Related solitaire variants
- Sir Tommy Solitaire for another reserve-and-waste management puzzle.
- Zodiac Solitaire for a larger two-deck board with staged progression.
- Solitaire games guide to compare two-deck strategy variants.
Classic variant
Windmill Solitaire
Start with one Ace in the center and eight reserve cards around it. Build the center foundation up regardless of suit with rank wraparound, build each corner foundation down from King, and keep reserve gaps filled from waste (or stock when waste is empty).
Build the center foundation up in rank and the corner foundations down from Kings.
1 / 52
95 cards
Waste
0 cardsHow to play
- Build the center foundation in ascending rank order, wrapping King back to Ace.
- Build each secondary foundation down from King to Ace, regardless of suit.
- Reserve gaps refill automatically from waste, or from stock if waste is empty.
- Draw from stock when you need new playable cards.
- Move all cards into foundations to win.
What is Windmill Solitaire?
Windmill Solitaire takes its name from its layout: one central foundation surrounded by four corner foundations in a pinwheel arrangement. The central foundation builds upward continuously with wraparound — any card of the right next rank (any suit) is accepted, cycling from Ace upward through King and back to Ace repeatedly until it receives all 104 cards. The four corner foundations each start on a King and build downward to Ace (any suit). Two decks are used.
Full rules
Two 52-card decks (104 cards). One King is placed in the center as the central foundation start; four Aces go to the four corner foundations. Eight reserve cards surround the center; each reserve position refills immediately from the waste when emptied. A stock deals one card at a time to the waste.
The central foundation accepts any card one rank above its current top (wrapping from King back to Ace). Corner foundations accept any card one rank below their current top (K→Q→J→…→A). Win when all 104 cards reach the five foundations.
The two-foundation-type challenge
Every card in Windmill has two possible foundation destinations: the central foundation (if it matches the next ascending rank) or one of the corner foundations (if it matches the next descending rank). Evaluating both options before each placement — and choosing the destination that helps the overall game more — is the core decision.
The central foundation builds faster (it accepts all 104 cards in sequence) but the corner foundations clear suits that would otherwise clog the reserve. Prioritizing the central foundation while maintaining corner progress is the balancing act.
Reserve management
The eight reserve positions refill automatically from waste whenever a reserve card is played. This auto-refill means the reserve is always full (while the waste and stock have cards) — but it also means you cannot control which waste card fills which reserve position. Managing the order in which reserve cards are played, to surface the most useful waste cards through auto-refill, is a secondary skill.