Play Dover Solitaire Online — Bristol With Two Decks
Dover is Bristol doubled. Two decks are dealt into eight columns of three, face up. Columns build down by rank regardless of suit, one card at a time. The stock deals three cards at a time, one to each of three waste piles, and the top card of every waste is in play. An empty column takes a card from a waste only. Eight foundations build up in suit from the ace. There is no redeal. Bank all 104 cards to win.
Setup
Shuffle two decks together. Deal three cards face up to each of eight columns. Leave room above for eight foundations, the stock and three waste piles. Nothing else is dealt until you click the stock.
Rules
- Foundations build up in suit from the ace to the king; each suit has two piles.
- Columns build down by rank in any suit: a seven of any suit on any eight.
- One card at a time. Runs never move as a unit.
- The stock deals three at a time, one card to each of three waste piles. The top card of every waste is in play. When fewer than three cards remain, the first wastes get them.
- Spaces are filled from a waste. A card from a column may not move into an empty column; a waste's top card may.
- No redeal. Once the stock is gone the wastes are all that is left.
- Win when all eight foundations are complete.
Strategy
Dover is about the three wastes. Each stock click buries the top of every waste under a new card, so a waste card you wanted is one click from being covered. The game rewards playing the wastes down before dealing again, and reading the columns for the rank chains that keep cards flowing.
- Empty the wastes before you deal. Every playable waste card should go before the next click, because the click covers all three tops at once.
- Rank chains are cheap. With any suit allowed, an eight hosts every seven in two decks. Use the columns as sorted shelves and keep at least one column with a high card on top.
- A space is a waste's privilege. Only a waste card may fill an empty column, so clear a column when a strong waste card is waiting for it, not before.
- Watch which waste gets which card. The deal goes left to right. If you know the stock order from an earlier undo, you know which waste will receive the card you need.
- Twins split the work. Two decks mean two of every card; send one copy of a rank up each foundation of its suit rather than stacking both on one column.
- Count the stock. Eighty cards deal in twenty-six clicks and two remain. Plan the last deals so the final cards land where they can play.
Where It Sits in the Forty Thieves Family
Dover is the two-deck member of the Bristol line: a Forty Thieves board whose stock feeds three wastes instead of one. Vincent is its one-deck cousin with a suit build and runs; New York and Gotham replace the dealing stock with an open one you play by hand.
Other Games to Try
- Vincent — one deck, down in suit with runs, kings into spaces
- New York — an open stock played to three wastes, a dealt base rank
- Gotham — New York with three cards a column and runs
- Limited — twelve columns of three, down in suit, no redeal
About This Online Version
Dover 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.