How to Play Martha Solitaire

Build four foundations from aces while managing twelve tableau columns that start with a mix of face-up and face-down cards. There's no stock to draw from, so you must work with what you can see.

Setup

1. Place the four Aces to start the four foundation piles
2. Deal the remaining 48 cards into 12 columns of 4 cards each
3. In each column, cards alternate: 1st face down, 2nd face up, 3rd face down, 4th face up
4. You have no stock to draw from during play

How to play

• Move exposed cards from the tableau to build foundations up by suit (Ace through King).
• On the tableau, build sequences downward in alternating colors (such as placing a 10 of spades on a Jack of hearts).
• You can move groups of cards together if they form a valid sequence in alternating colors.
• When you move a card, flip over the face-down card beneath it.
• Empty tableau piles cannot be refilled—they stay empty for the rest of the game.
• Stuck cards automatically move to the foundations when they can't be played elsewhere. You can adjust this behavior in Settings if preferred.

How to win

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

You win when all cards are built to the four foundation piles.

Tips

• Focus on exposing the face-down cards early, since they may contain crucial cards for the foundations.
• Arrange tableau sequences carefully to avoid getting cards stuck under face-down cards.
• Build longer sequences on the tableau to maximize your options for moving cards and uncovering hidden cards.

Play Martha free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Martha 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 Baker's Dozen family:

• Morehead — This single-deck game plays like Somerset but with a twist: you build on the tableau into a different suit rather than a matching color, moving only one card at a time as you work toward the foundations.
• Stewart — A Martha variant where you can only move single cards, not sequences.
• Vineyard — A patience game with no stock or waste pile—all cards are dealt at once across ten tableau columns.
• British Canister — A stricter Canister layout: cards move one at a time, tableau piles build in opposite colors, and only a King can claim an empty spot.
• Canister — A straightforward game where all cards are dealt face up at the start with no stock.