Play Miss Milligan Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Shuffle two full decks together, endure eight columns with no free space until the stock runs dry, then weave one card free to escape the squeeze.

Miss Milligan Solitaire is one of the classic two-deck patiences, a Victorian parlor favorite that has kept its following for well over a century. Its curious name has never been tied to a real person, yet its reputation as a stern, elegant test of patience has never faded. Two full decks are shuffled together, eight columns are laid out, and the entire 104-card pack is fed onto the table one row at a time.

The game's signature is the "weaving" reserve. For most of the deal you have no free space - every turn of the stock drops a card on all eight columns at once, so a long alternating-color sequence can quickly become buried. Only when the stock is finally exhausted does a single reserve pocket open, and this is where the game earns its name: you lift one card or one ordered run out of the tableau, weave it aside, then thread it back once the column beneath has cleared. The pocket holds just one group at a time, so each use is a small puzzle.

Success depends on planning the endgame early. Kings are precious - only a King, or a King-headed sequence, can move into an empty column - so freeing a column and parking a King there gives you room to maneuver. Keep the colors alternating, send Aces to the foundations as they surface, and hold the reserve until the card you weave out has somewhere useful to land.

If you enjoy the two-deck Milligan family, try Milligan Cell Solitaire, Milligan Harp Solitaire, or the classic Forty Thieves Solitaire.

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

Enjoy playing!

How to play Miss Milligan Solitaire

Layout:

8 foundation piles: Build up from Ace to King in the same suit.

8 tableau piles: Alternate-color build down. Ordered groups may be moved together, and an empty column can be filled only by a King or a King-headed sequence. Each column starts with one card face-up.

Stock: Click to deal one card onto every column at once. There is a single pass, no redeal.

Weaving reserve: A single slot that opens after the stock runs out, holding one card or run at a time.

Foundation:

There are eight foundation piles - two for each suit across the two decks.

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 the 5 of clubs is the 6 of clubs. The top card of a foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.

Tableau:

A card can be added to a column only if it's one rank lower and the opposite color of the current top card, so the cards that fit on the J of spades are the 10 of hearts or the 10 of diamonds. Any group already in order down by alternating color moves as a unit. An empty column is valuable and takes only a King, or a King-headed sequence.

Stock:

The stock is every card not dealt to the tableau. Each turn deals a card to the top of all eight columns at once. You get a single pass, with no redeal, so the table fills quickly and space soon runs tight.

Weaving reserve:

While the stock still holds cards, there is no free space. Once it is exhausted, a single reserve slot opens. You may lift one card, or one run down by alternating color, into it to unblock a column, then play it back onto the tableau or foundations when it fits. The reserve holds one group at a time and must be emptied before it can be reused.