Beleaguered Castle Solitaire — Play Free

Single deck, all face-up, no stock. Aces start on foundations. Build DOWN by rank (any suit) on tableau rows; build UP by suit on foundations. Single-card moves only. Empty rows accept any card.

How to play Beleaguered Castle

Beleaguered Castle places the four Aces on the foundations from the start, then deals the other 48 cards into eight tableau rows of six, all face-up. You build rows down by rank — any suit — and move one card at a time. With no stock, no free cells, and no hidden cards, the game is pure positional chess.

The rules in short

The four Aces start on the foundations. 48 cards deal into 8 rows of 6, all face-up.
Build rows down by rank, regardless of suit: a 6 of any suit on a 7 of any suit.
Move only the top (rightmost) card of a row. Single-card moves only.
Any card can go into an empty row.
Build each foundation up by suit from Ace to King. You win when all 52 cards are there.

Tips

The Aces are already on the foundations, but the Twos are buried somewhere. Find them and trace the path that uncovers them first.
Empty rows are your only staging space — use them wisely, because any card can fill them and waste their flexibility.
Think many moves ahead. With only single-card moves and no free cells, a wrong move can lock the board quickly.

Questions

Can I move more than one card at a time?

No. Only the top card of a row moves; there are no free cells and no multi-card moves.

Does suit matter when building on the tableau?

No. Any suit can go on any other suit, as long as the rank is one lower.

Is Beleaguered Castle hard?

Yes. Most deals cannot be won. The lack of free cells leaves you very little room to manoeuvre.