How is Queensland different from Russian Solitaire?

Two ways. The deal is Brisbane's — seven columns of five to ten with four cards up on each — rather than the classic staircase, and an empty column takes any card, where Russian allows only a king.

How is Queensland different from Brisbane?

Only the build. The deal and the open spaces are the same; Queensland builds down in suit, Brisbane on any suit.

How many cards are hidden at the start?

Twenty-one. None in the first column, one in the second, and so on up to six in the seventh, each under four face-up cards.

Can I move a group of unrelated cards?

Yes. That is the Yukon rule: any face-up card moves with everything above it, in whatever order those cards happen to be.

What fills an empty column?

Any card, or any tail headed by any card. That freedom is what makes the strict suit build playable.

No. All 52 cards are dealt to the seven columns at the start, so there is no draw and no redeal.

Queensland Solitaire - Play Online & 100% Free

Play Queensland Solitaire Online — Russian Solitaire With Open Spaces

Queensland takes Russian Solitaire's strict suit build and relaxes the one rule Russian is hardest on: an empty column takes any card, not only a king. Seven columns of five to ten cards are dealt over a staircase of hidden cards — none in the first column, six in the last — with four cards face up on every column and five on the first three. The Yukon move rule applies throughout: any face-up card carries its whole tail, packed or not. The deal is Brisbane's exactly; the two games differ only in what a card may land on.

Setup

Tableau: seven columns of 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9 and 10 cards. Column one hides nothing, and each column to the right hides one card more at its base; four cards are face up on every column, five on the first three.
Foundations: four empty piles, one per suit, built up from ace to king.
No stock and no waste. All 52 cards are in the columns.

Rules

The tableau builds down in suit — a 7♠ goes on the 8♠ and nothing else.
Any face-up card moves with its whole tail, packed or not.
A hidden card turns face up the moment play exposes it.
An empty column takes any card or any tail.
Foundations build up in suit from the ace and are one-way.

Strategy

A space is a free move. Because any card may enter an empty column, a space is the one place a tail can go without a host. Clear a column as early as you can — the first, with five cards and nothing hidden, is the natural candidate — and use it to lift tails off the cards you need to reach.

Suit build means one host, and it may be buried. Each card has exactly one card it may land on, and that card is either visible, under a hidden card, or already banked. Before you bank a card, check whether its next-lower twin still needs a home; a foundation is one-way.

Dig on the right. The last column hides six cards under four; the first hides none. Moves that turn a card over in the right-hand columns are worth more than tidying on the left, and the open spaces make those digs affordable.

Carry the mess, then sort it. The Yukon rule lets you move an unpacked tail anywhere it has a host. Use that to expose hidden cards fast, and accept that the tails you create will need a space to be untangled later.

Where It Sits in the Yukon Family

Yukon's contribution to patience is a single rule: any face-up card may be moved with everything on top of it. The members then vary the build, the empty-column rule, and the deal. Russian Solitaire tightens the build to suit and keeps kings-only spaces; Ukrainian keeps Yukon's build and opens the spaces; Brisbane deals this exact board and lets a card land on any suit. Queensland is Brisbane's deal with Russian's build and Ukrainian's spaces — the strictest landing rule in the family, softened by the freest space rule.

Other Games to Try

Russian Solitaire — the same build with kings-only spaces on the classic staircase
Brisbane — the same deal, built on any suit
Ukrainian Solitaire — Yukon's build with any card into a space
Double Russian Solitaire — the suit build on two decks

About This Version

Queensland 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.