How to Play Midshipman Solitaire

Build eight foundations using two decks while managing nine tableau piles that begin with a couple of cards face down in each. Place cards on the tableau in different suits than the card below.

Setup

1. Place eight empty foundation piles to the side (two for each suit, since you're playing with two decks)
2. Deal four cards to each of nine tableau piles: the first two face down, the last two face up
3. Keep the stock separate; draw cards one at a time when needed

How to play

• Move cards from the tableau or waste pile to build foundations up by suit (Ace through King).
• On the tableau, build sequences downward in a different suit from the card below (for example, place a 10 of spades on a Jack of hearts, but not on a Jack of spades).
• Only the top card of each tableau pile can be moved.
• When you move a card, flip over the face-down card beneath it.
• Empty tableau piles can be filled with any available card.
• Stuck cards automatically move to the foundations when they can't be played elsewhere. You can adjust this behavior in Settings if preferred.
• When no tableau moves help, click the stock to draw one card to the waste pile.
• Play the top card from the waste pile to the tableau or foundations if possible.

How to win

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

You win when all cards are built to the eight foundation piles. The game ends in loss when the stock runs out and no more moves are available.

Tips

• Expose the face-down cards early to see what options are available.
• Since you can only place cards in a different suit, plan your tableau sequences carefully to avoid blocking cards.
• Create empty piles strategically to access buried cards and maneuver the waste pile top card.

Play Midshipman free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Midshipman 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 Forty Thieves family:

• Napoleon's Shoulder — A relaxed variant of Napoleon's Square using two decks.
• Rows of Four — Move all cards to eight foundations by building suits upward while arranging tableau piles in any order.
• Thieves of Egypt — This two-deck game deals its tableau in a pyramid, and you build alternating-color runs there while filling eight foundation piles.
• Waterloo — A two-deck stock-based solitaire with minimal tableau space and relaxed building rules.
• Barricade A — A straightforward two-deck solitaire where you build foundations regardless of suit and arrange twelve tableau piles in descending order.