American Canister is the Canister board played the generous way. Eight columns of six and seven cards are dealt face up with no stock; columns build down in alternating colours; a packed run moves as a unit; and any card or run may fill an empty column. Four foundations build up from the ace; bank all 52 to win. British Canister is the same board with kings-only spaces and single-card moves.
Shuffle one deck. Deal eight columns face up: six cards in the first two and last two, seven in the middle four. Everything is dealt; there is no stock. The four foundations start empty.
Everything is in view and nothing is dealt later, so American Canister is a pure planning game. Runs that travel and open spaces make it one of the family's most winnable; the seven-deep middle columns are where the game is decided.
American Canister is the Canister board with the alternating-colour build, run moves and open spaces; British Canister tightens it to kings-only spaces and single cards, and Canister keeps the runs and spaces with a rank-only build. The run-move axis it carries is shared with Lasker and the Cruel line to come.
American Canister runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer and it works offline. You get unlimited undo, a hint button that names a legal move, statistics that track your wins and times, and seeded deals: every game has a seed you can replay, so a board you enjoyed (or lost) can be played again exactly.
Two rules. A packed run moves as a unit, where British Canister moves one card at a time, and any card may fill an empty column, where British Canister allows only a king. The deal and the alternating-colour build are the same.
Yes. A space takes any card or any packed run in alternating colours, which is what makes a space a hinge for reordering a column.
No. All fifty-two cards are dealt face up into the eight columns, and every move is on the table from the start.
Canister builds down by rank regardless of suit; American Canister builds down in alternating colours. Both move runs and allow any card into a space.
Not every deal. With everything in view, runs that travel and open spaces, a careful player has many options; a lost game is nearly always a buried king or ace with no route out.