Play Maria Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Build nine tableau piles of four, alternating color instead of suit, across two full decks, and see if you're among the roughly 4% who beat it.

Maria Solitaire plays like Forty Thieves Solitaire, but the tableau runs 9 piles wide by 4 cards deep, and you build by alternating color instead of suit. It's tough: about a 4% win rate, played across two full decks. Skill counts, but so does the shuffle.

Midshipman Solitaire is Maria's easier cousin: it deals some cards face-down and builds by suit instead of color.

Since it's the alternating-color build that hooks you, the classic Solitaire runs on that same idea.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Enjoy playing!

How to play Maria Solitaire

Layout:

8 foundation piles: Build up from Ace to King in the same suit.

9 tableau piles: Build down by alternating color. Only single cards move, never sequences. Any card can fill an empty pile. Each pile starts with four cards, all dealt face-up.

Stock: Click to turn over one card at a time to the waste pile. There are no redeals.

Waste: The top card can be played on the foundations or tableau.

Foundation:

There are eight foundation piles.

An ace on the foundation can move back to any empty tableau pile.

A card can be added to a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on a Q of clubs is the K of clubs. A pile holds at most 13 cards.

The top card of each foundation can move back into play if another pile will accept it.

Tableau:

Nine tableau piles of four cards each, all dealt face-up.

A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and the opposite color of the pile's current top card, so the cards that fit on the Q of hearts are the J of spades or the J of clubs.

Any uncovered tableau card is free to move to the foundation or another tableau pile.

Any card can fill an empty tableau pile.

Stock and waste:

There's one waste pile; everything left over makes up the stock.

Click the stock to deal one card to the waste. You only get one pass through the stock.

The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or foundation.