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How to Play Lady Jane Solitaire
What Is Lady Jane Solitaire?
Lady Jane is a two-deck solitaire with one liberating twist: on the tableau, suit and colour do not matter at all. A run only has to go down in rank — a black 9 takes any 8, red or black, spades or hearts. All 55 tableau cards are dealt face up, so nothing is hidden and every problem in the deal is visible from your first move. What holds you back instead is the stock: it turns three cards at a time into a waste pile, only the top one is playable, and you get just two passes through it. Your goal is to bring all 104 cards onto the eight foundations, each running from Ace to King in a single suit.
The Layout
Two standard decks are shuffled together into one 104-card pack and dealt into four areas:
- The tableau. Ten columns in a staircase: 1 card in the first, 2 in the second, and so on up to 10 in the tenth — 55 cards in all, every one face up.
- The stock. The remaining 49 cards, face down in the corner.
- The waste. Cards turned from the stock land here three at a time, face up. Only the top card is available to play.
- The foundations. Eight piles, two for each suit. Each starts with an Ace and builds up in strict suit order to the King — so you will complete two full piles in every suit.
How to Move Cards
- To a foundation, when the card is the next rank that pile needs, in the same suit. This is the one place suit still matters: the Ace of hearts, then the 2 of hearts, and so on. With two foundations per suit, either can take a card — whichever has reached the rank below.
- Onto a tableau column, when the card is exactly one rank lower — regardless of suit or colour. A red Queen goes on any King; a black 4 goes on any 5.
- As a group, when the cards already run down in rank with no gaps. Because suit is irrelevant, a run like 9, 8, 7 in three different suits still moves as a single unit — far easier to assemble than in Klondike.
- Into an empty column, and here too the game is generous: any card or valid run may fill a gap, not just a King.
The Stock: Two Passes, Three at a Time
Clicking the stock turns three cards onto the waste; only the top one can be played. When the stock empties, click the empty space once to gather the waste back up and go through it a second time. After that second pass the stock is finished — there is no third pass.
- Turn three. Two of every three cards are momentarily out of reach, so reaching a specific stock card takes planning.
- Two passes only. With 49 cards in the stock you get roughly 17 clicks per pass. Waste them and the deal is over.
- Play the waste down. Every card you clear off the waste changes which cards sit on top after the recycle, so emptying the waste is itself a tool.
How to Win
You win when all 104 cards have reached the eight foundations. Lady Jane is friendlier than most two-deck games on the tableau — suit-free building and any-card gaps make the middle of the board very fluid — but the two-pass stock keeps it honest.
Playing on This Site
Drag and drop any card or valid run, or double-click (double-tap on touch) a card to send it to a foundation when it fits. The buttons above the table give you a New deal, Undo, Redo, a Hint when you are stuck, and Auto-finish to sweep the last cards home. Undo is unlimited — useful here, since with everything face up you can genuinely plan and re-plan. Every deal has a seed number, so you can replay a layout or share it with a friend.
Lady Jane Solitaire
Suit-Free Runs Are a Tool, Not a Free Pass
Building down regardless of suit means almost any card fits somewhere. That is powerful, and it is also the trap: it is easy to stack cards into a tidy-looking column you can never take apart.
- Before you drop a card, ask where it comes out again. A long suit-free run is easy to build and hard to unload, because the foundations still need cards one suit at a time.
- Prefer moves that free a card a foundation actually wants next over moves that merely look neat.
- Keep at least one column shallow. A short column is where you unpick a run when you need a buried card.
Budget Your Two Passes
The stock is the real opponent: 49 cards, three at a time, two passes, no more.
- Do not click the stock just to see something new. Click it when the board can actually use what comes up.
- Play cards off the waste whenever you sensibly can — that shifts the grouping for the second pass and can bring a buried card to the top.
- Before starting the second pass, look at the board and decide what you still need. That pass is your last one.
Any Card Fills a Gap — Use It Deliberately
Empty columns accept anything, which makes them the most flexible space on the table.
- An empty column plus the waste is a powerful combination: you can park an awkward waste card instead of losing it.
- Do not fill a gap with the first card that comes along. A held-open column is worth more than a column with one random card in it.
- The short left-hand columns are the cheapest to clear early — do it before they grow.
Do Not Rush the Foundations
With two of every card you have room to be relaxed, but not careless.
- Aces and 2s go up on sight. From the middle ranks, check first whether a card is holding a run together.
- Because there are two of every card, you can often send one copy up while its twin keeps working on the tableau.
- Keep the eight foundations climbing at a similar pace; letting one suit sprint ahead tends to strand cards you needed as builders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does suit matter in Lady Jane?
On the tableau, no. Runs only need to descend in rank — a black 9 accepts any 8, of any suit or colour. Suit matters only on the foundations, which build up strictly within one suit from Ace to King.
How many decks does Lady Jane use?
Two, so 104 cards and eight foundation piles — two for each suit. Every suit is completed twice.
How is the tableau dealt?
Ten columns in a staircase: 1 card in the first, 2 in the second, up to 10 in the tenth, for 55 cards. Every one of them is dealt face up, so there is nothing hidden anywhere on the table.
How does the stock work?
It holds the remaining 49 cards and turns three at a time onto a waste pile, with only the top card playable. It does not deal onto the tableau.
How many times can I go through the stock?
Twice. After the first pass you may recycle the waste once and go through again; once that second pass ends, the stock is finished for good.
What can I place in an empty tableau column?
Any card, or any valid descending run. Gaps are not restricted to Kings, which makes an empty column one of the most useful resources in the game.
Can I move several cards at once?
Yes, as long as they already run down in rank with no gaps. Since suit is irrelevant, a run of 9, 8, 7 in three different suits moves together as one unit.
Do the foundations wrap from King back to Ace?
No. Each foundation runs Ace up to King and stops there. Thirteen cards per pile, eight piles, 104 cards in total.
Is Lady Jane hard?
The tableau is unusually forgiving — suit-free building and any-card gaps mean you can nearly always find a move. The difficulty lives in the stock: three cards at a time and only two passes, so cards you skip may not come back.
Is Lady Jane free to play?
Yes, completely free. Nothing to download and no account or sign-up needed. Open the page and the cards are dealt.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. The game runs in the browser on phones and tablets as well as desktop. With ten columns and two decks, a tablet or a phone held sideways gives the most comfortable view.
What is a seed?
A seed is the number identifying one particular shuffle of the 104 cards. Every deal has its own seed, so you can replay a deal, study it, or share the seed with a friend and play the identical layout.