How to Play Milligan Cell Solitaire

Build eight foundations using two decks while managing eight tableau piles and four temporary storage cells. This FreeCell-inspired variant lets you move sequences in alternating colors.

Setup

1. Place eight empty foundation piles to the side (two for each suit, since you're playing with two decks)
2. Deal one card face up to each of eight tableau piles
3. Prepare four temporary storage cells, initially empty
4. Keep the stock separate; click it to deal one card to each pile when needed

How to play

• Move cards from the tableau or cells 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.
• Use the temporary storage cells to hold single cards. Each cell holds one card, which can be played to the tableau or foundations later.
• Empty tableau piles can only be filled with a King.
• Stuck cards automatically move to the foundations when they can't be played elsewhere. You can adjust this behavior in Settings if preferred.
• When you need more cards, click the stock to deal one card to each tableau pile; you only get one pass through the stock.

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.

Tips

• Use the temporary cells wisely to free up tableau piles and access buried cards.
• Since empty piles can only be filled with Kings, be strategic about when you create empty piles.
• Build longer sequences in the tableau to expose new cards and create more options.

Play Milligan Cell free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Milligan Cell 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:

• 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.
• Zerline — This two-deck game flips the usual card order: foundations start on Kings and climb through the ranks with Queens as the top card.
• Agnes Bernauer — Each game chooses a random base rank for all four foundations, which then build upward in suit from that rank, wrapping around.
• Batsford — This two-card-deck Klondike variant only gives you one trip through the stock, so every move counts, and a small reserve lets you tuck away kings that are blocking your tableau.