Rules
Agnes Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Deal seven face-up tableau columns with one through seven cards.
- Deal one card to a foundation; its rank becomes the base rank for all foundations.
- Deal one card to each of seven reserve depots.
- Build foundations upward by suit from the base rank, wrapping king to ace.
- Build tableau columns downward by alternating color, wrapping ace to king.
- Move a single card or a legal descending, alternating-color sequence.
- Only the top card of each reserve depot is playable.
- Empty tableau spaces accept only the rank immediately below the base, or a sequence led by that rank.
- Deal stock cards to the reserve depots in rows; the final row may contain only two cards.
- Win by moving all 52 cards to the foundations.
Basics
What is Agnes Solitaire?
Agnes Solitaire is a one-deck patience game that sits near Klondike and Canfield without being either one. It has seven tableau columns like Klondike, but all tableau cards are face up in this version. It has a changing foundation base rank like Canfield, but instead of one reserve pile it uses seven small reserve depots that get covered by stock rows.
That mix gives Agnes its rhythm. The open tableau lets you see problems early, while the base rank changes which cards are urgent. A 4 can be a first foundation card in one deal and a late foundation card in another. The reserve depots add the pressure: useful cards can vanish under later reserve rows if you wait too long.
Setup
Agnes setup and layout on this page
- Deck: One standard 52-card deck
- Tableau: Seven face-up columns with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 cards
- Base card: The next card starts one foundation and sets the base rank
- Reserve: Seven depot piles start with one card each
- Stock: Sixteen cards remain; they deal to reserve depots in rows
- Goal: Build all four foundations upward by suit, wrapping after king
Objective
The goal: build around the base rank
A normal ace foundation game asks you to find aces first. Agnes asks a different question: what rank did this deal choose as the base? If the first foundation card is the 10 of hearts, every suit foundation must start with a 10. The jack of that suit follows, then queen, king, ace, 2, and onward until the 9 finishes the pile.
Because foundations wrap, the cards immediately below the base are usually late foundation cards. They are also the only cards allowed to open empty tableau spaces. That double role is the heart of Agnes strategy: the rank below the base is both a tableau key and a foundation ending.
Moves
Legal and illegal Agnes moves
Tableau cards build downward by alternating red and black. Suits do not matter in the tableau, only color and rank. A black 9 can take a red 8. A red ace can take a black king because this version wraps downward through ace. A card cannot build on the same color, and it cannot skip a rank.
Foundations are stricter. They build upward by exact suit from the base rank. A reserve card can move to a foundation if it is the next needed card of its suit. A tableau card can move to a foundation only if it is the top card of its column. A tableau sequence can move as a packet when every card in it is already in legal descending alternating-color order.
Foundation baseIf the base rank is 9, every empty foundation must start with a 9.
Foundation wrap9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2 continues in the same suit.
Tableau buildA red 6 can move onto a black 7.
Tableau wrapA king can move onto an ace of the opposite color.
Empty spaceIf the base rank is 9, only an 8 or an 8-led sequence can fill a space.
Reserve depotOnly the top card of each reserve depot is playable.
Reserve
How the seven reserve depots work
The reserve depots are not a waste pile. They are seven separate stacks. Only the top card of each depot is available, and when you deal from the stock, one new card lands on each depot until the stock has fewer than seven cards left. The last deal is short and lands on the first depots only.
A reserve card can go to a foundation or to a legal tableau position. Moving a reserve card matters because it uncovers the card beneath it, but it can also matter before a deal: a good move prevents that card from being buried under the next reserve row.
Spaces
Empty tableau spaces are not free cells
Agnes spaces are rank-restricted. If the base rank is queen, the rank below the base is jack, so an empty tableau column accepts only a jack or a legal sequence beginning with a jack. If the base rank is ace, empty spaces require kings.
This rule keeps the tableau from becoming too loose. A space is powerful only when you can use it with the right rank. Opening a space before you have a matching card may still help later, but it will not behave like a FreeCell storage slot.
Ranks
Card order, wrapping, and rank timing
Agnes uses the same thirteen ranks in two directions. Foundations climb upward by suit from the base. Tableau columns descend by alternating color. Both directions wrap around the king-ace edge, so the base rank affects almost every decision on the table.
