How to Play Beleaguered Castle
Lay the four Aces out as foundations, then deal the other 48 cards face up into eight rows of six. Move one top card at a time onto a card one rank higher of any suit, into an empty row, or up its foundation. Foundations build in suit from the Ace to the King. There is no stock, so plan: every card is visible from the start.
The rules, step by step
- 1Lay the Aces out as foundationsTake the four Aces from the pack before dealing. They start the four foundations.
- 2Deal eight rows of sixThe other 48 cards, all face up. Every card is on view for the whole game.
- 3Move one end card at a timeOnly the top card of a row moves, and only one card ever travels at once.
- 4Build down, regardless of suitA card may go onto the end card of another row that is exactly one rank higher, of any suit.
- 5Fill an empty row with any cardAn empty row accepts any single card — the only spare space the game offers.
- 6Build the foundations up in suitTwo to King on each Ace. All 52 cards on the foundations wins.
Try it — the rules above, running
New game deals a fresh shuffle, Hint highlights a legal move, and the three-dot menu at the end of the bar holds redo, auto-finish, today’s deal, the keyboard shortcuts and the rule set.
Your statistics
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- Won
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- Win rate
- 0%
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
- Best time
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Kept in this browser, on this device only. Abandoning a deal in progress counts as a loss, so the win rate means something.
Today’s deal
Everyone playing Beleaguered Castle today gets the same deal. It changes at midnight UTC.
Track the month on the daily challenge page.
Replay a deal
Every deal is a pure function of its number, so deal #20260726 is the same shuffle on any device, any time.
Keyboard
- U / Z
- Undo
- R
- Redo
- H
- Hint
- N
- New deal (asks first)
- F
- Full screen
- A
- Auto-finish
- Esc
- Deselect, or leave full screen
How is Beleaguered Castle set up?
- 1Take out the AcesFind the four Aces and lay them in a column — the foundations. Here they sit in a row above the table.
- 2Deal the rowsDeal the other 48 cards face up into eight rows of six, four to each side of the Aces in the book layout.
- 3Start moving end cardsOnly the outermost card of each row is free. Any Two can go straight up onto its Ace.
What can move where in Beleaguered Castle?
| Move | Allowed |
|---|---|
| End card onto a card one rank higher, any suit | Yes |
| End card into an empty row | Yes, any card |
| End card up its foundation | Yes, next card in suit |
| Two or more cards at once | No |
| A card back off a foundation | No |
How do you win more often?
- Empty a row as early as you canIt is the only free space you will get. With one empty row you can lift a card off the one beneath it, park a King or start a new run somewhere harmless.
- Do not bank a card another card still needsA Seven in the rows is a landing spot for all four Sixes. Bank it only once every Six is up — the rule auto-finish follows.
- Dig for the next card of each suitAt any moment only four cards can go up: the next card of each suit. Count how many cards lie on top of each one and work on the shallowest.
- Build runs you can take apartA long descending run has to come off one card at a time, each needing a row end one rank higher. Build on a card whose own suit is far from its foundation, not one you will want soon.
Common questions about beleaguered castle
- Why is it called Beleaguered Castle?
- In the book layout the Aces form a column in the middle — the castle — with four rows of cards pressing in on it from each side, like besiegers.
Ready to stop reading? Play beleaguered castle on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.