New variant
A two-deck patience game played on a 4×4 tableau. Free each suit's Ace to start a foundation, then build it up from Ace to King and back down to Ace again. The top card of each tableau column is available to move — either to a foundation or onto another column by suit (up or down, direction locks after the first placement). Deal the stock one card at a time; the stock can only be used once.
Click a tableau top card to move it, or click the stock to deal a card.
British Square Solitaire is a suit-building patience game with a bidirectional foundation structure and a locked-direction tableau mechanic. Foundations build both upward (Ace to King) and downward (King back to Ace) for each suit, and the tableau columns commit to one direction — upward or downward — after the first card is placed. This locking rule means early tableau decisions have long-term consequences throughout the game.
A single 52-card deck is used. Four foundation pairs sit at the top — for each suit, one foundation builds Ace to King and one builds King back to Ace. The tableau consists of four columns (a square arrangement). The stock is dealt one card at a time.
A top tableau card can move to a foundation if it fits either direction for its suit. A stock card can be placed on any tableau column. The critical rule: the first card placed on a column determines whether that column builds upward or downward for all subsequent placements. A column cannot switch direction once committed. Empty columns can receive any card (resetting their direction for the next placement).
Direction locking is British Square’s defining challenge. Once you place a 7 on a column that already has a 6 (making it an upward-building column with sequence 6–7), that column can only receive 8, 9, 10, and so on. It cannot accept a 5, even if a 5 would be useful there.
This means the choice of which card to place on each column — especially early — creates a permanent commitment. Placing a high-rank card on a column commits it to descending needs. Placing a low-rank card commits it to ascending needs. With only four columns, having two committed upward and two committed downward is the natural balance to aim for.
Like Tournament and Crescent, British Square requires tracking both foundation directions per suit. A card of rank 7 in hearts may be immediately playable to the ascending hearts foundation (currently at 6) or to the descending hearts foundation (currently at 8). Missing either opportunity slows the game.
The four-column tableau means foundation flow depends heavily on column direction choices. A well-directed set of columns — two ascending, two descending — supports foundation plays in both directions with minimal waste.