Play Isabel Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Pair matching ranks across thirteen face-up columns to clear all 52 cards, suit doesn't matter here.

Isabel Solitaire is a pure pair-matching patience: the entire deck is dealt into thirteen short columns, and your job is to clear the table by removing cards two at a time whenever they share the same rank. Two 8s, two Jacks, two Queens — suit does not matter, only the number on the card. Each pair you take goes off to the discard, and the deal is won when all fifty-two cards have paired away.

The layout is a tidy 13-by-4 grid. Every one of the four cards in a column is dealt face-up, but only the card at the foot of each column is free to be paired; take it and the card behind it becomes available in turn. Because a single deck holds exactly four of every rank, each rank forms two pairs, and the puzzle is deciding which of the two possible partners to use so that you do not accidentally trap a card you will need later.

To make this a more thoughtful game than the classic AisleRiot version, we deal all of the cards face-up. That small change turns Isabel from a game of blind luck into one of genuine planning: with everything on view, you can trace where each rank's four cards lie and work out an order of removals that keeps the columns unlocking. Empty columns are not refilled, so opening one up is often the key to reaching a card buried deep in a neighbor.

If you enjoy Isabel, you should play original Solitaire, a classic solitaire card game. Fans of matching cards away in pairs should also try Nestor Solitaire and the breezy Simple Pairs 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 Isabel Solitaire

Layout:

4 foundation piles: Removed pairs are collected here. The game is won when all 52 cards have been paired off.

13 tableau piles: Each column holds four face-up cards, and only the exposed card of each column is playable. Remove any two exposed cards of the same rank as a pair, regardless of suit.

Foundation:

There are four foundation piles that act as the discard area; every pair you remove is sent there automatically.

Cards cannot be taken back once they have been placed, and the game is won when all fifty-two cards have reached the foundations.

Tableau:

Thirteen tableau piles of four cards each, all dealt face-up so every card shows.

No building is permitted on the tableau.

Any two exposed cards of the same rank may be removed together, regardless of suit — so an 8 of spades may be paired with the 8 of hearts, the 8 of diamonds, or the 8 of clubs. Only the card at the foot of a column is available; the card behind it is freed once the pair in front is gone.

The tableau's empty spaces may not be filled once a column is cleared.