Octave (solitaire)

Octave is a solitaire card game which is played with two decks of playing cards. It is unusual because the player attempts to fulfill two objectives at the same time: to build the eight foundations to the tens, and to form under each foundation a column of a king, a queen, and a jack in alternating colors.

First, eight overlapping columns of three cards are dealt. The bottom two cards of each column are dealt face down while the top card is placed face up. This is the tableau.

When the aces turn up, they are placed on the foundations, each built up by suit to tens. Placing the aces is a bit unusual because they should be placed in a row in alternating colors. So if a black ace appears, a red ace should be the one to be placed beside it.

The top cards in the tableau are available to build on the foundations or on each other. Tableau cards are built down by alternating colors. Spaces in the tableau can be filled with any available card, but the player must keep in mind as possible the second objective of forming columns each composed of a king, a queen, and a jack in alternating colors.

When there are no more moves on the tableau alone, the stock is then dealt one at a time onto a wastepile, the top card of which is available on the foundations or on the tableau.

When the stock runs out, the wastepile is picked up and turned over to become the new stock. Then eight new cards are dealt in a row below the tableau. They act as the reserve and any card from this new reserve is played onto the foundations or the tableau. Spaces in the reserve are immediately replaced with cards from the stock.

If the game comes to a standstill when the reserve is full, according to Card Games Made Easy by Arnold Marks and Jacqueline Harrod, the player can still continue the game by looking at the next card of the stock and look if it is playable. However, if this does not help, the game ends.

The game is won when all spot cards are played to the foundations, while the face cards are placed in columns under the foundations.

Since there are two objectives in the game, again according to Card Games Made Easy by Arnold Marks and Jacqueline Harrod, the player is advised to open up spaces as soon as possible and put kings on them if advantageous to the game while building on the foundations. The player is also advised not to build on a king until a space is open for the king to occupy.

See also

solitaire terminology