Play San Juan Hill Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Ten tableau piles called the Rough Riders storm eight foundations that start with all the Aces already in place. Still a real fight: about 25% of games are won.

San Juan Hill Solitaire is Forty Thieves with a head start: all eight aces are already sitting on the foundations when the first card is turned. The game takes its name from the famous battle of the Spanish-American War, fought outside Santiago de Cuba in July 1898, and it wears the theme proudly — the ten tableau piles are known as the Rough Riders, after Theodore Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry, and the eight foundations are the hill they're charging. This is a difficult game: roughly 25% of your attempts will end in a win. It's played with two decks, and your odds of victory come down mostly to skill.

Starting with the aces already in place removes the most frustrating part of the parent game. Even so, the usual Forty Thieves discipline still applies: cards move one at a time, tableau building is strictly in suit, and you only get a single pass through the stock. Empty columns are the key to the battle — dig one out early and use it to ferry blocked cards, because once the stock runs dry there are no reinforcements.

Forty Thieves Solitaire is the parent game San Juan Hill borrows its rules from, and Maria Solitaire is another two-deck relative with the same one-card-at-a-time discipline. Lucas Solitaire takes the head start even further: its foundations also begin with aces already in place, though it deals from a single deck instead of two.

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

Enjoy playing!

How to play San Juan Hill Solitaire

Layout:

8 foundation piles: Build up from Ace to King in the same suit. Each pile is dealt an ace at the start of the game.

10 tableau piles: Build down in suit. Only one card can be moved at a time. Any card can be used to fill a space. At the start of the game, each pile is dealt four cards face-up.

Stock: Click to turn over 1 card at a time to the waste pile. There are no redeals.

Waste: The top card can be played on the foundations or tableau.

Foundation:

There are eight foundation piles.

Each foundation pile starts the game with an ace already in place.

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 a 5 of clubs is a 6 of clubs. There can be no more than 13 cards in a pile.

The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.

Tableau:

Ten tableau piles of four cards each, dealt face-up.

A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on a Q of hearts is a J of hearts.

Cards on the tableau that are not covered by another card are free to be played onto the foundation or any other tableau pile.

Any card can fill an empty slot in the tableau.

Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences are not permitted.

Stock and waste:

There is one waste pile, and the remaining 56 cards make up the stock.

When you click on the stock, one card is dealt to the waste pile. You only get one pass through the stock.

The top card of the waste pile can be played to the tableau or foundation.