Braid Solitaire

What is Braid Solitaire?

Braid Solitaire is a two-deck patience game built around a central linear sequence of face-up cards — the “braid” — that becomes available card by card as the game progresses. Only the tip of the braid is accessible, alongside a small reserve and the waste pile. The goal is to route all 104 cards to eight Ace-to-King suit foundations. The braid structure creates a fixed order of access that shapes the whole game.

Full rules

Two 52-card decks (104 cards). A long sequence of cards is laid face-up as the braid; only the last (most recently exposed) card of the braid is available. A small reserve holds a limited number of cards (implementation varies). A stock deals to a waste pile; the waste top card is available. Eight foundations build by suit from Ace to King.

Cards from the braid tip, reserve, or waste may go to the foundations whenever they fit. As braid tip cards are played, the next braid card becomes available. Win when all 104 cards reach foundations.

The braid mechanic

The braid is the game’s defining structure. You cannot access any card in the braid except the current tip — all others are locked until the tip is played. This creates a forced order of card access that may or may not align with what the foundations need next.

Reserve cells bridge the gap between braid timing and foundation readiness. When a braid tip card cannot go to a foundation immediately, parking it in one of the four linked cells keeps it accessible. Reserve space is limited, so managing it carefully — only parking cards with a clear near-term foundation path — is the central skill.

Read the Braid strategy guide →

Reserve and waste coordination

With the braid tip, reserve, and waste all potentially holding foundation-ready cards, the key discipline is scanning all three sources before each move. A card in the waste may be a better foundation play than the braid tip, but using the waste card advances the waste sequence — which may expose a less useful card next.

As in many two-deck games, tracking which copies of needed ranks have been seen is useful: with two of each card, one copy in reserve and one in the braid means the foundation does not strictly need the reserve copy immediately.

How Braid compares

• Miss Milligan — two-deck deal-as-you-go; the Waive mechanic
• Napoleon at St Helena — two-deck, ten columns, same-suit only, single stock pass
• Emperor — two-deck Klondike; alternating-color sequences