Hints for puzzle 40

Read only as far down this list as you need to. Hint 1 is nearly free; hint 4 will effectively hand you the opening.

  1. Your opening card. The waste starts on the 7♠, so your first play must be one rank above or below it — and remember Kings wrap round to Aces.
  2. What is already face up. The ten cards along the base are: 7♥ · 6♣ · 10♣ · 3♠ · 9♠ · 3♣ · 2♥ · 6♠ · 4♣ · 5♣. They are free and they are not going anywhere, so save them as chain connectors.
  3. It can be cleared. This deal is verified by a solver before publication, so a complete winning line definitely exists. Being stuck is a routing error, not a bad shuffle.
  4. Your budget. There are 23 cards left in the stock after the opener, and every one you never turn is worth 25 points. Spending them early is the usual mistake.