Play Deuces Solitaire Online — Build From the Twos, Around the Corner

Deuces starts where most solitaires end their first move: the eight twos are lifted out of two shuffled decks and placed on the foundations before you play. Each foundation builds up in suit from its two, past the king, to finish on the ace. Ten columns of a single card build down in suit, wrapping the same way — an ace goes on a two, a king on an ace — one card at a time. Any card may fill a space. The stock turns one card at a time with no redeal: a single pass to bank 104 cards.

Setup

Shuffle two decks together and take out the eight twos, one for each of the eight foundations. Deal ten columns of one card each, face up. The remaining eighty-six cards form the stock. There is no reserve.

Rules

• Foundations hold a two each and build up in suit, wrapping past the king: 2, 3 … K, A. Each suit has two foundations; either takes its next card.
• Tableau builds down in suit, wrapping past the ace: an ace goes on a two, a king on an ace.
• One card at a time. A packed run does not travel; move it card by card.
• Spaces take any card. Nothing refills a space for you.
• Stock: one card a turn to the waste. The top waste card is in play.
• No redeal. When the stock is empty it stays empty.
• Win when all eight foundations run from two to ace.

Strategy

Deuces is Forty Thieves' board with Canfield's arithmetic, and it plays like Forty Thieves: one pass through the stock, single-card moves, and a tableau that clogs the moment you build without a plan. The wrap and the two-deck twins are what keep it winnable.

• The aces are the kings. Every foundation ends on its ace, so an ace is the last card of its suit to leave the board. Do not build under an ace; it will sit there to the end.
• Threes go up at once. Every foundation already holds its two, so every three of every suit can be banked the moment it shows. Bank them; a three on the tableau is a wasted host.
• Move the stock slowly. A card you turn without playing goes onto the waste, and only the top of the waste is in play. Make every tableau move you can before turning the next card.
• Keep spaces for digging. Any card may take a space, and single-card moves mean a run of four needs four moves to relocate. A space is what makes that possible; spend it on a card that unblocks a foundation, not on tidiness.
• Count the twins. Each host exists twice. Before you build a long run in suit, find both copies of the card it will need next.
• Use the wrap. A king may go on an ace and an ace on a two. When a column is headed by a low card, the high cards of its suit have a home there.

Where It Sits in the Canfield Family

Deuces is catalogued among the Forty Thieves games — ten columns, single-card moves, one pass — but its two rules of note are Canfield's: a foundation base that is not the ace, and a build that wraps around the corner. Here it lives on the Canfield engine with no reserve. Pluto is the same game on twelve columns with the twos left in the pack; Quadrangle turns the base card instead of fixing it.

Other Games to Try

• Pluto — the twos left for you to find, on twelve columns
• Storehouse — one deck built from the twos, with a reserve
• Forty Thieves — the board this deal comes from
• Quadrangle — a turned base and a forced fill on twelve columns

About This Version

Deuces 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.