Make each move reveal a hidden card.
Two decks supply ten tableau columns of four cards each. Only the top card of each column starts face up; 64 cards remain in the stock. Build down in alternating colors, move valid face-up runs together, and send cards to eight suit foundations from Ace through King.
Last updated: September 2026
Prefer moves that turn a card
A move from a column with a face-down card immediately beneath its exposed top reveals new information. Compare those moves before rearranging already visible runs. If a red Six covers a hidden card and a black Seven is exposed elsewhere, moving the Six reveals that card; moving a run from a fully exposed column may reveal nothing.
Long alternating-color sequences can travel together when every card in the moved suffix is face up and correctly ordered. Check what the move uncovers at its source and which tableau top it blocks at its destination.
Use empty columns for Kings
Only a King, or a legal run led by a King, can fill an empty column. Before clearing one, look for a King that can be moved into it to expose more hidden cards. An exposed Queen cannot use that space as temporary parking.
Two copies of each rank and suit are in play. A foundation move is most useful when it reveals a hidden card or clears a column for a King; moving a low card to the foundation without opening access may be less urgent.
Inspect the waste before drawing again
The stock turns one card at a time onto the waste and has no recycle. Each draw covers the previous waste top. Before drawing, check whether the exposed waste card advances a foundation, extends a tableau run, or helps uncover a face-down card.
Unlike Napoleon at St Helena, Emperor begins mostly hidden and permits alternating-color group moves. Its first priority is information and access, followed by the familiar one-pass stock discipline.