Play Open Gargantua Solitaire Online — Double Klondike With Nothing Hidden

Open Gargantua is Gargantua — Double Klondike under its older name — with the one change its name promises: the whole staircase is dealt face up. Two decks go into nine columns of one to nine cards, all showing, over a fifty-nine-card stock that turns one card at a time with one redeal. The tableau builds down in alternating colours, runs travel, and only a king may take an empty column. Eight foundations build up in suit; bank all 104 to win.

Setup

Shuffle two decks together. Deal nine columns: one card in the first, two in the second, up to nine in the ninth — forty-five cards, every one face up. The remaining fifty-nine form the stock. Above the tableau sit the stock, the waste and eight foundations.

Rules

• Foundations build up in suit from ace to king; each suit has two, and either takes its next card.
• Tableau builds down in alternating colours. Any packed run moves as a unit.
• Only a king — or a packed run headed by a king — may enter an empty column.
• Stock: one card a turn to the waste; the top waste card is in play.
• One redeal: when the stock is empty, click it to turn the waste over once. After the second pass the stock is done.
• Win when all eight foundations are complete.

Strategy

An open deal turns Double Klondike from a game of discovery into a game of planning. Nothing in the tableau is unknown; the only surprises come from the stock, and the redeal gives you a second look at that. Use the information.

• Plan the deep columns first. The ninth column holds nine cards you can all see. Read it from the bottom: the card at its base decides whether the column can ever be emptied, and which king should take the space when it is.
• Spaces are for kings, so choose the king. Two kings of each suit exist. Empty a column only when the king you want to seat is available and has a run of hosts behind it; a space filled by the wrong king is a column lost.
• Read the stock on the first pass. With one redeal you see the stock order twice. Turn through the first pass playing only what is clearly good, note where the cards you need sit, and play the second pass with that map.
• Keep the twins apart. When both copies of a card are in play, build on the one whose column is shallower and leave the other as a future host.
• Bank evenly. Eight foundations rising together keep the middle ranks flowing. A foundation stuck at three while its twin sits at nine means a three or four is buried — find it.
• Move runs whole. A packed run can travel as a unit; move it to uncover the card beneath rather than card by card.

Where It Sits in the Klondike Family

Open Gargantua is the open-deal member of the two-deck Klondike line, next to 8 x 8, Big Harp, Double Trigon and Inquisitor. Gargantua itself is Double Klondike with a single redeal; this game keeps that redeal and that king rule and simply turns every dealt card up. It stands to Gargantua exactly as Whitehead's open deal stands to Klondike.

Other Games to Try

• Double Klondike — the same staircase with the cards hidden
• Double Trigon — the hidden two-deck staircase built down in suit
• Whitehead — the one-deck open staircase
• 8 x 8 — two decks open in a square, unlimited redeals

About This Version

Open Gargantua 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.