Rouge et Noir

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Rouge et Noir may refer to a gambling game of chance with cards, so called because it is played on a table marked with two red and two black diamond-shaped spots, and arranged alternately in four different sections of the table.

Rouge et Noir (i. e. red and black) is a solitaire card game which is played using two decks of playing cards. Invented by Charles Jewell, it is one unique game where two types of building are done in the same game. It should not be confused with the similarly named Red and Black, although the latter can also be known under this name.

In this game, there are ten columns. The first column contains eight cards, the second column contains seven cards, the third contains six and so on until the eighth and ninth columns each contain one card. The ten column is left empty at the start of the game. All cards in each column except for the top card are faced down.

The object of the game is to release two red aces and two black aces (regardless of suit) to become foundations and built each of them up by color to kings, while at the same time built four columns of cards in the tableau, each starting with a King and built down by alternating color.

All exposed cards are available for play to be built either on the foundations or in the tableau. Building in the tableau is down by alternating color. Sequences can be moved in part or in whole and any empty column can be filled only by a King or a sequence that begins with a King.

When there are no more moves to be played, one card is placed onto each column from the stock; afterwards, play proceeds as normal. This cycle continues until the entire stock has run out.

When a sequence that starts with a King, ends with an Ace, and is built down in alternating colors is formed, it may be discarded at the player's discretion.

The game ends when soon after the stock has run out. The game is won when 52 cards are built onto the four foundations while four King sequences are discarded.

In winning such a game, the player must decide which cards should be built one at a time into the four foundations and which must be built into King-foundations which should be discarded later. As a suggestion, the player should do neither to help cleaning up a column later. It also helps when the player should not touch a completed column of thirteen cards to aid in splitting and reach the faced down cards. It is also good to focus on releasing the face down cards on the leftmost columns, especially the first three ones.