Play Midshipman Solitaire Online for Free
Midshipman is a double-deck Napoleon family patience that combines the unusual any-suit-except-own building rule with two face-down rows per column. Nine columns of four cards each give an intermediate layout, and the partial hidden information adds an exploratory element absent from fully face-up variants. Win rate is around 45%.
What is Midshipman Solitaire?
Midshipman Solitaire uses two standard decks (104 cards). Nine tableau columns are dealt four cards each: the bottom two cards are face-down and the top two cards are face-up, giving 36 tableau cards total and leaving 68 in the stock. Tableau columns build down in any suit except the suit of the card being covered. Only one card at a time may be moved. 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; no redeals.
Midshipman Solitaire layout explained
Two face-down cards at the base of each column create a layer of hidden information similar to Deauville or Rank and File, but shallower. Flipping each face-down card reveals a new card and potentially opens the path to the base card beneath it. The any-suit-except-own building rule provides more placement choices than same-suit building (like Forty Thieves) but fewer than alternating-colour building (like Streets), placing Midshipman at an intermediate difficulty within the Napoleon family.
How to play Midshipman Solitaire
Midshipman 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 if it is one rank lower and of any suit other than the current top card's suit. Only one card at a time may be moved. Face-down cards flip automatically when the face-up card above them is removed. Empty columns accept any single card. Draw one card at a time from the stock; no redeals.
Game setup
- Shuffle two standard 52-card decks together (104 cards total).
- Deal two face-down cards to each of nine columns.
- Deal two face-up cards on top of each pair, giving nine columns of four.
- Reserve space above for eight foundation slots.
- Place the remaining 68 cards face-down as the stock.
Strategies to win Midshipman Solitaire
- Flip face-down cards as a priority. Each flip reveals a new card and expands your options. Columns where the top face-up card can be moved immediately are the most efficient sources of information.
- Exploit the "any suit except own" rule creatively. Unlike alternating-colour games, two red cards of different suits can stack on each other. This enables sequences that would be illegal in standard games - use this flexibility to clear columns faster.
- Clear columns before the stock runs out. With two hidden cards per column and 68 stock cards, the game can progress to a dead end if you rely too heavily on the stock before flipping all face-down cards.
- Avoid filling empty columns carelessly. An empty column is a valuable staging area for reorganising other columns. Filling it with a card that cannot be immediately useful wastes this resource.
- Track suit distribution. Because the building rule excludes same-suit cards, keeping mental track of which suits are present in each column helps you predict which draws from the stock will be most useful.
Midshipman vs similar double-deck Napoleon games
Midshipman Solitaire FAQ
What makes Midshipman different from Indian Solitaire?
Both games use the any-suit-except-own building rule, but Indian has ten columns of three with one face-down card per column, while Midshipman has nine columns of four with two face-down cards per column. Midshipman's deeper columns and extra hidden layer create more of an exploration element; Indian's wider layout provides more initial tableau flexibility. Midshipman wins slightly more often due to the richer opening information once the first face-down cards are flipped.
Why is it called Midshipman Solitaire?
Like many named patience games, the origin of the name is uncertain. The naval rank "midshipman" denotes a trainee officer, suggesting a game of intermediate difficulty within the Napoleon family - not as rigidly strict as Forty Thieves (the admiral) but not as freely flexible as alternating-colour variants (the ratings). The name appears in 19th and early 20th-century patience collections.
Can you move sequences in Midshipman Solitaire?
No. Only one card at a time may be moved, as in all Napoleon family patience games without an explicit sequence-movement rule. While the any-suit-except-own rule builds longer valid sequences than same-suit games, each card in the sequence must still be moved individually, making careful planning essential.
What is the win rate for Midshipman Solitaire?
Midshipman wins approximately 45% of deals with careful play. The combination of the flexible building rule, the moderate hidden-information element, and the 68-card stock makes it one of the more approachable double-deck Napoleon variants. The main sources of loss are Aces buried under both face-down cards in their column with no alternative route, or a stock that runs out before critical hidden cards are revealed.