Free the side piles before the first redeal.
On the first layout, inspect the four side piles because they can feed either foundation row. Free cards there before gathering for a redeal.
Last updated: September 2026
Read the opening layout
One Ace and one King of each suit begin eight foundations. The other 96 cards are dealt into twelve surrounding piles.
On the first layout, inspect the four side piles because they can feed either foundation row. Free cards there before gathering for a redeal.
Make each move count
Move exposed cards singly between piles, building one rank up or down in suit without wrapping. Build King foundations down and Ace foundations up. The first deal restricts top and bottom piles to their nearer foundation row; two redeals remove that limit.
A card between two same-suit ranks can go in either direction on the tableau. Choose the direction that exposes the more useful hidden top.
Turn progress into a win
After the first redeal the direction restriction ends. Recheck every exposed card against both its Ace and King foundation.
Place both copies of every suit on the eight foundations.
Compare two lines of play
Use Undo to compare choices from the same deal. Restart with the visible seed to see whether a different opening exposes the cards you need sooner.
Louis: exploit the sparse opening
Louis starts with the eight Ace and King foundation bases and just one card on each of twelve surrounding piles. The remaining stock can refill opening vacancies, then be dealt over those piles. Play foundation-ready cards before the mass deal covers them; every vacancy gives another stock card a chance to appear.
All twelve piles may feed either foundation row from the start. Tableau cards still build one rank up or down in suit. Check each exposed card and its next foundation destination before ending the opening phase.
Choose which rank to uncover
Suppose the King of Hearts foundation shows Queen of Hearts and a tableau top is Jack of Hearts. That Jack can advance the descending foundation. If it covers Ten of Hearts, the next foundation move is already in reach. If it instead covers a card of another suit, check whether that exposed card advances its Ace or King line before transferring the Jack.
Tableau transfers require adjacent ranks of the same suit in either direction and move one top card. The first St. Helena deal restricts which foundation row a surrounding pile can feed; after a redeal, reassess both rows. Louis starts with no such foundation-row restriction, while Box Kite offers no redeal at all.
Box Kite: no redeal
Box Kite starts with the same eight Ace and King bases and 96 cards in twelve surrounding piles, but all piles may feed either foundation row immediately. There is no redeal. A tableau transfer that only cycles cards without uncovering a new top spends a move without improving access.
Prefer a foundation play or a same-suit one-rank tableau move that exposes a buried card. Keep the Ace and King foundation directions progressing so cards revealed late can still enter one of them.