What is Emperor?
Emperor Solitaire shares alternating-color tableau building with Klondike. Where Klondike uses one deck and seven columns, Emperor uses two decks and ten columns, builds eight foundations instead of four, and deals three face-down cards beneath each tableau column’s opening face-up card. Thirty cards start hidden, so the first moves should be judged partly by which card they turn face up.
Alternating-color descending runs can move together, the stock turns one card at a time onto waste without a recycle, and foundations build upward by suit. Emperor has its own ten-column deal and King-only empty-column rule.
Full rules
Two standard 52-card decks (104 cards) are used. Ten tableau columns each receive four cards: three face-down and one face-up. All remaining cards form the stock, dealt one at a time to a waste pile; the top waste card is always available.
Tableau sequences build downward in alternating colors. A properly ordered sequence moves as a unit. Only Kings (or King-headed sequences) fill empty columns. Eight foundations (one per suit per deck) build upward from Ace to King by suit. Win by moving all 104 cards to the eight foundations.
The two-deck difference
Two copies of each rank and suit are in play. If one needed Ace or Two is buried, its copy may be on another column or in the stock. Compare those routes before covering a tableau top; 30 cards begin face down, so access is still limited.
Sequence traps are Emperor’s most distinctive hazard. Building a long alternating- color sequence that buries multiple face-down cards beneath it creates a self-imposed block that takes many moves to resolve. Check whether a sequence covers important face-down cards before committing to a long build.
Read the full Emperor strategy guide →
Key strategic concepts
A move that flips a face-down card reveals new information. Compare it with moves that advance a foundation or clear a column for a King; the best choice depends on what each move exposes and covers. Thirty cards begin hidden across ten columns.
King management requires attention with eight Kings in two decks. Empty columns fill with Kings, but not every King anchors a productive sequence. When choosing which King to place in an empty column, consider which suit foundations are furthest behind — and which King’s placement will expose the most useful next card from its source column.
How Emperor compares
- Napoleon at St Helena — another two-deck ten-column Klondike relative
- Miss Milligan — two-deck builder with a deal-as-you-go format and the Waive mechanic
- Spider Solitaire — two decks, same-suit completion goal instead of alternating-color foundations
- Crescent Solitaire — two-deck fan layout with bidirectional foundations
Emperor is part of Grand Plaza · Forty Thieves & two-deck builders and is a variant of Napoleon at St Helena.
More Forty Thieves & two-deck builders games
- Napoleon at St Helena — Ten tableau columns, two decks.
- Canister — A one-deck eight-column builder with four cards in the middle row.
- Colonel — A three-row tableau exposes cards only after the cell beneath is cleared.
- Deauville — Thirty hidden tableau cards give way to alternating-color building.
- Diplomat — Two-deck patience with eight tableau piles.
- Dress Parade — Hidden-card alternating-color columns allow packed sequence moves.
Also try
- Intrigue (Court games) — Eight Queen columns; eight Five-piles built down to the King and eight Six-piles built up to the Jack, regardless of suit.
- Milligan Cell (Miss Milligan & row dealers) — Four free cells add temporary storage to Miss Milligan’s eight columns.
- Royal Cotillion (Reserve builders) — A 4-column Ladies’ tableau that never refills, a 16-cell Lords’ grid that refills from waste only, and zero redeals.
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