Play Bobby Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Take on Robert's friendlier cousin: a second foundation pile and three passes through the stock make this wrap-around climb a 60% win rate.
Bobby Solitaire is Robert Solitaire with a helping hand. The name gives it away — Bobby is the pet form of Robert, and the game is the friendlier junior version of that famously merciless little patience. Everything else is unchanged: a stock, a waste pile, and foundations that build up or down regardless of suit, wrapping between King and Ace whenever it helps.
The difference is a second foundation pile. One card is dealt to the first foundation as its base; the second starts empty, and you may open it with any card you like, whenever you like. From then on every card that comes off the waste has two possible homes instead of one, and choosing which chain to feed — and when to open the second pile at all — is the small ration of judgement the game allows.
As in Robert, you are given three passes through the stock in total, so a card that slips by will come around twice more. With four live ranks to aim at instead of two, those passes are far more forgiving here, which is exactly why Bobby works well as the gentler introduction to this tiny family of games.
Deciding when to open that second pile is the whole strategy here, and it's good for roughly 60% of deals at medium difficulty. It is played with a single deck, and your odds of victory are mostly determined by luck.
Captive Queens Solitaire is another solitaire game comparable to this one.
If Bobby's forgiving wrap-around suits you, original Solitaire is the straighter climb, no wrap-around and no second pile to juggle.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Bobby Solitaire
Layout:
2 foundation piles: Build up or down regardless of suit, wrapping between King and Ace, until all 52 cards have been played. One card is dealt to the first pile at the start of the game; the second pile starts empty and may be started with any card.
Stock: Click to flip over cards one at a time to the waste. There are two redeals, for three passes in total.
Waste: Top card is playable.
Foundation:
There are two foundation piles.
A card is dealt to the first foundation at the start of the game. This is its starting card. The second foundation begins empty, and any card may be played there to start it whenever you choose.
A card can be added to either foundation only if it's one rank higher or lower than that pile's current top card; suits are ignored. Ranks wrap around, so an Ace can be played on a King and a King on an Ace, and the cards that fit on an 8 of spades are any 7 or any 9.
The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it. The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the two foundations.
Stock and waste:
There is one waste pile and the remaining 51 cards comprise the stock.
When you click on the stock, one card from the stock is dealt to the waste. When the stock is empty, click it to turn the waste back into the stock and deal through it again. You get three passes through the stock in total (two redeals).
The top card of the waste can be played to either foundation.
