Play Shady Lanes Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Shady Lanes deals four self-refilling reserve piles into a 104-card, two-deck spread, but you move only one card at a time and the stock never redeals.
Shady Lanes Solitaire is a two-deck patience that takes the reserve idea from Canfield and spreads it across a full 104-card deal. You build eight foundations up in suit and four tableau columns down in alternating color, but the real character of the game lives in the four small reserve piles that feed the table.
Those reserves are what set Shady Lanes apart. Each one holds a single card, and the moment you play it the slot refills on its own — first from the waste, and from the stock once the waste is empty. In effect you always have four fresh cards waiting beside the tableau, a steady supply that renews itself rather than a pile you slowly use up.
The help comes with strings attached. You may move only one card at a time, you get a single pass through the stock with no redeal, and an empty column can be filled only from a reserve. Winning means thinking several moves ahead, keeping your alternating-color runs flexible, and timing each reserve play so the refill hands you a card you can actually use. It is one of the tougher two-deck games, and a completed deal feels genuinely earned.
Similar games worth a try include Canfield Solitaire, the single-deck game whose reserve mechanic Shady Lanes expands, and its two-deck relative American Toad Solitaire. If you enjoy longer deals, Forty Thieves Solitaire is another two-deck favorite.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Shady Lanes Solitaire
Layout:
8 foundation piles: Build up from Ace to King in suit. With two decks, there are two foundations for each suit.
4 tableau piles: Built down in alternating color, one card at a time. Empty columns can be filled only from a reserve. Each pile starts with one card.
4 reserve piles: Each holds a single face-up card that refills automatically the moment you play it — first from the waste, then from the stock.
Stock: Click to turn one card at a time to the waste. There are no redeals.
Waste: The top card can be played on the foundations or the tableau.
Foundation:
There are eight foundation piles, two for each suit.
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 6 of clubs is the 7 of clubs.
The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.
Tableau:
Four tableau piles start with one card each, all dealt face-up.
A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and the opposite color of the pile's current top card, so the only cards that fit on the 8 of spades are the 7 of hearts and 7 of diamonds.
Uncovered cards are free to be played onto a foundation or another tableau pile. Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences cannot be shifted together. An empty column can be filled only by a card from a reserve pile.
Reserve:
There are four reserve piles, each holding a single face-up card.
The reserve's top card can be played to the tableau or a foundation. The instant a pile is emptied, it refills automatically — first from the waste, and from the stock once the waste is empty — so all four reserves stay supplied until both run out. No card can be placed into a reserve by hand.
Stock and waste:
The remaining cards form the stock, and turned cards go to the waste.
Click the stock to deal one card to the waste. You only get one pass through the stock, with no redeals.
The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or a foundation, and it is also the first card used to refill an empty reserve.
