Play Short Tail Solitaire Online — Long Tail on Two Decks

Short Tail is Long Tail with a second deck and three more columns. Eight columns of a single card build down regardless of suit; a run of one suit travels; a complete king-to-ace suit run leaves the board. The reserve of unlimited depth starts with two cards and takes any card one at a time, only the top in play. The stock holds ninety-four cards and deals a card to every column, empty ones included — eleven full rows and a last row of six. Eight suits wins.

Setup

Shuffle two decks together. Deal eight columns of one card, face up, then two cards face up into the reserve. The remaining ninety-four cards form the stock. The eight scoreboard piles start empty.

Rules

• Building: a card goes on any card one rank higher, of any suit.
• Moving runs: only a packed run of one suit travels as a unit.
• The reserve takes any single card, without limit. Only its top card may be played.
• Spaces take any card or any one-suit run.
• Stock: each click deals one card to every column, including empty ones. The last deal lands six.
• Collecting: a complete king-to-ace run of one suit leaves the board at once.
• Win when all eight suits are collected.

Strategy

Two decks mean two of every card, which is the help Long Tail lacks: a run of hearts can be assembled from either deck's cards, and a host exists twice. But twelve deals onto eight columns is a lot of burying, and the reserve is the same trap as before.

• Park in reverse. Last in, first out. The card you will want first goes in last.
• Build in suit from the first row. Eight single cards are eight chances to start a run cleanly. A mixed run on the first deal is twelve deals of trouble.
• Prefer the twin you can finish. With two of every card, a suit run can borrow from either deck. Choose the copy whose neighbours are already exposed.
• Deal only when the reserve's top is placed. A deal covers every column, and any host it covers is gone until it surfaces again.
• Seed spaces with kings. An empty column filled by a dealt card is a one-card column; one seeded with a king is the base of a suit.
• Collect early. A suit collected before a deal is thirteen cards the next row cannot bury.

Where It Sits in the Spider Family

Short Tail is Long Tail's two-deck sibling: a deck and a column count change together, so it is a game of its own and not a count of the original. It carries the family's unlimited-depth cell and Relaxed Spider's stock that deals onto empty columns. Spider Web and Astrocyte hold the cell axis at one card per cell.

Other Games to Try

• Long Tail — the one-deck original on five columns
• Astrocyte — four one-card cells over two hidden decks
• Spider — the two-deck original
• Open Spider — Spider dealt face up

About This Version

Short Tail 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.