Bristol

Bristol ignores suit entirely. Eight fans of three, three reserve piles, and building that runs down in the tableau and up on the foundations purely by rank — any card fits almost anywhere, which sounds generous and turns out to be the problem.

Because everything fits, the fans clog, and only their top cards are ever available. The three reserve piles fed three at a time from the stock are where the real game happens. Kings are sunk to the bottom of their fans before play so they cannot smother anything, which is a small kindness in a game that offers few others. About one deal in four goes the distance, in around eight minutes.

Eight fans of three cards are dealt, plus three single cards as the bases of three reserve piles. Any King that is not already at the bottom of its fan gets moved there first, so it cannot block the cards beneath it. Nothing in Bristol cares about suit: the fans build down by rank alone, and the foundations build up by rank alone from any Ace that comes free. One card moves at a time, an emptied fan stays empty for good, and the stock feeds the three reserve piles three cards at a time.

Suit being irrelevant makes almost every card placeable, which is a trap rather than a gift — the fans fill up fast and only their top card ever comes free. Be sparing about building in the tableau and aggressive about getting Aces up. The three reserve piles are your real working space, and because the stock deals onto all three at once you want them low when a deal comes rather than after. Emptied fans never come back, so consolidating is a permanent cost. At 1 in 4 over about eight minutes it is a short, brisk game that punishes tidiness.