Play Quadrennial Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Sixteen aces anchor sixteen foundations in this four-deck edition of Acquaintance, and three passes through the deck bring home all 208 cards.
Quadrennial Solitaire is the four-deck edition of Acquaintance, one of the old aces-in-the-corner families of patience. Sixteen aces start out on sixteen foundations, and your job is to build each of them up in any suit — wrapping past the King back to the Ace — until all 208 cards are home. It is, in effect, Leap Year with two redeals added.
The whole draw is dealt across eight reserve rows rather than kept in a single stock: each tap of the deck lays one card onto every reserve pile. Only the top card of each reserve row is live, and it can travel only to a foundation, never onto another reserve. That single restriction is what makes the game a genuine puzzle — cards you need get pinned under cards you don't.
The two extra redeals are Quadrennial's saving grace. When play stalls, the reserve rows are gathered back into the deck in order and dealt out again, giving buried cards a fresh chance to surface. You get three passes in all, so pacing those redeals well is the heart of the strategy.
If you like Quadrennial, try Acquaintance Solitaire or the leaner single-deck Leap Year 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 Quadrennial Solitaire
Layout:
16 foundation piles: Each begins with an Ace. Build up in any suit, wrapping from King back to Ace, until every foundation is complete.
8 reserve piles: One card is dealt to each at the start, face-up. Only the top card of each is available, and it may go only to a foundation.
Stock: Each tap deals one card face-up onto every reserve pile. Three passes through the deck are allowed in total.
Foundation:
There are sixteen foundation piles, and each opens with an Ace already in place.
A card can be added to a foundation only if it's one rank higher than the pile's current top card, of any suit. The sequence wraps around, so a King may be followed by an Ace and the build continues upward from there. Because suit does not matter, any available card of the right rank will do.
The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.
Reserve:
There are eight reserve piles, each dealt a single face-up card at the start. Every tap of the stock adds one more card to each pile.
Only the top card of a reserve pile is in play, and it may be moved only onto a foundation — never onto another reserve pile. Empty reserve piles are not refilled by a tap; they simply stay open until the next full deal.
Stock and waste:
The undealt cards form the stock, and there is no separate waste — the deal goes straight onto the reserve rows.
When you tap the stock, one card is dealt face-up to each of the eight reserve piles. When the stock runs out you may redeal: the reserve piles are collected back into the stock in order, without shuffling, and dealt again. You get three passes in all — the opening deal plus two redeals.
