Double Solitaire: Rules for the 2-Player Card Game
Double Solitaire is the head-to-head version of the classic patience game: two players, two decks, and a shared set of foundations in the middle that both race to build. If you love Klondike but want to play it with someone else, the Double Solitaire card game turns the familiar solitaire layout into a fast, competitive duel where speed and sharp eyes matter as much as planning. This guide covers everything — the setup, the rules, scoring, friendly and cutthroat variants, and a little strategy — so you and a partner can deal a game of double solitaire and start playing in minutes.
What Is Double Solitaire?
Double Solitaire is a two-player card game built on Klondike Solitaire. Each player deals their own standard solitaire tableau, but the foundations in the center are shared, so either player may add to any foundation pile. The result is a race: both players work their own boards at the same time and rush to play as many of their cards as possible onto the common foundations. Because the foundations are shared, the game is interactive and competitive in a way solo solitaire never is — the Ace you were about to play might be snatched up by your opponent a half-second sooner.
The double solitaire game has been played with physical cards for generations and goes by several names, including Competitive Solitaire and Racing Demon (a close British cousin). What they share is the core idea: take the solitaire you already know and make it a contest between two or more people over a shared goal.
What You Need to Play
Double Solitaire needs two full 52-card decks — one per player — and the two decks must have different back designs or colors so the cards can be sorted back to their owners at the end. That is the whole kit: two distinguishable decks, a flat surface big enough for two tableaus plus a shared foundation area in the middle, and a partner. No board, timer, or app is required, though many of the same skills carry over directly from playing Klondike online.
How to Set Up Double Solitaire
- Each player takes one deck (with a distinct back) and shuffles it thoroughly.
- Each player deals their own Klondike tableau in front of them: seven columns in a staircase of 1 to 7 cards, with only the bottom card of each column face-up.
- Each player keeps their remaining 24 cards as a personal face-down stock to draw from.
- Leave an open space in the middle between the two players. This shared area is where the foundations will be built — both players use it.
You now have two complete solitaire setups facing each other, with empty shared foundation space between them. Nothing is dealt to the foundations at the start; they fill up during play as Aces appear.
How to Play Double Solitaire — The Rules
Most groups play Double Solitaire in real time: there are no turns, and both players play simultaneously as fast as they can. The rules of each player's own tableau are exactly the standard Klondike rules, with one big twist — the foundations belong to everyone.
- Play on your own tableau only. Build your columns downward in alternating colors, draw from your own stock, and uncover your face-down cards just like in solo Klondike.
- Foundations are shared. The moment anyone plays an Ace to the middle, that foundation is open to both players. Either player may add the next card of that suit, no matter whose deck it came from.
- Race to the foundations. The goal is to play as many of your own cards onto the shared foundations as possible, so promote Aces and low cards quickly before your opponent fills the spot.
- Only one card occupies a foundation slot at a time. If you both reach for the same play, the faster hand wins it; the slower player must find another move.
- Play continues until both players are stuck or one player empties their tableau and stock, depending on the ending you choose (see scoring below).
Scoring and Winning
When play ends, each player counts how many of their own cards reached the foundations — easy to do because the two decks have different backs. The player who placed more cards in the middle wins, and the margin is the score. A perfect game is sending all 52 of your cards up. Some groups prefer a simpler finish: the first player to clear their entire tableau and stock to the foundations wins outright. Either way, the cards in the middle tell the story, and you simply re-sort the two decks by their backs for the next round.
Friendly vs. Cutthroat Variants
Double Solitaire bends easily to the mood of the table. In the friendly, turn-based version, players politely alternate moves rather than racing, which makes it relaxed and good for teaching kids. In the cutthroat, real-time version, everyone plays at once with no turns, hands fly, and the quickest player to spot and grab a foundation play comes out ahead. You can also scale the game up: three or four players, each with their own deck and tableau, all building onto one shared bank of foundations turns Double Solitaire into a chaotic, very entertaining group race.
Double Solitaire Strategy
- Hunt for Aces and Twos first. They open and feed the shared foundations, and grabbing them before your opponent denies them the same plays.
- Keep your hands moving. In the real-time game, hesitation costs you foundation spots. Make the obvious plays fast, then look for the next one.
- Watch the middle, not just your own board. Half the available plays come from foundations your opponent started — a suit you could not advance a moment ago may suddenly be open.
- Uncover face-down cards aggressively. Just like solo Klondike, hidden cards are where your future foundation plays are buried, so dig them out quickly.
- Do not over-plan. Double Solitaire rewards speed and pattern recognition more than deep calculation, so trust the Klondike instincts you have already built.
Double Solitaire vs. Double Klondike
These two names are often confused, but they are different games. Double Solitaire is the two-player race described here. Double Klondike (also called Double Deck Solitaire) is a single-player game that uses two decks shuffled together, dealt into nine or ten columns, with eight foundations to build — it is a longer, solo version of Klondike, not a competitive one. If you want the bigger solo two-deck challenge rather than a head-to-head match, that is the game you are looking for, and you can play it free on our Double Klondike page.
Can You Play Double Solitaire Online?
Double Solitaire is fundamentally a face-to-face game — its fun comes from two people racing over the same cards in real time, which is hard to recreate in a single-player browser game. What you can do online is sharpen the Klondike skills it is built on and play the solo two-deck cousin. Practice your speed and board-reading on our free Klondike Solitaire, then step up to the two-deck Double Klondike for a longer solo game. When you next sit down with a friend and two decks, your foundation instincts will already be fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you play Double Solitaire?
Two players each deal their own Klondike tableau (seven staircase columns) from their own deck, with the foundations shared in the middle. Both play at the same time, building their own columns down in alternating colors and racing to send cards up to the common foundations. Whoever places more of their own cards in the middle wins.
What is the Double Solitaire card game?
Double Solitaire is a competitive two-player version of Klondike Solitaire. Each player has their own deck and tableau, but the foundation piles are shared, so the two players race to play as many of their cards as possible onto the same foundations.
How many decks do you need for Double Solitaire?
Two — one full 52-card deck per player. The two decks must have different backs so each player can count their own cards in the foundations at the end of the game.
Is Double Solitaire the same as Double Klondike?
No. Double Solitaire is a two-player race on shared foundations. Double Klondike (Double Deck Solitaire) is a single-player game played with two decks shuffled together and eight foundations. One is competitive; the other is a longer solo game.
Can you play Double Solitaire by yourself?
Not really — it is designed for two or more players racing over shared foundations. For a solo two-deck game, play Double Klondike instead, or practice the underlying Klondike skills in any single-player Solitaire.
Can more than two people play?
Yes. Three or four players can each take their own deck and tableau and build onto one shared set of foundations. It becomes a faster, more chaotic group race, and the player who banks the most of their own cards wins.
