Play Double Montana Solitaire Online — Montana With Two Decks

Double Montana is Montana, also called Gaps, with two decks. All 104 cards are dealt face up into eight rows of thirteen, then the eight aces are removed, leaving a gap wherever each one lay. A gap takes the card of the same suit one rank higher than the card to its left; a leftmost gap takes a two. When no move remains you may reshuffle the loose cards twice. Win by making every row read two to king in one suit.

Setup

Shuffle two decks and deal all 104 cards face up into eight rows of thirteen. Take the eight aces out of the game. The slots they leave are your opening gaps, and they can be anywhere on the board.

Rules

• Rows build up in suit from a two in the first slot to the king. The aces are out of play.
• A gap takes one card: the card of the same suit one rank higher than the card to its left. A gap to the right of a king, or of another gap, is dead until a redeal.
• A leftmost gap takes a two.
• Twins: two decks mean two of every card; either copy continues a run.
• The redeal: when no move remains, every card that is not part of its row's run from the first slot is gathered, shuffled and dealt back after the runs, leaving a gap after each run. Two redeals a game.
• Win when all eight rows read two to king in one suit; the last slot of each row stays empty.

Strategy

Montana's gaps start wherever the aces fell, so the opening is a search for the twos that can reach a first slot, and for gaps whose left neighbour has a free successor. Two decks double both the chances and the clutter.

• Read the runs, not the cards. Every row wants one suit in order from its first slot. Before any move, find the longest run each row already has and work to extend it.
• Never open a dead gap. A gap to the right of a king takes nothing. Moving a card away from beside a king leaves a slot that is lost until the next redeal.
• Prefer the move that creates a live gap. Where a card leaves matters as much as where it lands. Take it from a slot whose left neighbour is a low card with its successor still loose.
• Count the redeals. A redeal keeps the seated runs and reshuffles the rest, with a gap after each run. Seat as much as you can before spending one; what is seated is safe.
• Get the twos home first. A row cannot start until a two sits in its first slot, and there are eight of them to place.
• Pair the rows by suit. Two rows will end as each suit. Assign them early and keep each copy of a card heading for its own row.
• Treat a gap after a king as spent. With the aces gone the king ends every run, and the slot after it is dead until a redeal.

Where It Sits in the Gaps Family

Double Montana is the two-deck member of the Montana line on the Gaps engine: the aces removed, rows from two to king, the gaps wherever the aces were dealt. Double Blue Moon keeps the aces and seats them; Free Parking is one-deck Montana with gaps that also fill from the right.

Other Games to Try

• Gaps — the one-deck Montana original
• Free Parking — Montana with gaps filled from either side
• Double Blue Moon — two decks with the aces seated
• Paganini II — two decks, no redeal

About This Online Version

Double Montana 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.