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Limited is a challenging double-deck Napoleon family patience with twelve tableau columns and strict same-suit building. All 36 tableau cards are dealt face-up, giving you full information from the start, but the same-suit rule and single-card movement make every sequence a deliberate puzzle. Win rate is around 25%.
What is Limited Solitaire?
Limited Solitaire is a two-deck patience game in the Napoleon at St Helena family. Twelve tableau columns are dealt three cards each, all face-up, for a total of 36 cards in play at the start. The remaining 68 cards form the stock. Tableau columns build down in the same suit only. Only one card at a time may be moved; sequences cannot be moved as a unit. Eight foundations (four per deck) must be built from Ace up to King in suit. One card is drawn at a time from the stock with no redeal.
Limited Solitaire layout explained
The twelve-column tableau is wider than the standard ten-column Forty Thieves, giving more initial spread but shallower columns of only three cards. Because all cards are face-up from the start, the positional puzzle is immediately visible: you can identify which cards block which others and plan your sequence of moves before touching a card. The name "Limited" reflects the tight same-suit constraint on tableau building.
How to play Limited Solitaire
Limited Solitaire rules and objective
Move all 104 cards to the eight foundation piles, each built from Ace to King in a single suit. A card may be placed on a tableau column only if it is one rank lower and of the same suit as the current top card. Only one card at a time may be moved. Empty columns accept any single card. Draw one card at a time from the stock to the waste; no redeals.
Game setup
- Shuffle two standard 52-card decks together (104 cards total).
- Deal three rows of twelve cards, all face-up, into twelve columns.
- Reserve space above for eight foundation slots.
- Place the remaining 68 cards face-down as the stock.
Strategies to win Limited Solitaire
- Plan suit chains before moving. Because only same-suit cards can stack, identify which cards of a given suit are blocking each other and plan the minimum number of moves needed to clear the path.
- Prioritise Aces and 2s visible in the tableau. Getting foundations started early lets you move cards off the tableau and reduce crowding before drawing from the stock.
- Treat empty columns as suit staging areas. A free column is most valuable when used to hold one card of a specific suit while you rebuild a sequence in the correct order.
- Draw the stock at the right moment. With 68 stock cards and no redeal, each draw is permanent. Draw only when the tableau offers no productive moves and the top waste card is not useful.
- Balance all eight foundations. Rushing a single suit to King while others lag forces the remaining cards into columns where they have no legal moves.
Limited vs similar double-deck Napoleon games
| Game | Columns | Build rule | Cards visible | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forty Thieves | 10 × 4 | Same suit | All face-up | ~15% |
| Limited | 12 × 3 | Same suit | All face-up | ~25% |
| Lucas | 13 × 3 | Same suit | All face-up | ~30% |
| Colonel | 12 × 3 | Same suit | All face-up | ~20% |
Limited Solitaire FAQ
Why is it called Limited Solitaire?
The name reflects the limited building options on the tableau: only cards of the exact same suit can be stacked. This makes every tableau move a deliberate placement rather than a flexible packing choice, and it limits how quickly you can reorganise the layout compared to alternating-colour variants like Streets or Number Ten.
How does Limited differ from Forty Thieves?
Both use the same same-suit building rule and single-card movement. The main differences are the number of columns (12 vs 10) and the number of tableau rows (3 vs 4). Limited's shallower columns spread cards more widely, giving slightly more opening moves. The larger stock in Limited (68 cards vs 64 cards) provides marginally more draws.
Can you move sequences in Limited Solitaire?
No. Only one card at a time may be moved in Limited Solitaire, just as in the classic Forty Thieves. If you want to relocate a same-suit sequence, you must move each card individually, which requires careful planning and use of empty columns as temporary staging areas.
Is Limited Solitaire winnable from every deal?
No. Deals where Aces are buried deep under cards of the same suit, or where the stock runs out before critical cards appear, can be unwinnable even with perfect play. The roughly 25% win rate reflects that about one in four deals is solvable with careful strategy; the same-suit constraint means bad layouts are hard to rescue.