Beleaguered Castle
Cards · 1 playBeleaguered Castle
Lay siege to the castle — the Aces are home, now free 48 cards from eight rows and build every suit.
About Beleaguered Castle
A crisp, open patience with every card face-up and nothing left to luck once the deal is down. The four Aces start on the foundations, and the other 48 cards are fanned around them in eight rows of six, like a castle under siege. Only the outer card of each row can move, one at a time. Rows build down regardless of suit, the foundations build up by suit from Ace to King, and any card at all may go into an empty row — which makes every cleared row precious. Undo is unlimited, the hint button suggests a move and warns when no win is left, and Finish plays out the rest once every row is in order. Many random deals cannot be won, so pick Winnable for deals proven solvable. Free to play in your browser — no download, no sign-up.
How to Play
Only the outer card of each row is free. Move one card at a time. Rows build down in any suit; foundations build up by suit, Ace to King. Any card may go to an empty row. 10 points per card homed, +500 for a win, plus a speed bonus for winning in under 300 moves. Choose Random deal, or Winnable for deals proven solvable. Undo is unlimited.
Tips & Strategy
Empty rows are the whole game. Any card may move into an empty row, which makes a cleared row the most powerful thing on the board — it lets you park a blocking card, reverse a short run, or dig out a buried low card. Early on, look for the row that is closest to empty and work towards clearing it, rather than making scattered moves all over the layout. Once you have an empty row, do not fill it with the first card that fits; use it as a temporary space and try to get it back.
Play low cards home as soon as you can, and plan around the ones that are buried. With only the outer card of each row free, a 2 or 3 sitting deep in a row holds up its whole suit, so count how many cards stand on top of it and where each of them can go. Building down regardless of suit is generous, but every card you stack on a row buries what lies beneath it, so avoid piling cards onto a row that still hides something you need soon.
Use the tools the game gives you. Undo is unlimited, so test a line of play and back out if it leads nowhere. The hint button suggests a move and warns when no win is left, which is your cue to undo further back rather than push on. And if you want every game to be a fair fight, choose Winnable: random deals are often impossible, while Winnable deals are proven solvable. Once every row runs in descending order, Finish sweeps the rest home for you — and a win in fewer than 300 moves earns a speed bonus.