This is an original game by Randy Rasa, sharing elements of a number of familiar solitaires, but with a unique flavor all its own.

It is a member of the "Simple Addition" family of solitaire games, in which the object is to remove cards that add up to a certain number, in this case, 17.

Setup

The cards are dealt into ten piles of three cards each, surrounding a row of three cards in the center of the layout. Remove pairs of cards that total seventeen, or a group of 1-2-3, regardless of suit. Only the top card of each of the piles is available for play.

The three single cards in the center are replaced from the deck as soon as they are used. The cards in the three-card piles, once used, are not replaced.

These are the valid moves:

The game is won if all cards can be discarded.

Strategy

This game is quite winnable, once you realize the correct strategy, which is the reverse of what you might expect.

In most games, you'd try to "build down" piles as quickly as possible, but in this game it seems to work best if you make removing the three center cards your top priority. The purpose of this is to get as many cards as possible out into the open, where you can work out your strategy with no hidden cards to complicate your plans.

Odds

Your chances of winning are about one in two. Here are my current statistics:

• Games Played: 37
• Games Won: 18 (48.65%)
• Average Score: 41.30

The rules to this game are copyright Randy Rasa, and neither the rules nor the game they describe may be reproduced without written permission.