Solitary Journey

by Karen Deal Robinson

Overview

This played-in-the-hand solitaire game, played with ordinary playing cards, simulates a journey
through fields and forests, oceans and mountains. On the way you may meet helpful guides and
mischievous fellow-travelers. With some luck you may find enough treasure and magical tools
to enable you to find the home of your dreams and live happily ever after. But if you get restless,
you can always take off on another journey.

This game is played entirely in the hand, so there is no need for a table. You can play it
anywhere. If you are interrupted, you can put it in your pocket and take it up later.

Set Up

Remove the four Jacks from a deck of playing cards and shuffle the rest of the deck, including
the two Jokers. Arrange the Jacks face up in the order Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades,
with Spades in the back and Hearts in the front. Place the rest of the deck face down on top of
the Jacks. The Jacks will act as counters to keep track of how many times you’ve gone through
the deck; when they show up, put the first one behind the other three and continue playing.
When you reach the Jack of Spades you have gone through the deck four times and have finished
the game. The Jacks also hold your items for you. Turn over the top four cards in the deck and
fan them out so you can see them. Hold them on top of the deck so that everything is in one
hand.

Interpretation of the cards

The four suits represent four kinds of landscapes. Hearts are oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Diamonds are plains, fields, moors, and prairies. Clubs are forests. Spades are mountains.

The values of the cards represent various treasures, tools, items, landscapes, and people, as
shown in the table at the end. The “view” is the name for the four cards that are fanned face
upward in your hand. They are not only the cards you can view, but they also represent the
things you can see as you look around you.

The rules apply in the same way for each of the suits, but you will have a more immersive
experience if you refer to the chart at the end, which describes each thing in terms of the
landscape represented by that suit.

Some of the cards represent first a location, and then, under the right circumstances, an item that
you find at that location. On the next page is a visual way to remember what each card means.
After that you will find a detailed description of how to play the game.
How to remember the meanings of the cards

Ace: In many games the aces are the high cards, so they represent treasure.
Two: The two is small, so it represents a small key.
Three: The three pips line up in a row, so this card represents a straight thoroughfare.
Four: A horse has four legs, and a carriage has four wheels, so this card represents
transportation. On the water it could be a ship with a large square sail.
Five: The five pips look like an X, so this represents a crossroads, where different land types
come together.
Six: The six pips form a rectangle that looks like the door of an inn. It also looks like a paper on
which a map is printed. The inn is where you might find the map.
Seven: Seven is a magical number, so it represents the magical power of flight. It rhymes with
“heaven” which could mean the sky. The seven pips could represent the four limbs, the head,
and two wings of the flying horse and the fairy. They could also represent the shape of the flying
carpet with the person sitting on it.
Eight: The rectangular pattern with the diagonals crossing it could be the latticed windows of the
bookshop, and the pattern on the cover of the magical book that you may find there.
Nine: The two vertical lines are the walls of a tower, and the single pip between them is the
scrying tool that you may find there.
Ten: The many pips surrounding the central open space represent the many comforts of the
home of your dreams.
Jack: These four guardians act as counters, to keep track of how many times you have gone
through the deck. They are also useful for keeping track of stored items.
Queen and King: these are helpful guides you meet on the way. One helps you find things, and
acts as a map, and the other helps you unlock things and acts as a key. You could assign them
either way, but it’s easier to remember if you let the King act as a key, since they both start
with K.
Joker: These are obviously tricksters

Goal

Travel though various landscapes, collecting treasure and magical tools. Eventually use the tools
to find the home of your dreams. If you find your home, you have won the game. But once the
Jack of Spades appears, you have finished your journey, whether or not you have met your goal.

Terms

View: the top four cards fanned out face up on top of the deck. In some situations there may be
more cards in your view.

Discard: place a card face down at the back of the deck.

Store: place a card face up behind the face-up Jack of the same suit
Gameplay

Hold the deck face down in your hand, with the Jacks face up in the back. Turn over the top four
cards and fan them so you can see them all. These cards form your current view. If in the course
of play your view becomes less than four cards, replace them with cards from the front of the
deck.

You may discard any card from the view at any time. At any time you may look to see what
cards you have stored behind the Jacks. They will be easy to find because they will be face up
together, while the rest of the deck will be face down.

See the chart at the end for a more descriptive meaning of each of the 54 cards.

Ace: If any of the cards in your view is a treasure cache (Ace) and if you have stored both a
map (6) and a key (2) in the same suit as the Ace, you may store the treasure. You then must
discard the map and the key. If you have the Queen of the same suit in your view, she may act as
a map. If you have a King of the same suit in your view, he may act as a key. The King and
Queen are never stored, but must be discarded after being used.

