Play Gay Gordons Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Pair up cards that add to eleven, match Jacks together and Queens with Kings, and clear the whole deck before you run out of moves.

Gay Gordons Solitaire takes its name from the lively Scottish country dance of the same title — a fitting label for a patience in which the cards pair off and leave the table two by two. The game was popularized by David Parlett, the British games historian who devised and documented many original patiences, and it has quietly become a favorite among fans of pure pairing games.

The whole game is built on a single idea: pair up cards that add to eleven and clear them away. An Ace counts as one, so it joins a Ten; a Two goes with a Nine, a Three with an Eight, a Four with a Seven, and a Five with a Six. The court cards break away in their own fashion — two Jacks leave together, and a Queen departs arm in arm with a King. There is no building and no stock to turn; matched pairs move to the foundations on their own, and you simply keep removing pairs until nothing is left.

Because there is no redeal, every choice matters. Only the exposed card at the head of each fan and the top card of the reserve are ever available, so a card you want may sit buried beneath others you must clear first. The two reserve cards are your spare ammunition — hold them back for the moment a tableau card has no partner in reach, and you will free far more of the pack. Look a few moves ahead before you commit, and a stubborn deal can turn into a clean sweep.

Block Ten Solitaire and Thirteens Solitaire take that same pairing idea and run it in their own directions.

You know the classic Solitaire already; Gay Gordons just gives you a reason to open it again.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Enjoy playing!

How to play Gay Gordons Solitaire

Layout:

4 foundation piles: Matched pairs are moved here automatically. They take no further part in the game.

Ten tableau fans: The deck is dealt into ten fans of five cards each, all face-up. Only the exposed card at the head of each fan is available, and removing it exposes the card beneath. There is no building on the tableau and no stock to deal from.

Foundation:

There are four foundation piles, and you never place a card on them yourself.

Every pair you remove is swept onto the foundations automatically, whether it is a rank pair, two Jacks, or a Queen and King. Once a pair lands there, it takes no further part in the game.

Removing pairs:

Pairs that add to eleven: Remove any two available cards whose ranks total eleven — Ace with Ten, Two with Nine, Three with Eight, Four with Seven, or Five with Six, with the Ace counting as one. The court cards leave differently: two Jacks are removed together, and a Queen is removed with a King. Suits never matter.

Reserve:

Two spare cards: Alongside the fans, two extra cards are dealt to a reserve. The top reserve card is always available, giving you a little extra ammunition — pair it off with a tableau card whenever a fan's head card has no partner within reach.

Winning:

Clear the whole pack: You win when every card has been removed — all twenty-six pairs. There is no redeal, so plan your removals carefully; once the available cards can no longer form a valid pair, the game is over.