# How to Play Miss Milligan Solitaire

According to [_101 Great Card Games_](https://www.amazon.com/great-card-games-David-Galt/dp/0785334807) by David Galt, Miss Milligan is one of the most popular two-deck Solitaire games.

### Objective

The goal is to move all 104 cards from the stock pile and tableau into 8 foundation piles by suit in ascending order.

### The Setup and Play Area

**Tableau piles:** This is the area with 8 piles with 1 face-up card in each to start the game.

**Stock pile:** The remaining cards, or a total of 96 cards, are face-down in the stock pile. You can only go through the stock pile once.

**Waste pile:** Cards are drawn from the stock pile 8 at a time, with one card going into each tableau column.

**Foundation piles:** These are the 8 piles at the top of the game where cards are placed by suit in ascending order from Ace to King. There are 2 foundation piles for each suit. You win when this has been successfully done.

![Miss Milligan Solitaire setup](https://defbnszqe1hwm.cloudfront.net/images/Miss-Milligan-Solitaire-setup.png) 

### Available moves

* Only Aces can start in the foundation, and subsequent cards must be in ascending order by suit. For example, a 2 of Hearts can be played on an Ace of Clubs.
* The last card of the tableau column can be moved to the foundation.
* The last card in the tableau column can be placed on top of a card of the opposite color that is one rank higher. A 4 of Hearts, for example, can be moved on top of a 5 of Clubs.
* You can move multiple cards at one time. To move a group of cards, they must be sequenced in descending order, alternating by color, and the top card of that group must be placed on top of a playable card of the opposite color and one rank higher.
* You can place a King in an empty tableau column.
* You win when all cards are placed in the 8 foundations.

## Strategy

* Move Kings to empty tableau columns. Kings cannot be placed on top of other cards. This means at some point, you'll need to move a King to an empty column to win.
* Immediately move Aces to the foundation.
* The first visible sequence may not always be the best one. Plan out your moves to remove as many cards as possible from the tableau.
* Try to build the foundations evenly. If one foundation is built immediately in the game, you now have fewer cards to help you sequence.
* Drawing from the tableau can block cards. Try to sequence as many cards as possible beforehand.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the probability of winning Miss Milligan?

The game is challenging with a low win rate. We looked at 2,765 random games played. Of those, 71 were won, or 2.57%.

### What are other popular Solitaire games?

Be sure to check out these Solitaire games: 

* [Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/)
* [Mahjong](https://solitaired.com/mahjong)
* [Spider Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/spider-solitaire)
* [FreeCell Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/freecell)
* [Yukon Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/yukon-solitaire)
* [TriPeaks Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/tripeaks-solitaire)
* [Pyramid Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/pyramid-solitaire)
* [Golf Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/golf)