King's Audience

King's Audience (also known as Queen's Audience) is a solitaire card game which uses a deck of 52 playing cards. It is so named because the King and Queen of each suit seem to watch the action.

First, sixteen cards are dealt to form a square. These compose the reserve, or "antechamber." On the other hand, the space inside the square is called the "audience chamber." This is where twelve cards are to be placed later. All cards in the antechamber are available for play.

After the cards are dealt, the King and Queen of each suit, whenever both are available, are placed inside inside the audience chamber, never to take part in the rest of the game. Also, the Jack and the Ace of each suit, whenever they become available at the same time, are placed inside the audience chamber with the Jack on top; these two become the foundation, to be built down by suit to deuces (twos).

There is no building among the cards in the antechamber; they are only available for play to the foundations. When a card leaves the antechamber, it is replaced with a card from the wastepile or, if there is none, the stock.

When play goes on a standstill, cards from the stock are dealt one a time to a wastepile, the top card of which is available for play. The stock can only be dealt once.

The game is won when all cards end up in the audience chamber.

"See also: solitaire terminology"