Note: if you have either a map or key or both in your view along with the cache, you may first
store them and then use them to get the treasure. They do not have to have been stored from a
previous view.

Two: If any of the cards in your view is a key (2), store it (behind the Jack of the same suit).

Three: If any of them is a thoroughfare (3), check to see which Jack is on top. That is the
landscape through which you are traveling. If the thoroughfare matches the suit of the Jack, you
may discard it and draw cards to increase your view to 6 cards.
*For an easier game, use the thoroughfare whether it matches the suit of the uppermost Jack or
not.

If the (3) and the Jack do not match suit, but you also have a crossroads (5) of the same suit as
either the (3) or the Jack, you may use the thoroughfare. You must then discard the (5) and the
(3).

You may use any of the cards in your expanded view, but may not draw another card from the
deck until your view is back down to below 4 cards.

Exception: If you have more than one card that allows you to expand your view, you may keep
the other one in your view and use it later, when the view is back down to 6 or fewer cards.

Four: If any of them is a place where you find transportation (4), and if you have stored an
Ace of the any suit, and the suit of the (4) matches that of the topmost Jack, you may discard the
transportation card and draw cards to increase your view to 6 cards. You do NOT have to
discard the Ace (you have only spent a pittance of your treasure.)
*For an easier game, use the transportation whether it matches the suit of the uppermost Jack or
not.

If the (4) and the Jack do not match suit, but you also have a crossroads (5) of the same suit as
either the (4) or the Jack, you may use the transportation. You must then discard the (5) and the
(4). You may use any of the cards in your expanded view, but may not draw another card from
the deck until your view is back down to below 4 cards.

Exception: If you have more than one card that allows you to expand your view, you may keep
the other one in your view and use it later, when the view is back down to 6 or fewer cards.

If you have both a thoroughfare (3) and transportation (4) of the same suit as the topmost Jack
(with an Ace of any suit to pay for the transportation), you may discard both of them and
increase your view to eight cards, with similar rules to those described above.

Five: If any of the cards is a crossroads (5), you have a reached a place that is adjacent to
several landscapes. If you are in a situation where two cards must be of the same suit to be used,
you may set aside that requirement, as long as one of them is the same suit as the crossroads.
The crossroads card must be discarded as soon as the transaction is completed.

Six: If any of the cards is an inn (6) and if you have a key (2) of the same suit stored, you find a
map in the inn and may store it (the 6). If you don’t have a key stored, but a King of the same
suit is in your view, he will unlock the map for you. Discard the King.

Seven: If any of them is a magical place (7) and if you have a map (6) of that suit, you find a
flying item (the 7). You may discard the flying card and draw cards to increase your view to 10
cards. You do NOT have to discard the map. You may use any of the cards in your expanded
view, but may not draw another card from the deck until your view is back down to below 4
cards (or 6 if you have a thoroughfare or transportation and use it to increase your view again.)
If you don’t have a map, but a Queen of that suit is in your view, she will find the flying item for
you. Discard the Queen.

If you have a (9) stored, which allows you to permanently expand your view, and a (7) is in your
view, you may store the (7).

Eight: If any of them is a bookstore (8) and if you have a treasure cache (Ace) and a map (6)
of the same suit, you may buy a magical book (the 8.) Store the book (8) and discard the Ace
and the map (6).
*For an easier game, use any Ace, whether it matches the suit or not.
*For a more difficult game, collect all four Eights to complete the magic book before using it.
Nine: If any of them is a tower (9) and if you have a key (2) and a book (8) stored, as well as a
Queen in your view, all of the same suit, you may find and use a scrying tool (the 9). Store the
scrying tool (9) and discard the Queen and the key. The scrying tool allows you to permanently
increase your view to 10 cards. If you have a King in your view, he may act as a key.

Once you have stored a (9), if a flying item (7) of the same suit appears in your view, you may
also store the (7). In terms of the story, this allows you not only to see far away, but also to
travel to the places you see.

Ten: If any of them is a home (10) and if you have a flying item (7), a magic book (8), and a
scrying tool (9) of the same suit, as well as Ace of any suit, you have found your home and may
live happily ever after.

Queen: If any of them is a Queen, she is a guide who can provide you with a map. While she is
in your view, you may use her like a map for items in her suit, but she cannot be stored and must
be discarded after use.

King: If any of them is a King, he is a guide who can provide you with a key. While he is in
your view, you may use him like a key for items in his suit, but he cannot be stored and must be
discarded after use.

Joker: If any of them is a Joker, they distract you with fun and you discard your entire four-card
view and draw a new one. If the view is more than four cards, you must discard the joker and
three cards of your choosing. If this brings your view to fewer than four cards, draw cards to
bring it back to four cards as usual.

If your view contains two Jokers, you must discard your entire view no matter how large it is,
and draw four more cards.

