Intermediate difficulty
Double Klondike
Klondike scaled up to two decks and nine tableau columns for a longer, more complex game.
Also published as Gargantua.
- Two-Deck Games
- Four-Suit Games
- Klondike Games
- Long Games
- Mobile-Friendly Games
- Tableau Builders
- Foundation-Building Games
| Decks | 2 decks |
|---|---|
| Suits | 4 |
| Typical length | 18 min |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| How much skill matters | High |
| How much the shuffle matters | Medium |
| Family | Klondike family |
There is no playable version of Double Klondike on this site yet — this page covers its rules and strategy. The game suits a touchscreen well, so it is a good candidate once a build exists.
About Double Klondike
Double Klondike — properly Gargantua — is Klondike at double scale: two decks, nine columns, eight foundations. It is also frequently confused with a completely different two-player game that shares the name, which is worth knowing if you go looking for rules.
The extra room changes the feel considerably. Partial piles move as units rather than one card at a time, eight Kings mean an emptied column can usually be filled, and there is simply more of everything to work with. Against that, the stock is dealt only twice, so the game rewards working the tableau hard before leaning on the draw. Longer than Klondike, and gentler.
How to play
Two decks dealt into nine columns in a triangle, top card of each face up. Eight foundations — two per suit — build up from Ace. Columns build down in alternating colours, and unlike single-deck Klondike you may move partial or whole piles rather than one card at a time. An emptied column takes only a King, or a pile with a King at its base. The stock is dealt twice in all, so you get one pass and one redeal, and whatever is left after that stays in the waste.
Strategy
Nine columns and eight foundations give far more room than Klondike, and being able to move partial piles rather than single cards is the change that matters most — long runs stay portable, so building them is safe. The constraint is the stock: two passes only, so cards you skip on the first pass had better be reachable on the second. Empty columns still require Kings, and with eight of them in two decks you will usually have one available, making cleared columns genuinely useful. Longer than Klondike and rather more forgiving.
What works
- Partial and whole piles move as units, unlike single-deck Klondike
- Eight Kings mean an emptied column can usually be filled
- More room to work than Klondike at every point
What to know
- The stock is dealt only twice
- Long — a two-deck game takes real time
- Frequently confused with the unrelated two-player Double Solitaire
Frequently asked questions
- How many decks does Double Klondike use?
- Double Klondike is played with two standard decks shuffled together.
- Is Double Klondike good for beginners?
- Double Klondike is generally better suited to players who already know the basics of solitaire, as it involves more planning than a typical beginner game.
- Is Double Klondike based more on luck or strategy?
- Double Klondike rewards careful planning — skilled play meaningfully improves your odds of winning.
Others in this family
- Easthaven
A Westcliff variant that deals a fresh row across every column when you stall, and admits only Kings to a space.
- Harp
A nine-column two-deck Klondike with three redeals, but only one card at a time unless a King leads the group.
- Klondike
The best-known solitaire game: build tableau columns down in alternating colors and move cards up to four suit foundations.
- Klondike (Draw Three)
The stricter Klondike variant: the stock deals three cards at a time, and only the top card is playable.
- Thumb and Pouch
A more forgiving Klondike where cards build down onto any suit except their own, and any card can fill a space.
- Westcliff
Three rows of seven and one pass through the stock, but any card at all may take an empty column.
- Whitehead
A Klondike variant dealt entirely face-up, where tableau sequences build by same color instead of alternating color.