🏰 Beleaguered Castle
6 playsBeleaguered Castle
Four aces hold the keep, eight rows lay siege, and every card is in plain sight from the start.
About Beleaguered Castle
Beleaguered Castle is a patience with nothing hidden. The four aces begin on the foundations in the middle, the castle keep, and the other forty-eight cards are laid face up in eight rows of six on either side, the besieging lines. Only the outer card of a row may move, one card at a time, either home to its foundation, which builds upward by suit, or onto the end of another row, where cards descend regardless of suit. Any card at all may be moved into an emptied row, and an empty row is the most valuable thing on the board. Because every card is visible, the game is closer to a puzzle than a game of luck, though many random deals cannot be won by anyone; choose Winnable for deals proven solvable. Undo is unlimited, a hint will suggest a move, and a Finish button plays out the ending once every row is in order.
How to Play
Move one card at a time, and only from the outer end of a row. Rows build down in any suit, so a 7 may go on any 8; foundations build up by suit from Ace to King. Any card may move into an empty row. Home all 52 cards to win. Each card homed scores 10, a win adds 500, and finishing in fewer than 300 moves earns a speed bonus. Choose Random or Winnable deals.
💡 Tips & Strategy
With every card face up, the game rewards planning more than any other patience on the site, so take a long look before the first move. Note where each two lies, since the twos are the first cards the foundations want, and how deeply each is buried. A row with a two near its outer end is a natural place to begin; a two at the far inner end of a long row is a sign that the row will have to be emptied, and that the game will turn on how soon it can be.
Empty rows are the real currency. Any card may move into one, which makes it the only way to rearrange a row that is out of order, and the only way to move a run of cards from one place to another, one card at a time through the gap. Work towards emptying the shortest row early, and once you have an empty row, do not spend it on a single convenient card unless that card unlocks something substantial; an empty row held in reserve is worth more than almost any one move.
Think of each row as a sequence to be put right. Because rows descend regardless of suit, a row in good order can hold a long tidy run that the foundations will later absorb without difficulty, while every card the deal left out of order is a barrier that has to be dismantled. Prefer moves that extend an ordered run over moves that merely free a card, and be wary of kings: a king at the outer end of a row can go nowhere but an empty row until its suit is ready to receive it, so the rows the deal has topped with kings are best left until last. When every row is finally in descending order, Finish will play the rest for you.
Use the tools freely. Undo is unlimited and costs nothing, so explore a line, see where it leads and take it back if it closes up. The hint will suggest a move and warn when no win remains, which is useful when a position feels hopeless but may not be. Many random deals cannot be won at all; if you would rather know that the effort can succeed, choose Winnable. Each card homed is worth 10 and a win 500, and finishing in fewer than 300 moves earns a speed bonus, so on a winnable deal the cleaner line pays twice.