Some forty odd years ago, as an alternative to Solitaire, my father taught me a form of patience which he had learned from a comrade in a German prisoner of war camp.

To play this game a pack of cards and a large table are required and the obligatory very patient player.

The cards are shuffled, cut and laid across the table face up and in four rows of thirteen cards. The first card is placed near the top left hand corner of the table. The next card is placed alongside the first card and to the right. The third card is placed alongside the second card and to the right and so on until there are twelve cards in a row. The next card is placed below the first card and the second row is laid out and so on until four rows of cards are laid out.

During the course of the deal the Aces will turn up. When the first Ace turns up, instead of placing it in line with the others, it is placed to the left of the first card and leaving a space of one card between them. As the other Aces turn up, they are placed below the first Ace. Their suit order does not matter.

Once all the cards are laid out there will be four rows of cards and each will have an Ace on the extreme left, with a one card space to the right of it and a row of twelve cards to the right of the space.

Play begins by locating the 2 of the same suit as the top row Ace and placing it in space to the right of that Ace. This then leaves a space where the 2 was. The card to the left of this space will dictate which card can be transferred to this space. Thus if this card is a 9 of Diamonds, it is the 10 of Diamonds that is transferred to that space. Play continues until all four spaces have a King to their left. There is no higher card than a King, therefore no card can be played into the space.

At this stage there will be four rows starting with an Ace on the left and a series of cards in numerical order, a space and a series of random cards.

Pick up all the cards to the right of the space and shuffle them. Leaving a space to the right of the end of the numerical series of cards, lay out the cards so that there is a total of thirteen cards plus a space in each row. Continue transferring cards as before until unable to play.

Pick up the appropriate cards for a second time and re-lay them. Continue play until unable to carry on and pick up the cards for the third and final time and re-lay them.

If after this sortie there are still cards to be transferred into their correct places, the player has lost.

As winning at this form of patience is only slightly easier than at clock patience, it is permitted to continue to pick up the appropriate cards and re-lay them until there is a successful conclusion, taking note of how many times the cards are picked up and re-laid before winning.

However, even after continuing to re-lay the cards again and again, there is no guarantee that the player will win. In fact it is quite possible that the run of the cards is such, that it is IMPOSSIBLE to win.