Play Dieppe Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Take Congress, loosen the shackles with three-card piles and run-moves, then face its curse: one pass through an 80-card stock, no tableau refills allowed.
Dieppe Solitaire shares its name with the old fishing port on the Normandy coast, and on the table it is a close relative of Congress, the two-deck patience of diplomatic legend. The recipe is Congress with the shackles loosened: each of the eight tableau piles receives three cards instead of one, piles build down regardless of suit, and a descending run may be picked up and moved as a single unit.
The family curse survives intact, though. An empty tableau space can never be filled from another tableau pile — a fresh card must come from the waste instead — and you only get one pass through an eighty-card stock. Cards that become playable are whisked up to the eight foundations automatically, so your real job is keeping the tableau open long enough for the stock to empty in a workable order. It's a tough game, played with two decks, and winning comes down mostly to skill rather than luck.
Dieppe's whole appeal is a tableau you can never patch from itself; Congress Solitaire and Forty Thieves Solitaire give you more of that same squeeze.
If you like working within tight tableau rules, original Solitaire shares that same restraint in a simpler package.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Dieppe Solitaire
Layout:
8 foundation piles: Build up in suit from Ace to King.
8 tableau piles: Build down regardless of suit. At the start of the game, each pile is dealt three face-up cards.
Stock: Click to flip over cards one at a time to the waste. There are no redeals.
Waste: The top card is playable.
Foundation:
There are eight foundation piles.
A card can be added to a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on an 8 of spades is a 9 of spades. Each pile begins with an ace and is complete at the king.
Cards that become playable are sent to the foundations automatically, and they cannot be taken back after they have been placed.
Tableau:
The eight tableau piles fan out downward, three cards dealt to each, all face-up from the start.
A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower than the pile's current top card, regardless of suit, so any 7 fits on an 8 of spades.
Cards on the tableau that are not covered by another card are free to be played onto the foundations or any other tableau pile.
Descending runs of face-up cards may be moved together as a unit, whatever their suits.
Empty tableau spots may not be filled with a card from another tableau pile. Play the top card of the waste into the space instead.
Stock and waste:
There is one waste pile and the remaining 80 cards comprise the stock.
Click the stock to deal one card to the waste. You only get one pass through the stock.
The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or foundations.