Jack: When you reach a Jack, discard any stored key (2) and map (6) directly behind the top
Jack, but keep all other stored items. Once you have done that, set aside your view, and set
aside the Jacks and the stored items. Shuffle the face down cards. (Option: do not shuffle.)

Move the top Jack and its stored items to the back of the Jacks and their items, placing the other
Jacks and their stored items on top of it. Place the face down cards on top of them, and then the
view cards face up on top of the deck.

When you reach the Jack of Spades, you have journeyed from the ocean to the mountains and
your journey is ended. (You may choose to set up the Jacks in a different order at the beginning
if you wish to take your journey in a different order.)
 Hearts Diamonds Clubs Spades
(ocean,rivers) (plains) (forests) (mountains)
Ace Cache of pearls Cache of diamonds Cache of emeralds Cache of gold

2 Find pearl key in a tidal Find diamond key in Find emerald key Find golden key in a
pool or pond a field in a hollow tree cave

3 Bridge or channel or Road across fields or Road through the Road through a cutting
river plains forest in the mountains

4 Pay for passage on a boat Pay for passage in a Pay for passage in Pay for passage on a
or ship carriage a coach horse

5 Harbor or river Crossroads on a moor Crossroads in a Crossroads in the

forest mountains
6 Island inn; if you have a Old stone inn; if you Inn made of logs; Alpine inn; if you have
key, find a map have a key, find a if you have a key, a key, find a map
map find a map
7 If you have a map, find a If you have a map, If you have a map, If you have a map, find
flying carpet on a desert find a flying machine find a phial of a flying horse in a
island in a deserted fairy dust that can hidden mountain
farmhouse make you fly, meadow.
hidden in a hollow
tree.
8 Bookstore in an island Bookstore in a city Bookstore in a Bookstore in an island
city. If you have pearls, on a plain. If you forest city. If you city. If you have gold
and a map, you may buy have diamonds and a have emeralds and and a map, you may
a book of magic. map, you may buy a a map, you may buy a book of magic.
book of magic. buy a book of
magic.

9 Tower on an island. If Tower on a moor. If Tower in a forest. If Tower on a mountain.

you have the pearl you have the diamond you have the emerald If you have the gold
key, the magic book, key, the magic book, key, the magic book, key, the magic book,
and the guidance of a and the guidance of a and the guidance of a and the guidance of a
wise woman, you may wise woman, you may wise woman, you may wise woman, you may
use a scrying bowl to use a crystal ball to see use a magic mirror to use a crystal ball to see
see far away. far away. see far away. far away.
 Hearts Diamonds Clubs Spades

Large estate and Large estate and Large estate and Large estate and
10 house on an island house surrounded by house in the forest house in the
fields mountains

This ocean guardian This prairie guardian This forest guardian This alpine guardian
Jack helps you keep track helps you keep track helps you keep track helps you keep track
of time and items. of time and items of time and items of time and items.

Queen This ocean guide can This prairie guide can This forest guide can This alpine guide
help you find help you find help you find can help you find
treasures. treasures. treasures. treasures.

King This ocean guide can This prairie guide can This forest guide can This alpine guide
help you unlock help you unlock help you unlock can help you unlock
treasures. treasures. treasures. treasures.

Joker This fun-loving This fun-loving This fun-loving This fun-loving

acquaintance acquaintance distracts acquaintance acquaintance
distracts you from you from where you distracts you from distracts you from
where you were were going. where you were where you were
going. going. going.
 Quick reference chart.

If you have you may then keep and discard

store a key (2)

a key (2) store a map (6) of the the key and the map
same suit

a Jack of the same suit use a thoroughfare (3) the thoroughfare

on top

a Jack of the same suit use transportation (4) the treasure the transportation
on top, and a treasure
(Ace) of any suit

a key (2) and a map store treasure (Ace) of the treasure the key and the map
(6) of the same suit that suit

a map (6) use a flying item (7) the map the flying item
of that suit

treasure (Ace) and a store a magical book the book the treasure and the
map (6) of the same (8) of that suit map
suit

a book (8) and a key store a scrying tool (9) the book and the the key and the Queen
(2) and a Queen of the scrying tool
same suit

a scrying tool (9) store a flying item (7) the scrying tool and
of the same suit the flying item

a flying item (7), a store the home of your

book (8) and a scrying dreams in that suit
tool (9) of the same (10) and live happily
suit, and treasure ever after
(Ace) of any suit

Remember that a crossroads (5) allows you to ignore the requirements that two items be of the
same suit, as long as one of them is of the same suit as the crossroads. Also remember that a
Queen may act as a map of the same suit, and a King may act as a key of the same suit. The
Queen and King may never be stored, but must be used from the view and discarded after use.

--Version 5 updated December 19, 2018