Hard difficulty
Odessa
Russian Solitaire dealt differently: seven piles of six, half of them face down, built strictly down in suit.
- One-Deck Games
- Four-Suit Games
- Hard Solitaire
- Yukon-Style Games
- Mobile-Friendly Games
- Tableau Builders
- Foundation-Building Games
| Decks | One deck |
|---|---|
| Suits | 4 |
| Typical length | 15 min |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| How much skill matters | High |
| How much the shuffle matters | Medium |
| Family | Yukon family |
There is no playable version of Odessa 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 Odessa
Odessa is Russian Solitaire dealt differently: seven even piles of six with three cards hidden in each, rather than the staircase with everything showing on the right. Building is the same — strictly down in suit — and so is the freedom to move a face-up card with everything piled on it.
The change matters more than it sounds. Hiding three cards in every pile removes the pure-planning quality of Russian Solitaire and replaces it with a slow excavation where every pile costs the same to open. It is the harder-feeling of the two, not because the rules are stricter but because you cannot see what you are working toward.
How to play
Seven piles of six, dealt three face down under three face up, with two extra face-up cards added to each of the five middle piles. Building is down in suit, as in Russian Solitaire, and groups move regardless of how disordered they are underneath so long as the bottom card of the group fits the destination. Foundations climb each suit from Ace, empty columns take only a King or a King-headed run, and there is no stock.
Strategy
Unlike Russian Solitaire this deal hides three cards in every pile, so there is genuine unknown information and the early game is about turning cards rather than pure planning. Work the piles with the fewest face-up cards over them. Suit-strict building plus no stock means the same discipline applies as in Russian Solitaire: relocate blocks freely, but know what you are digging for first. Because every pile starts the same depth, there is no obviously cheap column to open — which makes it a slower, more grinding game than its parent.
What works
- The group-move rule makes deep unblocking possible
- Even piles give a cleaner-looking layout than the staircase deal
- Suit-strict building keeps every decision meaningful
What to know
- Three face-down cards per pile mean real hidden information
- No stock, so a closed position is final
- No cheap column to open — every pile costs the same
Frequently asked questions
- How many decks does Odessa use?
- Odessa is played with a single standard deck.
- Is Odessa good for beginners?
- Odessa is generally better suited to players who already know the basics of solitaire, as it involves more planning than a typical beginner game.
- Is Odessa based more on luck or strategy?
- Odessa rewards careful planning — skilled play meaningfully improves your odds of winning.
Others in this family
- Russian Solitaire
A stricter Yukon variant where tableau sequences must build by suit instead of alternating color.
- Yukon
No stock at all, and any face-up card moves together with everything piled on top of it, however disordered.