Play Empress of Italy Solitaire

About Empress of Italy Solitaire

Screen shot of the game Empress of Italy from Pretty Good Solitaire.

Empress of Italy is a four deck Terrace type game that I invented.

How to Play

There are 16 foundation piles. These piles are built up in alternate color from the rank of the first card dealt to the first pile, wrapping from King to Ace as necessary, until each pile contains 13 cards. The game is won when all cards from all four decks are moved here.

There is a single reserve pile, spread out so you can see all of the cards. The top card is available for play on the foundations only. At the start of the game 19 cards are dealt here. There is no building on this pile.

Under the reserve pile are 11 tableau piles. These piles are built down by alternate color, wrapping from Ace to King if necessary. Only the top card of each pile may be moved. Spaces are filled automatically from the stock. At the start of the game 1 card is dealt face up to each pile.

The remainder of the cards form a stock. Clicking on the stock deals one card to each tableau pile. There are no redeals.

The average player wins Empress of Italy about 7% of the time, but much higher scores are possible. The key to winning, as in all Terrace type games, is to concentrate on getting the cards in the reserve pile out to the foundations.