How to Play Batsford Solitaire
Batsford Solitaire is similar to Double Klondike Solitaire; however, there is a reserve pile where you can place a King.
Objective
Your goal is to move all 104 cards to the 8 foundation piles by suit from Ace to King in ascending order. You do this by moving and organizing cards from the stock pile and tableau and using the reserve.
The Setup and Play Area
Foundation piles: These are the 8 piles where you aim to move playable cards in order from Ace to King by suit. Successfully placing all 104 cards in the foundation wins the game.
Tableau piles: This area consists of 10 columns, with the first column containing one card and each subsequent column containing one additional card. Each card starts face down, except the last card in each column, which is face-up. In total, there are 55 cards in the tableau.
Stock pile: The rest of the cards, or 49 in total, go into the stock pile. You deal face-up cards one at a time into the waste pile.
Waste pile: As you empty the stock pile, the cards you don’t place in the tableau make up the waste pile.
Reserve pile: You can place a King in the reserve pile.
Available moves
- Cards are dealt from the stock pile into the waste pile. The top card of the waste pile can be played to either the foundation or tableau. It can also be placed on the reserve if it's a King.
- Foundations must be built in ascending order by suit. For example, a foundation pile will start with an Ace of Hearts, followed by a 2 of Hearts, and so on until it ends with a King of Diamonds.
- Only face-up cards can be moved. Cards that are face down are unavailable to move. Reveal them by moving face-up cards above them to other columns in the tableau
- Tableau cards can be moved by sequencing them in descending order, alternating by color. For example, a 9 of Spades can be placed on top of an 10 of Diamonds.
- The last card of each tableau column can be moved to the foundation if it is playable.
- You can move multiple cards at one time. To move a group of cards, they must be sequenced in descending order, alternating by color, and the top card of that group must be placed on top of a playable card of the opposite color and one rank higher.
- You can only place a King in an empty tableau column.
- Only Kings can be placed in the reserve. You can sequene cards in decending order and alternating color on top of the King in the reserve.
- You win when all cards have been moved to the foundation.
Strategy
- Move aces to the foundations as soon as they’re available. This will clear the card from the tableau, enabling you to build more.
- Make sure there are no more useful moves before drawing from the stock pile. Cards dealt from the stock pile can block cards, so make sure to make moves that advance the game before drawing from it.
- Try to free up lower-ranking cards. Because foundations are built from Ace to King, try to make low cards available so you can move them out of the tableau into the foundation and make other cards playable.
- Try to build the foundations evenly. If one foundation is built immediately in the game, you now have fewer cards of that color to help you sequence.
- Moves Kings to empty tableau columns or to the reserve. If a King is available, prioritize emptying a tableau column to place it there.
- The first visible sequence may not always be the best one. Plan out your moves to remove as many cards as possible from the tableau.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some games similar to Batsford Solitaire?
The game is most similar to Klondike or Double Klondike.
What are the odds of winning?
When looking at 6,741 random games played, 279 were won, making the win rate 4.14%.
What are other popular Solitaire games?
Here are some good games to try:
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