Base rankStarts every empty foundation
Rank above baseSecond foundation card in that suit
King to aceAllowed in foundations when building upward
Ace to kingAllowed in the tableau when building downward
Rank below baseThe only rank that can open an empty tableau space
A card that looks low is not always early. If the base rank is 7, aces are middle foundation cards, not starters. If the base rank is king, queens are late foundation cards but also the only cards that can fill empty tableau spaces. That is why memorizing the base rank is more useful than playing by ordinary Klondike reflex.
Strategy
Agnes Solitaire strategy that improves the deal
Start by locating the base rank in every suit. Any exposed base card can start a missing foundation and immediately creates a home for higher cards of that suit. Missing base cards are often the bottleneck, so do not bury them under an avoidable reserve row.
Work the reserve depots before dealing. A top reserve card that can move to a foundation or useful tableau spot should usually be considered before you press Deal reserve. Once a new row lands, that same card may sit under one or more blockers.
Treat tableau spaces as precision tools. A space is best when it accepts the rank below the base and exposes a long sequence, frees a reserve card, or gives a blocked foundation suit room to move. A space that cannot be filled yet is still useful information, but it does not solve the position by itself.
Be cautious with automatic foundation moves. In Agnes, the rank just below the base may be needed in the tableau for a long time, and middle ranks can be important connectors. Move cards to foundations when they open another move, clear a reserve depot, or are no longer needed as tableau supports.
Mistakes
Common Agnes Solitaire mistakes
- Forgetting the base rank and looking for aces first by habit.
- Dealing a reserve row while several top reserve cards still have useful moves.
- Opening a tableau space without checking which rank can actually fill it.
- Sending the rank below the base away too early when it is needed for spaces.
- Ignoring wrap moves such as king onto ace in the tableau.
- Moving a tidy sequence that blocks a more important foundation or reserve move.
Winnability
Is Agnes Solitaire winnable?
Agnes Solitaire is not always winnable from a random shuffle. The game gives you a lot of face-up information, but the base rank and reserve order can still trap a key card at the wrong time. A deal may fail because a missing base card appears too late, because a space cannot accept the rank you need, or because reserve cards cover one another badly.
This page does not invent a win-rate number. A meaningful rate would need to be measured against this exact Agnes Bernauer implementation, including undo, movable sequences, reserve-row timing, and the rank-restricted spaces.
This version
What this Agnes page includes
- Included: the Agnes Bernauer / Klondike-like rule family.
- Included: seven all-face-up tableau columns of one through seven cards.
- Included: one starter foundation card that sets the base rank.
- Included: seven reserve depots, with stock rows dealt onto the depots.
- Included: alternating-color tableau building with king-ace wrapping.
- Included: upward suit foundations with king-ace wrapping.
- Included: empty spaces restricted to the rank below the base.
- Included: undo, restart, hints, and win or stuck dialogs.
- Not included: scoring, timers, daily deals, winnable-only shuffles, or unlimited redeals.
Variants
Agnes variants: Sorel and Bernauer
Agnes has two well-known rule traditions. Agnes Sorel is the older classic version. It uses same-color tableau packing and has no reserve. Agnes Bernauer is the later Klondike-like version. It changes tableau building to alternating colors and adds seven reserve depots.
This page implements Agnes Bernauer because it is the version most modern players expect when they search for Agnes Solitaire online. The distinction matters: same-color packing, no reserve, and different vacancy rules create a very different game. If an Agnes Sorel page is added later, it should be treated as a separate playable variation rather than a small settings toggle.
Nearby games
How Agnes compares with Klondike, Canfield, and Easthaven
Agnes borrows the familiar seven-column shape from Klondike, but it removes hidden tableau cards and changes the foundation target. Klondike always starts with aces; Agnes starts wherever the base card says. That makes Agnes more about rank timing than uncovering secrets.
Canfield is the closest cousin on this site because it also uses a changing foundation base rank. The feel is different, though. Canfield has one 13-card reserve and a draw-three waste, while Agnes has seven reserve depots and row deals that cover cards in place. Easthaven shares the row-deal pressure, but those rows go to the tableau instead of a separate reserve.