Double Solitaire

My family calls it double solitaire, but I have also heard it called Nerts.... so whatever floats your boat!  This is a wonderful game!  My grandmother taught me how to play it way back when, and now my mom and I have tournaments all of the time.  We play cut-throat, and the boys get really mad when we play.  I think the fastest win was less than three minutes for me (and I totally whipped my mom's butt).  One of the best parts of this game is that you can pick it up anytime, so there is no need to make a huge production of it!  The rules are a little interesting, but oh how it is fun to play.  So here is what you need to play:

1 Deck of Cards per Player - Also have to have a different back design - (up to as many people as who can fit around a table)
Pen and Paper to Keep Score
Your Game Face

Rules:
Each player deals a pile of thirteen cards in one pile, twelve cards face down and the thirteenth face up on top. Next to this pile, each player deals four cards face-up, side by side and not overlapping, to begin four work piles. The remainder of each player's cards are held face-down as a stock; these cards will be turned three at a time onto a face up stack, forming the player's waste pile.

Players play simultaneously as fast as they like, not taking turns, moving cards around their own area according to the rules given below, and where possible building on the foundations in the common area. The players' main objective is to eliminate their pile of 13, by playing cards from them onto their work piles or onto foundations. A player whose pile of 13 is exhausted yells "Nerts" or "Out", at which point the game immediately ends.

Players are only allowed to use one hand at a time to move cards, but may hold their stock in their other hand. Only one card at a time may be moved, except when moving a block of cards from one work pile to another. You can only move cards within your own area and into the common area. You cannot touch another player's area or take cards out of the common area.

If two or more players try to play to the same foundation at the same time, the first played card (generally the one which ends up lowest in the heap) stays there, and all other players must return the equivalent cards they had just tried to play on that same foundation pile to their previous positions. If there is a tie which cannot be resolved, both cards stay.

A player's four work piles begin with one card each. Work piles are built in descending order, alternating color, overlapping the cards. You can move any card in one of your work piles onto another of your own work piles if it fits, and any cards on top of the card are moved go with it. When a space results, it may be filled by a card from your pile of 13, your waste pile or another work pile. The exposed cards of each of the four work piles (i.e. the lowest ranked cards of each pile) are available to be played onto the foundations.

Cards from the top of your pile of 13 can be played onto empty spaces in your work piles. If they fit, they can also be played onto one of your existing work piles, or they can be played directly onto a foundation. When you have played the top card of your pile of 13 you can turn the next card of the pile face up.

Foundations piles are built in the common area. They are always begun with an ace, and can be built up by playing the next higher card of the same suit (for example the nine of spades on the eight of spades) until the king is reached. Players can always start new foundation piles by placing any available ace in the common area. Other available cards can be played onto an existing foundation where they fit, provided that another player doesn't get there before you. Any player may play onto any foundation.

You can turn over cards from your stock three at a time and put them face-up onto your waste pile (the waste pile has no cards at the start of play). Be sure to keep the cards in the same order when you do so. The top card of your waste pile may be played to one of your work piles or to a foundation pile if it fits. If there are only one or two cards left in the stock, place them on the waste pile, and then turn the waste pile over to start a new stock; do not pick up the waste pile and place it underneath so that you can deal three cards.

If it happens that all players are stuck (no further legal moves), or no one wishes to play any more cards, then everyone picks up their waste pile to re-form their stock, and then puts the top card of the stock on the bottom. (This happens frequently in a two-player game and rarely with more players.) If you get stuck but others can still play, you have to wait for everyone else to get stuck (or decide they do not want to make any more moves) before you are allowed to transfer your top stock card to the bottom.

When someone calls "Nerts!" play ends and scoring takes place. Each player scores one point for each of their own cards that they managed to play into the common area. To determine this, the foundation piles have to be sorted out according to the owners of the cards - this is why it is necessary that the decks have different backs. All players except the one count the number of cards left in their pile of 13 and remove that same number from their number from the foundation cards.



So it sounds a bit confusing, but once you get it, the game is quite simple.  I hope you play with your family!!
Alexandra