How to Play Big Bertha Solitaire

A two-deck game with a unique separate Kings foundation. Build the eight main foundations up from Ace through Queen while collecting every King on its own shared pile, using standard alternating-color rules in the tableau.

Setup

1. Fifteen tableau piles are dealt 6 cards each, all face up
2. The remaining 14 cards form a single reserve pile; only its top card can be played, and removing it reveals the next one
3. Eight ascending foundations start empty, waiting for Aces
4. One separate foundation starts empty and will hold all eight Kings, regardless of suit

How to play

• In the tableau, build downward by one rank in opposite color (red on black, black on red)
• Move cards or valid sequences between tableau piles, following the opposite-color rule; a sequence moves together only when each card is one rank lower and opposite color from the card above
• Empty tableau piles accept any card or legal sequence
• The reserve pile's top card is always available to play to a foundation or the tableau; playing it reveals the next reserve card
• Cards move to the foundations on their own once nothing else could be built on them; you can change this in Settings

How to win

Objective: Move all 104 cards to the nine foundations: eight suit piles built up from Ace through Queen, plus one shared pile that collects all eight Kings.

You win when all 104 cards rest on the nine foundations. You're stuck when cards remain and no legal moves unlock them.

Tips

• The Kings foundation is a pressure valve—use it to clear high cards and free tableau space
• Each card you play from the reserve reveals a new one underneath, so check it often—but remember it's a fixed pile of 14 cards with no refill, so it will eventually run out
• Build long mixed-suit sequences in the tableau to maximize maneuverability before relying on the reserve

Play Big Bertha free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Big Bertha 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 Raglan family:

• Muse — A King Albert variant that replaces the reserve with flexible free cells, letting you temporarily hold cards and maneuver complex tableau sequences across a stair-step pyramid layout.
• King Albert — A challenging solitaire where you build down in alternating colors on a triangular tableau, drawing from a reserve pile instead of a stock.
• Queen Victoria — Queen Victoria takes King Albert and adds one big convenience: whole sequences of cards can move together instead of one at a time, which makes the tableau far easier to untangle.