Play Eclipse Solitaire Online — Thirteen Columns Built in Suit

Eclipse spreads two decks across thirteen columns of four, three cards hidden under one face up. Columns build down in suit and a packed run moves as a unit; any card or run fills a space. The stock holds fifty-two cards and deals one to every column per click. Eight foundations build up in suit from the ace. Bank all 104 to win.

Setup

Shuffle two decks. Deal four cards to each of thirteen columns, the top one face up. The remaining fifty-two cards form the stock: four full rows.

Rules

• Foundations build up in suit from the ace; each suit has two piles.
• Columns build down in suit: the seven of clubs on the eight of clubs.
• Runs travel packed. A group of cards moves as a unit only when every card in it sits one rank lower and the same suit as the card beneath; a loose tail cannot be lifted.
• Hidden cards turn face up the moment the card on them leaves.
• Any card or run fills a space.
• The stock deals a row: one card face up to every column per click, an empty column included, as far as the cards go. There is no waste and no redeal.
• Win when all eight foundations are complete.

Strategy

A suit build with thirteen columns means every card has exactly two possible hosts and a wide board to find them on. Thirty-nine cards are hidden, and the four stock rows cover all thirteen columns each time, so the game is turning cards fast and keeping the tops low before each deal.

• Deal only when stuck. A row covers every column at once, an empty one included, and cannot be taken back except by undo. Play everything that will go before you click the stock.
• Keep runs packed. Only a packed run travels, so a card dropped out of sequence freezes everything above it until the run is rebuilt.
• Bank as you go. Foundations are one-way; a card on a foundation never blocks a column again.
• Turn the hidden cards. Three sit under every column; a move that exposes one is the best move on the board.
• Empty a column and keep it. A space takes anything, and with thirteen columns one can often be kept open as a shelf between deals.
• Four deals only. Fifty-two cards are exactly four rows; after them the board is fixed and the game is a pure sort.

Every game in this line runs on one clock: the stock. It never reshuffles and never comes back, so the number of rows left is the number of times the board can change on its own. Deal a row to reach a card you need only when no move can reach it, and before each deal read the tops of the columns, because those are the cards the row will bury. The hint button names a legal move; when it names the stock, nothing else is left.

Where It Sits in the Gypsy Line

Eclipse is the Gypsy line's widest board on the Yukon engine: thirteen columns with a suit build and packed runs. Blockade is the same rule on twelve single cards with spaces filled from the stock.

Other Games to Try

• Blockade — twelve single cards, spaces filled from the stock
• Steve — a rank build with same-suit runs
• Yeast Dough — Gypsy dealt face up
• Gypsy — the line's parent

About This Online Version

Eclipse 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.