How to Play Double Russian Solitaire

A two-deck variant where face-down cards are gradually revealed as you play. Move groups of cards in any order between tableau piles, as long as the bottom card of the group fits where it lands.

Setup

1. Eight foundation piles wait to receive Aces; each suit builds up from Ace to King
2. Ten tableau piles are dealt in a staggered pattern: the first has 5 face-up cards, and each pile after that has 6 face-up cards on top of a growing stack of face-down cards (1 face-down card in the second pile, up to 9 in the last)
3. This layout means many cards start hidden, revealing themselves as you expose them

How to play

• Move any group of exposed cards from one tableau pile to another—the cards in the group don't need to be in order, but the bottom card of the group must be one rank lower and the same suit as the card it lands on
• When a face-down card becomes the top of its pile, flip it over automatically
• Cards automatically move to the foundations once no other card can be built on them—this behavior is adjustable in Settings
• Empty piles can only accept a King or a group headed by a King

How to win

Objective: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building each suit from Ace to King.

All cards reach the foundations when you've built all eight suits from Ace to King. You're stuck if exposed cards can't move.

Tips

• Prioritize uncovering face-down cards early to open up your options
• Remember that you can move unsequenced groups, so focus on exposing buried cards rather than building perfect sequences
• Empty tableau piles are valuable—use them to temporarily organize cards when you need breathing room

Play Double Russian free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Double Russian 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 Yukon family:

• Dragon — This same-suit cousin of Chinese spreads the whole deck across seven tableau piles right away.
• Moosehide — A Yukon variant where tableau building requires different suits instead of opposite colors, and you can freely move any group of face-up cards together—creating puzzle-like rearrangement challenges.
• Russian — A challenging game where hidden cards drive the strategy and any face-up card can move with its entire fan.
• Triple Russian — Build up 12 foundation piles one suit at a time from a tableau of 13 piles dealt with varying amounts of face-down cards.
• Brisbane — A variation of Yukon with a staggered deal that lets you build the tableau regardless of suit, making it accessible and strategic.