How to Play Alhambra Solitaire

Alhambra solitaire is a challenging, two-deck solitaire game that involves building on foundations and burying cards in reserve piles. Memory is key in Alhambra solitaire, as one wrong move could result in burying the one card you need to win the game.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Shuffle two decks of cards together, minus the jokers. Look through the deck and pull out one ace of each suit and one king of each suit. Place these eight cards face up in a row.

2. Deal 32 additional cards face up directly below the aces and kings. Make eight piles of four cards each.

3. Move any available cards onto the foundations. Match suits to count up from the aces and down from the kings.

4. Turn over a card from the remaining deck. Play that card on one of the foundations if you can. If you can't play the card on one of the foundation piles, you have the option of playing on one of the reserve piles, or adding the card to a waste pile. If you place cards on top of cards in the reserve piles, it must match in suit and be in sequence, either ascending or descending. The top card on the waste pile can be played on the foundation or reserve piles as moves become available.

5. Continue turning over cards and placing them on either the foundation, reserve or waste pile. When you run out of deck cards, pick up the waste pile and use it as a deck for up to two more re-deals.

6. Win the game by getting all 104 cards onto the eight foundation piles.

Tips & Warnings

• Some rules for Alhambra solitaire state that only one re-deal is allowed. Consider using just one re-deal to make the game more challenging.