Rules
Batsford Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use two standard 52-card decks, for 104 cards total.
- Deal ten tableau columns, from one card in the first column to ten cards in the tenth.
- Only the top card of each tableau column starts face up.
- Eight foundations build upward by suit from ace to king.
- Tableau columns build downward by alternating color.
- A face-up packed tableau sequence can move together.
- Empty tableau columns accept only kings or king-led sequences.
- The reserve holds exactly one available king.
- Draw the stock one card at a time to the waste.
- This version has one stock pass and no redeal.
- Win by moving all 104 cards to the foundations.
How to play
How to play Batsford Solitaire
Batsford Solitaire is easiest to understand as Klondike made wider, longer, and less forgiving. You still build tableau cards downward by alternating color. You still uncover face-down cards by clearing the cards above them. You still send cards to foundations from ace through king by suit. The difference is scale and pressure: two decks, ten tableau columns, eight foundations, and a stock that gives you only one pass.
Start by looking for safe aces, useful low cards, and tableau moves that reveal hidden cards. A face-up sequence such as black jack, red 10, black 9 can move together if the front card lands on the next higher opposite color. Empty columns are not general storage. They are king spaces. The separate reserve is also king-only, but it holds just one card.
The stock should feel expensive. Each draw turns one card onto the waste, and the top waste card is the only waste card you can play. If you draw again, the previous waste card is covered. Because there is no redeal, every covered waste card may be gone for good unless the cards above it later move away.
Background
What is Batsford Solitaire?
Batsford is a two-deck patience game in the Klondike family. It keeps the familiar alternating-color tableau and ace-up foundations, then adds a much larger opening layout. Ten tableau columns contain 55 cards before the stock even begins. Since only the top card of each column is face up in this version, the opening board gives you ten visible cards and 45 hidden ones.
The game's distinctive reserve is not a FreeCell-style workspace. It is a narrow emergency slot for one king. That small rule changes the feel of the game because a king can be removed from a crowded place without immediately spending an empty tableau column. Used well, the reserve buys time. Used casually, it closes before the king that actually matters appears.
Setup
Batsford setup and layout
- Column 1: 1 card, top card face up
- Column 2: 2 cards, top card face up
- Column 3: 3 cards, top card face up
- Column 4: 4 cards, top card face up
- Column 5: 5 cards, top card face up
- Column 6: 6 cards, top card face up
- Column 7: 7 cards, top card face up
- Column 8: 8 cards, top card face up
- Column 9: 9 cards, top card face up
- Column 10: 10 cards, top card face up
- Stock: the remaining 49 cards, face down
- Waste: starts empty and receives one stock card at a time
- Reserve: one empty king-only holding slot
- Foundations: eight empty suit foundations
Foundations
How the eight foundations work
Each foundation belongs to one suit and builds upward from ace to king. Because two decks are in play, each suit has two foundation slots. Both club foundations must eventually contain ace through king, both diamond foundations must do the same, and so on.
Aces and twos are usually welcome early because they open foundation lanes without removing important tableau support. Middle cards need more judgment. A red 7 may be the only landing place for a black 6 that reveals a hidden card, so moving that 7 home too soon can make the tableau worse even while the foundation count improves.
Tableau
Tableau building and hidden cards
Tableau columns build down by alternating color. A black 8 can land on a red 9; a red 8 can land on a black 9. Suit does not matter in the tableau, only color and exact rank. A face-up packed sequence can move as a group when the front card fits the destination.
Hidden cards are the main source of progress. Moving a sequence that reveals a face-down card gives you new information and usually matters more than tidying visible cards. Long columns can hide several crucial foundation starters, so prioritize moves that open the deepest columns before the stock disappears.
Moves
Legal and illegal Batsford moves
A move is legal only when the source card is available. In the tableau, that means face up. For foundations and the reserve, it also means the selected item must be a single card. A sequence can move to another tableau column, but it cannot move as a bundle to a foundation or into the reserve.
LegalBlack 9 onto red 10 in the tableau
LegalA packed J-10-9 alternating-color run onto a red queen
LegalWaste ace to an empty matching-suit foundation
LegalAvailable king into the empty reserve
IllegalRed 9 onto red 10
IllegalQueen into the king reserve
IllegalAny non-king into an empty tableau column
IllegalA face-down card before it is uncovered
Empty columns and the reserve are related but not identical. An empty tableau column can take a king-led sequence. The reserve can take only one king card. If a king has cards packed on top of it, move the sequence to an empty tableau column instead, or clear the cards above that king before using the reserve.
Stock
The one-pass stock is the clock
The stock turns one card at a time to the waste. Only the top waste card is playable. It can move to a foundation, onto a tableau column, or into the reserve if it is a king and the reserve is empty.
There is no redeal. This makes Batsford much harsher than friendly draw-one Klondike. Before drawing, check whether the current waste card has a job. Playing it may uncover a useful waste card below later, while drawing over it may lock it away for the rest of the deal.
