How to Play Hypotenuse Solitaire

A two-deck solitaire where you build tableau piles downward by alternating color and move all cards to foundations arranged by suit. It combines the core challenge of Klondike with partially hidden tableau piles.

Setup

1. Deal 10 tableau piles in a pyramid shape, with varying numbers of face-down cards and one face-up card per pile
2. Set aside 8 foundation piles (two for each suit, since two decks are in play) starting with Aces
3. Keep a stock pile of remaining cards

How to play

• Click the stock to deal one card to each tableau pile; the stock can only be used once, with no redeal
• Build tableau piles downward by one rank with cards of opposite color (red on black, black on red)
• Move sequences of cards together when each is one rank lower and the opposite color
• Click face-down cards to flip them when all cards covering them have been moved
• Cards automatically move to the foundations once no other card could be built on them (you can change this in Settings if preferred)
• Build foundation piles upward by rank within each suit
• Empty piles accept only Kings; fill these carefully to clear the board

How to win

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

You win when all 104 cards are arranged in the 8 foundation piles, with each containing a complete suit from Ace to King. The game is lost when no more moves are possible and the stock is empty.

Tips

• Prioritize uncovering face-down cards, especially those in taller piles
• Keep King piles available for repositioning other sequences
• Build foundation piles steadily to clear the tableau and open new possibilities

Play Hypotenuse free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Hypotenuse 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:

• Interchange — A challenging two-deck solitaire where you build tableau piles downward by suit and work through a single-card stock.
• Kingsley — Reverse Klondike where foundations start with Kings and build downward instead of upward.
• Lady Cadogan — A two-deck game with a distinctive dual foundation approach: one foundation builds up in suit from Aces, while the other accumulates complete sequences.
• Lanes — A streamlined Klondike variant played on just six lanes of three cards each.
• Lily — Lily challenges you to sort two decks into 13 tableau piles, each building down into one complete King-to-Ace run of alternating colors.