How to Play Algiers Solitaire

Algiers is a three-deck game with a reserve of 54 cards and two tableau areas. You build 12 foundation piles while carefully managing the reserve and dealing cards strategically to the tableau.

Setup

1. Three full decks (156 cards) are shuffled together
2. Deal 6 cards face-up to each of 9 reserve piles (54 cards total); only the top card of each pile is available to play
3. Deal 1 card face-up to each of 12 tableau piles
4. 12 empty foundation piles wait to receive Aces
5. The remaining 90 cards form the stock

How to play

• Click the stock to deal 2 cards onto every reserve pile
• Cards automatically move to the foundations when no other moves are available for them; you can change this behavior in Settings
• In the reserve piles, you can only play the top card, and empty spaces accept any card
• In the tableau piles, build down in the same suit (a 6 of hearts on a 7 of hearts)
• Move one card at a time from reserve or tableau to other tableau piles or foundations
• Empty tableau spaces can be filled with any available card

How to win

Objective: Move all 156 cards to the 12 foundation piles, built up by suit from Aces to Kings.

You win when all 156 cards are moved to the foundations by suit. You're stuck when the stock is exhausted and no valid moves remain.

Tips

• Use the reserve strategically—cards there can be played to the tableau or foundations when needed
• Plan your tableau deals carefully since you only get one pass through the stock and there is no redeal
• Prioritize moving cards to foundations when they don't block access to buried reserve cards

Play Algiers free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Algiers alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the Forty Thieves family:

• Carthage — A two-deck game combining reserve piles that feed cards into play with a separate tableau built in descending same-suit sequences.
• Mamy Susan — A two-deck Forty Thieves cousin with an extra five-card reserve pile on the side, giving you a second source of playable cards alongside the ten tableau piles.
• Saxony — Saxony combines cells for maneuvering with reserve piles that you build on downward by suit.
• Squadron — A streamlined Forty Thieves variant using two decks with three reserve cells to temporarily hold cards.