Agnes is a
patience
or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...
or
solitaire
Solitaire may refer to:
Film and television
*'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film
* ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film
* ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film
*''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa
*"Solit ...
card game
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
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
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'' 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 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.
Life
David Sidney Parlett was bo ...
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
* Agnes (surname), list of people with the surname
* Agnes (case study) (born 1939), pseudonym for one of the first studied transgender ...
, after the mistress of
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
, 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
reserve.
[
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 ...
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 a ...
.[
The aim is to build on the master cards in suit and ]ascending 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 ...
, 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
Agnes Bernauer (c. 1410 – 12 October 1435) was the mistress and perhaps also the first wife of Albert, later Albert III, Duke of Bavaria. Because his father, Ernest, ruling Duke of Bavaria at the time, considered this liaison with a commone ...
after the wife and mistress of Duke Albert III of Bavaria, 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 de ...
. 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
Depot may refer to:
Places
* Depot, Poland, a village
* Depot Glacier (disambiguation)
* Depot Island (disambiguation)
* Depot Nunatak
* Depot Peak
Brands and enterprises
* Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in Chicago, United States
* Office ...
, 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.[
]
See also
* List of patiences and solitaires
This is a list of patiences, which are card games that are also referred to as solitaires or as card solitaire.
This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but only includes games that have met the usual Wikipedia requirements (e.g. notability ...
* Glossary of patience and solitaire terms
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 ...
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
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
''
Vol. 38.
* Morehead, Albert H. & Mott-Smith, Geoffrey
The Mott-Smith Trophy, named for writer and cryptographer Geoffrey Mott-Smith, is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance in the Spring Nationals, the spring event of the American Contract Bridge League
The American Co ...
. (1949). ''The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games''. NY: Longmans.
* Morehead, Albert H. & Mott-Smith, Geoffrey
The Mott-Smith Trophy, named for writer and cryptographer Geoffrey Mott-Smith, is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance in the Spring Nationals, the spring event of the American Contract Bridge League
The American Co ...
. (2001) ''The Complete Book of Solitaire & Patience Games''. Slough, Berkshire: Foulsham.
* Moyse, Alphonse (1950). ''150 Ways to Play Solitaire.''
* Parlett, David
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.
Life
David Sidney Parlett was bo ...
. (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