The basics of Colorado are that it is played with 2 decks of cards and comes from a family of card games that include: Sir Tommy, Calculation Solitaire, Sly Fox, and Strategy.
Colorado takes an interesting turn from the usual card games by having two sets of foundation piles with slightly different rules for each.
Foundations (8 piles: complete these piles to win the game)
- Build the Ace foundations up in suit from Ace to King (for example, a 2Heart Suit can be played on an AceHeart Suit).
- Build the King foundations down in suit from King to Ace (for example, a QueenClubs Suit can be played on a KingClubs Suit).
Reserve (20 cards in 4 rows of 5 each)
- Place cards from the stock on any of these piles in any suit and in any rank, as advantageous.
- Once placed, a card cannot be moved.
- The top card of each pile is available for play on foundations only.
- Spaces are filled automatically from the stock (after the stock is exhausted, spaces are not filled).
Stock
- The top card is available for play on foundations or reserve.
- There is no redeal.