Play Inquisitor Solitaire Online — Two Decks, In Suit, Three at a Time

Inquisitor is the two-deck Klondike line's strictest build under its most open deal. Two decks go into ten columns of one to ten cards, all face up. The tableau builds down in suit, runs travel, and any card may take an empty column. The stock — forty-nine cards — turns three cards a time, with two redeals. Eight foundations build up in suit; bank all 104 cards to win.

Setup

Shuffle two decks together. Deal ten columns: one card in the first, two in the second, up to ten in the tenth — fifty-five cards, every one face up. The remaining forty-nine form the stock. Eight foundations wait above the tableau, two per suit.

Rules

• Foundations build up in suit from ace to king; each suit has two, and either takes its next card.
• Tableau builds down in suit. A packed run in one suit moves as a unit.
• Spaces take any card or any packed run.
• Stock: click to turn three cards to the waste. Only the top waste card is in play; playing it exposes the one beneath.
• Two redeals: when the stock is empty, click it to turn the waste over — twice in a game, three passes in all.
• Win when all eight foundations are complete.

Strategy

Everything on the table is known; the three-card draw is the only thing that hides anything. Inquisitor is won by using the open board to prepare for what the stock will show, and by using the spaces to change what the stock shows.

• Learn the stock on pass one. With three cards a turn you see every third card first. Play the first pass lightly, noting which cards sit where in each group of three, then plan the second and third passes so the right card lands on top.
• Shift the stock by one. Playing a single waste card changes which cards the next pass brings to the top. That is the classic three-card trick, and with two redeals you can use it twice.
• Any card takes a space — use it to reorder. An empty column is where you park a waste card to reach the one beneath it, or split a run to free its base. Keep one space open as long as you can.
• Build in suit from the deep end. The tenth column holds ten open cards; if its base card can run in suit onto something, the whole column can drain. Read the tall columns first.
• Twins are your hosts. A seven of spades has only the eights of spades to land on, but there are two of them. Before you bury either eight, ask where the sevens are.
• Bank freely. In an in-suit game a banked card is never a host you needed for another suit. Send low cards up as soon as they show.

Where It Sits in the Klondike Family

Inquisitor belongs to the two-deck Klondike line with 8 x 8, Big Harp, Open Gargantua and Double Trigon. It takes Double Trigon's in-suit build, opens the deal as Open Gargantua does, frees the spaces as Big Harp does, and adds the three-card draw with two redeals that Klondike players know as the harder classic setting. It is the line's most demanding member.

Other Games to Try

• Double Trigon — two decks in suit with the staircase hidden
• Open Gargantua — the open two-deck staircase in alternating colours
• Trigon — one deck built down in suit
• Big Harp — two decks, any card in a space, one pass

About This Version

Inquisitor 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.