How to Play Alternative Solitaire

Alternative solitaire uses one deck of playing cards and is a straightforward solitaire game.

Alternative Solitaire Rules

| Players: 1 | Type: Solitaire | Supplies: 1 Deck |

Objective

The objective of alternative solitaire is to build two ace foundation piles up to the king in suit, and two king foundation piles down to ace in suit.

Setup

Remove the ace of hearts, the ace of diamonds, king of spades, and king of clubs from the deck. Place these four removed cards from the deck to start the four foundation piles. Take the remaining deck and deal out 16 tableau piles of three face up cards each splayed downward.

Game Play

The two ace foundation piles are built up in sequence from ace to king following suit. The two king foundation piles are built down in sequence to the ace following suit.

Only the top card of each tableau pile is available for play either onto a foundation pile or another tableau pile. Tableau piles may be built up or down in suit. When a tableau pile becomes empty, it may not be filled until the redeal.

When there are no more moves, redeal the tableau once. To redeal, pick up all tableau piles, shuffle the cards, and redeal the 16 tableau piles, one card at a time, until all 16 tableau piles are filled. Play continues until there are no more moves.

To Win

To win alternative solitaire, all cards must be in the foundation piles. If the player runs out of moves after the redeal and before all foundation piles are built, the game is over.