Emperor looks roomy, but the real skill is not trapping your useful cards.
Ten columns and two decks create the impression of space. In practice, Emperor punishes careless stacking because the large layout hides Aces and low cards under many layers, and removing them requires both empty columns and careful sequence planning from the very first move.
Last updated: May 2026
How the game is set up
Emperor uses two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total). The layout is:
- Ten tableau columns — Dealt in an extended Klondike pattern. The first four columns receive alternating face-down and face-up cards; the remaining columns may have larger face-down sections depending on the implementation. The specific deal varies by implementation; what is consistent is that many cards start face-down.
- Eight foundations — Four suits, two foundations per suit (one for each deck copy). All eight foundations build upward from Ace to King by suit.
- Stock — Remaining cards dealt one at a time to a waste pile.
Tableau builds by alternating colors, descending rank — the same rule as Klondike. Sequences of alternating-color cards move as a unit.
The hidden-card priority
Emperor’s most important early goal is identical to Klondike’s: flip face-down cards as fast as possible. With two decks and ten columns, there are many more hidden cards than in single-deck games — and each one represents an unknown constraint on your future moves.
Every face-down card flip is progress. Every move that builds a visible sequence without flipping a hidden card is neutral at best. When comparing two candidate moves, prefer the one that flips a face-down card, even if the sequence it creates is less tidy than the alternative.
1. Flip face-down cards. 2. Move Aces and low cards toward foundations. 3. Build sequences that support future reveals. 4. Use stock draws to unlock stuck positions.
Ace and low-card liberation
Emperor has eight foundation piles but starts with none of them populated. Finding and moving all eight Aces to their foundations is the first concrete goal. Because there are two copies of each Ace, you have twice as many Ace-finding opportunities compared to a single-deck game — but also twice as many low cards buried in the tableau.
The two-copy structure of Emperor changes the sequencing math compared to Klondike. In Klondike, a buried 2 of hearts is a problem: there is only one, and it must reach the foundation before the 3 of hearts can. In Emperor, there are two 2s of hearts — if one is deeply buried, the other might be accessible and can serve as the first step up the foundation.
The hearts foundation has the Ace. The first 2♥ is buried under five cards in column 3. The second 2♥ is on top of column 8. Move column 8’s 2♥ to the foundation immediately. This advances the hearts foundation without needing to excavate column 3. Column 3’s 2♥ can follow later — or it may turn out you do not need it if the 3♥ reaches the foundation before column 3 is cleared.
Avoiding sequence traps
A sequence trap is when a long, well-built alternating-color run contains a card that was needed to reach a foundation early. Because the run cannot be partially dismantled without creating structural damage, the foundation progress for that suit stalls.
Common examples in Emperor:
- Building a long sequence that includes both copies of a specific rank. If both 9s of the same color are buried inside the same sequence, any foundation that needs a 9 from that color is stalled until the sequence is dismantled.
- Building a sequence on top of a face-down card that turns out to contain a low card. The low card is now buried under a sequence that may take ten moves to clear.
The practical prevention: before building a long sequence, check whether any card you are stacking over (face-down or visible beneath the sequence) is a suit card that a foundation will need in the near-to-medium term.
Empty column management
Ten columns give Emperor more room than most solitaire games, but that room disappears quickly in the stock-pressure phase when new cards are adding to the top of columns without the tableau keeping pace with foundation progress.
Empty columns serve two purposes in Emperor: as temporary staging for large sequence transfers, and as the destination for Kings (which can only start new columns in an empty position). With two decks there are eight Kings, and each needs a home — though two Kings of the same suit can stack within the same column in an alternating-color sequence.
With eight Kings in two decks, empty columns fill with Kings quickly if you are not moving them to productive positions. Only place a King in an empty column when you have a clear plan for what sequence will build below it. A King with no planned continuation is just an empty column that cannot receive non-King cards.
Stock timing
Emperor’s stock functions like Klondike’s: one card at a time to a waste pile, with the option to recycle the waste when the stock is exhausted (usually limited to two or three recycles). Each stock card reveals one new possibility but does not affect the tableau directly until moved.
Before drawing from stock, scan every column for available tableau moves — including sequences that could be transferred to expose a face-down card. With ten columns there are many candidates, and it is easy to overlook a productive move.
Draw from stock when:
- No face-down card can be revealed with existing tableau moves.
- No available card can reach its foundation without a stock assist.
- You need a specific card that is not yet visible in the tableau.
Common mistakes
- Building long sequences before checking face-down cards.A ten-card alternating sequence that covers three face-down cards is a liability until those cards are known. Reveal first, then build.
- Underestimating the two-deck low-card problem.With two copies of each rank, it is tempting to treat any given card as dispensable. But foundation sequencing still requires the right cards in the right order — having two copies of a card does not help if both are deeply buried.
- Using empty columns as long-term parking.An empty column with a single Queen sitting in it, serving no immediate purpose, is a wasted opportunity in every turn it sits there.