How to Play Bureau Solitaire

A two-deck Klondike relative with 13 tableau piles, where foundations build in opposite colors and you get one extra pass through the stock. The goal: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building each from Ace up to King in opposite colors.

Setup

1. Deal 4 cards to each of 13 tableau piles, alternating face-up and face-down so even-numbered cards face up and odd-numbered face down.
2. Place remaining cards as the stock.
3. Leave space for 8 foundation piles, which begin when an Ace becomes available.

How to play

• Click the stock to deal one card to the waste pile.
• Build tableau piles down in opposite colors—place a red 6 on a black 7, for example.
• Move groups of cards together if they form a valid opposite-color sequence.
• When a card is ready for a foundation, it moves there automatically. You can adjust this behavior in Settings if you prefer.
• When the stock is exhausted, click it again to redeal the waste back as the stock.
• You get two passes through the stock before the game ends.
• Empty tableau piles cannot be filled.

How to win

Objective: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building each from Ace up to King in opposite colors.

Win by moving all cards to the foundations. You're stuck when the stock runs out after your second pass and no more moves remain.

Tips

• Expose face-down cards whenever possible to increase your options.
• Prioritize building foundations to free up tableau space.
• Use the redeal strategically; don't waste the second pass on early stock.

Play Bureau free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Bureau 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 Klondike family:

• Cassim — A flexible tableau-building game where you can recycle through the stock as many times as needed, making it more forgiving than traditional Klondike.
• Double Easthaven — This larger take on Easthaven mixes two decks together across eight tableau piles and eight foundations.
• Double Gold Rush — This two-deck relative of Klondike deals a rising pyramid of tableau piles and shrinks the stock deal each time you go through it.
• Double Trigon — A two-deck variant with a triangular tableau arrangement.
• Easthaven — A challenging blend of Klondike and Spider where you build mixed-color sequences downward and gradually reveal hidden cards from seven tableau piles.