the 411 on double solitaire.

ignore the reflections on the table. and if you have any questions PLEASE ask. i suck at directions! ;)

so you will need two decks of cards. each deck needs to have different backings. this has to do with scoring which i will explain a wee bit later.
the above picture shows what your set up should look like.
first, each side will deal out four stacks. regular solitaire has seven. after you have your four stacks, count thirteen cards off of the top of the pile left in your hand and flip the top card face up. you will then have a left over pile of cards. these piles can be seen in the picture above.
now, you will play just like a regular game, except the aces are community property. anyone can play off of anyone else's aces. so in between the two set-ups.. leave room for 8 aces. see blank area in above picture. think speed.
the large pile that you are left with, is the stack that you will flip thru three at a time like normal. the pile of thirteen can be played anywhere: aces or your stacks. and you do NOT need a king to play in an open space. ANY card can be placed in that spot, as long as you do not have more than four openings.
if play is stopped because you or your opponent no longer has any moves. you will preform what is called a burn. you take the top card off of your stack that you are flipping thru by threes and place it on the bottom of that stack. you have a total of three burns for each game. after the three burns are used, you take the top card on your stack of thirteen and place that on the bottom and then flip the next card up.
the game ends when there are no more moves after all of the burns or someone plays their entire pile of thirteen. whoever does this needs to yell 'out' and the game is over.
scoring: the cards at the top, the aces and the ones played on those aces are your positive points (this is why you need two different colored decks. to tell whose points are whose). the remaining cards in your thirteen pile are your negative points. add up your total and the first to one hundred wins.
now there are variations on the number of people who can play. you can play with two people using two decks. or you can play with four people and two decks. when playing this way, one person is in charge of the thirteen pile while the other person flips the piles of three. after each round, rotate who has which job. you can also play three people with three decks or six people with three decks. let me warn you, it does get out of control. lots to watch and lots of flailing arms! just make sure that each deck is different so you can determine the point totals.
gosh, i hope i explained this properly. feel free to ask questions!