Agnes is a patience or

solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...

card game that emerged in England about the same time as Klondike appeared in the US. The classic version has the unusual feature of packing in colour, a feature it shares with Whitehead. By contrast, the later American variant appears to have been influenced by Klondike with packing is in alternate colours. The classic game has been described as the best single-pack patience yet invented.

History

The earliest account is given by Dalton in '' The Strand Magazine'' in 1909, who described "The Agnes" as "by far the best and most interesting one-pack Patience which has yet been invented." He believed that its rules had not been published before, even by Miss Whitmore Jones, the most prolific patience writer of that time. For him a distinguishing feature was that cards were packed in the same colour, not alternating colours as is usual.Dalton (1909), pp. 792–794. Despite Dalton's endorsement, the game does not appear regularly in the compendia until after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. However, during the 1930s and 1940s, a new variant appeared, possibly influenced by the rise of Klondike which it resembles much more closely than the original game.''Whitehead and Agnes - Packing in Color''
by Michael Keller at solitairelaboratory.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021. This introduced a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

row of cards and packing was in the usual alternating colour sequence.Morehead (1949), p. 41. In 1979

David Parlett David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. His published works include many pop ...

gave 'surnames' to the two main variants of Agnes to distinguish between them.Parlett (1979), pp. 240–241. Both variants continue to be published.

Rules

Classic rules or Agnes Sorel

These are Dalton's 1909 original rules, which are still followed. Parlett calls this variant

Agnes Sorel Agnes or Agness may refer to: People *Agnes (name), the given name, and a list of people named Agnes or Agness * Wilfrid Marcel Agnès (1920–2008), Canadian diplomat Places *Agnes, Georgia, United States, a ghost town * Agnes, Missouri, United ...

, after the mistress of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

, whose image is believed to be that of Rachel on traditional French pattern card packs. The game's distinguishing features are that the tableau is packed in colour and there is no

. After shuffling, twenty-eight cards are dealt, face up, in seven rows and aligned left. The first row has seven cards, the second six cards and so on. The

tableau Tableau (French for 'little table' literally, also used to mean 'picture'; tableaux or, rarely, tableaus) may refer to: Arts * ''Tableau'', a series of four paintings by Piet Mondrian titled ''Tableau I'' through to ''Tableau IV'' * ''Tableau viv ...

thus forms a right-angled triangle. The twenty-ninth card is turned up and placed above the tableau as the first "master card" ( foundation card). The remaining three master cards are those of the same rank as the first and are placed in a row to its right when they become

available In reliability engineering, the term availability has the following meanings: * The degree to which a system, subsystem or equipment is in a specified operable and committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at ...

. The aim is to

build Build may refer to: * Engineering something * Construction * Physical body stature, especially muscle size; usually of the human body * Build (game engine), a 1995 first-person shooter engine * "Build" (song), a 1987 song by The Housemartins * ...

on the master cards in suit and

ascending sequence Games of patience (game), patience, or (card) solitaires as they are usually called in North America, have their own 'language' of specialised terms such as #building down, "building down", #packing, "packing", #foundations, "foundations", #talon, ...

, turning the corner with the Aces if necessary. The lowest card in each column is "exposed" i.e. available to be moved to a foundation pile or onto the bottom card of the same colour in another column and in

descending sequence Games of patience, or (card) solitaires as they are usually called in North America, have their own 'language' of specialised terms such as "building down", "packing", "foundations", "talon" and "tableau". Once learnt they are helpful in de ...

. Two or more cards may be moved from one column to another as a packet if they are of the same suit as well as the same colour. So the 8 can be moved onto the 9, but they cannot be moved on together. In addition, any exposed card can be moved into a vacancy in the tableau, but such spaces need not be occupied. When no more moves are possible on the initial layout, seven more cards are dealt to the bottom of the seven columns, after which any further moves may be carried out. Once all desired moves have been made, another seven cards are dealt to the columns and so on until the pack is exhausted. After the third deal, there will be two cards left in hand which may be looked at before the third deal is played. When all moves have been made, they are dealt to the first two columns. Only one deal is permitted and if any cards remain in the tableau, the patience has failed.

Klondike-like variant or Agnes Bernauer

Morehead (1949) describes a new version of Agnes that has been influenced by the rules of Klondike. Parlett dubs this variant Agnes Bernauer after the wife and mistress of

Duke Albert III of Bavaria Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born in Wolfratshausen to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti. Life Albert was ...

, whose father was unhappy with their relationship, and had Agnes drowned in the Danube River. The key differences from Agnes Sorel are that cards are packed in alternating colours on the tableau and a reserve of seven cards is dealt below the first seven rows. In this version the tableau is dealt from left to right as before, but aligned right as in Klondike. The reserve is dealt below the tableau after laying the first

base card Games of patience, or (card) solitaires as they are usually called in North America, have their own 'language' of specialised terms such as "building down", "packing", "foundations", "talon" and "tableau". Once learnt they are helpful in des ...

. Tableau cards may be packed or built as before, and cards from the reserve may be packed onto the tableau or foundations. A tableau vacancy may only be filled by a card of the next lower rank as the base. In Morehead, packed sequences must be moved in entirety; Parlett mentions an alternative laxer rule, whereby a portion of a sequence may be moved if desired. When no further moves are possible, seven more cards are dealt to the seven reserve depots, covering any existing reserve cards, which only become available again once the card or cards above have been played. After three deals, the last two cards are turned up and both are available. The game is won when all cards have made their way to the foundations.

Footnotes

References

Literature

* Bonaventure, George A. (1961) ''Games of Solitaire''. Duffield & Green. * Coops, Helen L. (1939). ''100 Games of Solitaire''. * Dalton, W. (1909). "My Favourite Patiences" in '' The Strand Magazine''
Vol. 38.
*

Morehead, Albert H. Albert Hodges Morehead, Jr. (August 7, 1909 – October 5, 1966) was a writer for ''The New York Times'', a bridge player, a lexicographer, and an author and editor of reference works. Early years Morehead was born in Flintstone, Taylor County, ...

& Mott-Smith, Geoffrey. (1949). ''The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games''. NY: Longmans. *

& Mott-Smith, Geoffrey. (2001) ''The Complete Book of Solitaire & Patience Games''. Slough, Berkshire: Foulsham. * Moyse, Alphonse (1950). ''150 Ways to Play Solitaire.'' * Parlett, David. (1979) ''The Penguin Book of Patience''. London: Penguin.

External links

''Whitehead and Agnes -- Packing in Color''
- background and rules for Agnes by Michael Keller. {{Solitaire Half-open packers Single-deck patience card games Year of introduction missing