Devil's Grip Solitaire

Big Card Solitaire

Each row builds by suit in steps of three: top row 2-5-8-J, middle row 3-6-9-Q, bottom row 4-7-10-K. Click a pile or the waste card, then click the pile it goes on (same suit, three lower). Click two piles in different rows to swap them when that brings a 2, 3 or 4 into its own row. Gaps refill from the stock. Click the stock to turn three cards. Get all 96 cards onto the grid.

On the grid: 24 of 96 · Left in stock and waste: 72

How to play Devil's Grip

Devil's Grip is a two-deck solitaire played with the aces taken out, so 96 cards. Twenty-four of them lie in a grid of three rows of eight, and you build on them by suit in steps of three: the top row goes 2, 5, 8, Jack; the middle row 3, 6, 9, Queen; the bottom row 4, 7, 10, King. Spaces you clear fill from the stock. You win by getting every card onto the grid, which is hard, so most games are scored by the cards left over.

The rules in short

  1. Two decks without aces: 96 cards. Twenty-four are dealt face up in three rows of eight; the other 72 make the stock. Each grid card starts its own pile.
  2. Put a card on a pile whose top card is the same suit and three lower: the 5 of spades goes on the 2 of spades, the Queen of hearts on the 9 of hearts. A complete pile has four cards, such as 2-5-8-J. Select the waste card or a pile, then select the pile it goes on. From a pile, the part that starts with the fitting card moves.
  3. A pile can be started in the wrong row, for example a 3 in the top row. To win, every pile has to sit in its own row: 2s on top, 3s in the middle, 4s at the bottom. Select two piles in different rows to swap them; a swap is allowed when at least one of the two piles lands in its own row. A thin green bar marks a pile that is home.
  4. When a pile leaves its spot, the spot fills at once with the top card of the stock, or the top waste card once the stock is used up. This is the only way new 2s, 3s and 4s reach the grid.
  5. Select the stock to turn three cards onto the waste; only the top waste card can be played. The stock is gone through once, with no redeal. The game ends when no useful move is left. Your score is the number of cards still in the stock and waste: lower is better, and 0 is a win.

Tips

Questions

How do you score Devil's Grip?

Count the cards left in the stock and the waste when no more moves are possible. The fewer the better. Traditional ratings, as given in the Bicycle rules, call 10 or fewer good, 5 or fewer excellent and 2 or fewer brilliant. The board shows your score at the end of every game.

Is Devil's Grip hard to win?

Very. With only one pass through the stock and only the top waste card playable, a clean sweep of all 96 cards is rare. When we let this board's own Hint play 500 deals by itself, it never won and usually ended with 28 to 47 cards left, so a score in the teens is already a good game. Some computer versions, such as PySol, let you go through the stock as often as you like; this board keeps the classic single pass so the score means something.

Can I move any card within the grid?

You can move the top part of a pile onto a matching card, and you can swap two piles between rows when the swap brings a 2, 3 or 4 into its own row. You can't put a card on a card of another suit, and you can't drop an ordinary card into an empty spot: an empty spot, which only appears once the stock and waste are used up, takes only the 2, 3 or 4 that starts its row.

How is Devil's Grip different from Golf or Canfield?

Golf and Canfield are one-deck games. In Golf you clear seven columns onto a waste pile one rank up or down, and Canfield builds foundations up from a starting rank. Devil's Grip uses two decks, has no foundations at all and builds everything on the grid itself, by suit in jumps of three. It belongs to the same family as Picture Gallery and Royal Parade.

Will the grid fit on my phone?

Yes. At the default size A the whole grid of 24 piles fits the width of a phone, with a large rank and suit at the top of every card. A+ to A+++ make the cards bigger; the board then scrolls sideways while the page stays put. Sound is off until you switch it on.