Reserve
How to use the king reserve
The reserve is best treated as a tactical promise, not a storage shelf. It can hold one available king from the tableau or waste. That king can later move to an empty tableau column, or eventually to a foundation after the matching queen is already there.
The strongest reserve move removes a king that is blocking a reveal, saves a waste king you cannot yet place, or lets another king-led sequence use an empty column. The weakest reserve move parks a random king and then leaves the slot unavailable when a more useful king appears.
Foundation order
The rank path from ace to king
Foundations climb in the normal order. The duplicate decks do not change the sequence; they only mean you must complete that sequence twice for each suit. If one heart foundation has the 5 of hearts on top, it needs a 6 of hearts next. It cannot accept a 6 of diamonds, and it cannot skip to the 7 of hearts.
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Duplicate foundations can feel forgiving because there are two places for each suit, but uneven foundation progress can still matter. If one suit copy climbs far ahead while the second is stuck at ace, the tableau may still need middle cards as alternating-color supports.
Strategy
Batsford Solitaire strategy that fits the strict version
Reveal hidden cards before making cosmetic moves. In Batsford, the visible board can look busy even when the useful cards are buried. A move that uncovers one hidden card in column ten is often stronger than a move that builds a neat visible stack in column two.
Keep kings purposeful. Empty tableau columns are precious because only kings can use them. A king that opens a deep column, carries a useful packed sequence, or gives the reserve card somewhere to land is worth playing. A king that merely fills space can block the strongest organizing tool you have.
Draw slowly when the waste card is playable. The one-pass stock is where many Batsford deals are lost. If a waste card can start a foundation, extend a tableau sequence, or enter the reserve, ask whether that move improves the board before covering it. Sometimes drawing is still correct, but it should be a decision rather than a reflex.
Be cautious with middle foundation moves. Low cards usually help. Middle cards can still be tableau bridges. If removing a red 8 leaves no support for a black 7 that could reveal a card, wait until that 8 is no longer doing useful work.
Mistakes
Common Batsford mistakes
- Using the reserve for the first king instead of the king that releases a card.
- Drawing past a playable waste card because the stock feels like ordinary Klondike.
- Filling an empty tableau column with a king that has no follow-up.
- Moving a middle card to a foundation while the tableau still needs it as a landing spot.
- Selecting a broken visible group and expecting it to move as a sequence.
- Ignoring the deepest hidden columns until the stock is nearly gone.
Difficulty
Why Batsford feels so hard
Batsford combines hidden information with a long two-deck target. Forty Thieves shows its tableau but limits movement. Klondike hides cards but uses one deck. Batsford asks you to manage both scale and uncertainty, then removes the safety net of stock recycling.
The reserve helps, but only a little. One king space cannot solve a board with several blocked long columns and a shrinking stock. That is why the best play often looks patient: reveal cards, protect useful spaces, and spend the reserve only when it changes the position.
Winnability
Is Batsford Solitaire winnable?
Batsford is not always winnable from a random shuffle. The deal can bury key low cards under long columns, put foundation starters late in the stock, or present kings before there is a productive place to use them. Since this page uses a one-pass stock and does not filter deals for solvability, some losses are simply part of the game.
Skill still matters. Undo can help you compare reveal orders, reserve timing, and foundation decisions. Many deals turn on whether you uncover hidden cards before drawing too far, and whether a king space is saved for the moment it actually opens the layout.
This version
What this Batsford page includes
- Included: two decks and eight ace-to-king suit foundations.
- Included: ten tableau columns dealt one through ten cards.
- Included: top-card-only opening reveal, with automatic flips after uncovering.
- Included: alternating-color tableau builds and packed sequence movement.
- Included: one reserve slot for a single available king.
- Included: draw-one stock, one pass, and no redeal.
- Included: undo, restart, hints, and the shared win or stuck dialog.
- Not included: draw-three stock, stock recycling, scoring, daily deals, or guaranteed-winnable deals.
Variants
Batsford variants and house rules
The most important rule questions in Batsford are stock passes, sequence movement, and how strictly the reserve is interpreted. This page keeps the reserve narrow: one available king card, not a general cell and not a sequence holder. It also keeps the stock strict: one card at a time and no redeal.
If a software version allows extra stock passes, broader reserve use, or relaxed empty columns, it will play like a different game. Those changes are not small conveniences. They reduce the cost of bad stock timing and make king management less central.
Nearby games
How Batsford compares with Klondike, Forty Thieves, and Canfield
Klondike is the natural reference point: alternating-color tableau, hidden cards, suit foundations, and stock-to-waste play. Batsford keeps that grammar but stretches it across two decks and ten columns, then adds the king reserve and a one-pass stock.
Forty Thieves also uses two decks and eight foundations, but it is a different kind of difficulty. Its tableau is visible and builds by suit, usually with single-card moves. Batsford hides much more information but gives you alternating-color packed sequences. Canfield is smaller and reserve-driven; its reserve is a pressure pile, while Batsford's reserve is a single king-specific tactic.