Play Wheatsheaf Solitaire Online — Congress, Both Ways
Wheatsheaf is Congress with both of its rules opened in two directions. Eight columns of a single card are dealt from two decks; they build up or down in suit, one card at a time. Eight foundations: four build up from the ace and four build down from the king, one of each per suit. An emptied column is filled at once from the waste. The stock turns one card at a time with no redeal. Bank all 104 cards to win.
Setup
Shuffle two decks together. Deal eight columns of one card, face up. The remaining ninety-six cards form the stock. The eight foundations start empty: four wait for aces, four for kings.
Rules
- Up foundations take an ace of their suit and build up to the king; down foundations take a king and build down to the ace. Nothing wraps.
- Tableau builds up or down in suit: the seven of clubs goes on the six or the eight of clubs.
- One card at a time. Runs never travel.
- Spaces are filled for you from the top of the waste, or from the stock if the waste is empty.
- Stock: one card a turn to the waste; the top waste card is in play. No redeal.
- Win when the eight foundations hold all 104 cards.
Strategy
Congress is a game of eight one-card columns and a ninety-six-card stock seen once; Wheatsheaf softens both ends of it. Every card now has two suit hosts on the tableau and two foundations to aim for, and the game is about choosing which.
- Bank from both ends. Aces and twos go up, kings and queens go down. A suit's two piles share its twenty-six cards across two decks; keep both moving.
- Build toward a foundation. A column that runs up in suit feeds the up pile; one that runs down feeds the down pile. Decide which way each column leans and keep it that way.
- Mind the forced fill. An emptied column takes the waste's top card whether you want it or not. Empty a column only when that card is welcome.
- Turn slowly. Ninety-six cards come once. Make every tableau move before each turn.
- Twins are hosts. With two decks the seven of clubs has two sixes and two eights of clubs to land on.
- Watch the meeting rank. Where a suit's up and down piles meet is yours to choose; leave the gap at the rank that is buried deepest.
Where It Sits in the Thieves Family
Wheatsheaf is a member of the Diplomat line on the Forty Thieves engine: Congress's eight single-card columns, forced fill and single pass, with the foundations turned half round and the rows built either way. It carries the catalogue's down-foundation axis alongside Kingsley, Double Kingsley and Lafayette.
Other Games to Try
- Congress — the same board, foundations up and rows down
- Parliament — Congress with the aces founded first
- Lafayette — two-way foundations on a Canfield board
- Diplomat — the line's parent
About This Version
Wheatsheaf 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.