts only a suffix with rank 4 at its bottom.
Worked example
First move B1 from column 4 onto A2 in column 3. Then move the A2,B1 suffix onto B3 in column 1, forming A4,B3,A2,B1. Finally move B2,A1 from column 4 onto A3 in column 2, forming B4,A3,B2,A1. Each suffix is moved intact.
Finish and check
The exact goal is two four-card legal columns headed by 4, using all eight cards, with the other two columns empty. Reset or use the written undo log if stuck. A suffix containing equal ranks or same-suit neighbours is not legal even if its bottom would fit the target.
Adaptation and limits
Allow a partner to predict the resulting full column before touching cards. Do not add a draw pile, hidden card or free empty-column rule midway. The supplied three-move completion establishes solvability; this page does not claim every rearrangement is solvable or that a commercial solitaire code is being reproduced.
Purpose, observation and provenance
Within this activity: Move legal alternating-suit descending suffixes to make two complete columns.
Explain one legal decision and check it against the written constraints; a single result does not measure lasting ability.
Our rules, examples and printable diagrams are separately prepared. The earliest inventor of the broader mechanism is not established here.
Free alternative: Copy the supplied grids, labels and cards onto reused paper. No specialist product is needed. Adults may prepare pieces or act as a scribe.
Printable materials
Preview at 100% scale, with browser headers and footers off. Cut with suitable help. Keep host keys separate. This is a manual tabletop kit, not an online opponent, automatic judge or solver.
Player materials · Descending colour columns
Columns bottom→top: A4 B3 / B4 A3 / A2 / B2 A1 B1.
Move / suffix / source→target / full resulting column.
Player record · keep host key separate
| Move | Source | Target | New tops/columns |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Host key · separate from players
C4 B1→C3; C3 A2,B1→C1; C4 B2,A1→C2. Final columns alternate and descend 4,3,2,1.
Run the round
A and B are two suits, with ranks 1–4 once each. Lay four face-up columns, written bottom-to-top: [A4,B3], [B4,A3], [A2], [B2,A1,B1]. The initial columns may contain a disorder, which is why the puzzle is not already solved. All cards remain visible.
Move one exposed top card, or an entire top suffix whose ranks descend by one and suits alternate from bottom to top. Place it on another column only when its bottom card is one rank smaller than the target’s top and of the opposite suit. An empty column accepts only a suffix with rank 4 at its bottom.
First move B1 from column 4 onto A2 in column 3. Then move the A2,B1 suffix onto B3 in column 1, forming A4,B3,A2,B1. Finally move B2,A1 from column 4 onto A3 in column 2, forming B4,A3,B2,A1. Each suffix is moved intact.
The exact goal is two four-card legal columns headed by 4, using all eight cards, with the other two columns empty. Reset or use the written undo log if stuck. A suffix containing equal ranks or same-suit neighbours is not legal even if its bottom would fit the target.
Allow a partner to predict the resulting full column before touching cards. Do not add a draw pile, hidden card or free empty-column rule midway. The supplied three-move completion establishes solvability; this page does not claim every rearrangement is solvable or that a commercial solitaire code is being reproduced.
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