How to Play Double Minerva Solitaire

This two-deck game adds a 13-card reserve alongside a tableau dealt in an alternating face-down, face-up pattern. Work both areas together to feed the eight foundations before your two passes through the stock run out.

Setup

1. Eight foundation piles wait for Aces, one per suit from each of the two decks
2. A single reserve pile holds 13 cards, all dealt face-up, with only the top one playable
3. Nine tableau piles each start with 4 cards dealt face-down, face-up, face-down, face-up from bottom to top, so the top card is always visible
4. The rest of the deck sits in the stock, good for two passes

How to play

• Build each foundation up from Ace to King in the same suit
• Cards move to the foundations automatically once they can't be built anywhere else; you can change this behavior in Settings
• In the tableau, build downward in alternating colors (red on black, black on red)
• Move a card, or a run that follows the color pattern, between tableau piles
• Play the top card of the reserve to a foundation or tableau pile
• When you clear a face-up card off a pile, the face-down card beneath turns face-up automatically
• Click the stock to deal one card to the waste; empty tableau spaces accept only a King
• Once the stock empties, click it again for a second and final pass

How to win

Objective: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations

You win when all cards reach the foundations. Two passes through the stock give you more chances than limited games.

Tips

• Keep the reserve pile in mind—that top card is your safety valve when the tableau is stuck
• Expose face-down cards by clearing tableau piles strategically
• You can move the top card of a foundation pile back into play if you need it

Play Double Minerva free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Double Minerva 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:

• Haystack — A single-deck game with a small 8-card reserve pile and a unique diamond-shaped tableau.
• Imperial Guards — A two-deck solitaire where you build tableau piles downward by alternating color and move all cards to foundations.
• Milligan Cell — Build eight foundations using two decks while managing eight tableau piles and four temporary storage cells.
• Seven Devils — Seven Devils is widely considered one of the toughest solitaire games.
• Triple Minerva — A tactical game combining tableau building with a 15-card reserve and 2 total passes through the stock.