How to play Beleaguered Castle

Beleaguered Castle is a one-pack solitaire game (“patience” on the British side of the Pond) that needs careful thought to make it come out, as well as the usual slice of good fortune!

Take the four aces and place them in a column. These will be the bases on which you will build each suit up to its king. Then deal the rest of the pack face upwards as follows:

Deal the first card to the left of the top ace, and the second to the right of the top ace. The third card will go to the left of the second ace down, the fourth to the right of the second ace, and so on until eight cards have been dealt.

The next card goes on to the first card you dealt, but overlapping it so that you can see the number on the lower card, and likewise for the next card to the right of the top ace.

Carry on until all the cards have been dealt, so that you now have eight “wings” as well as the four bases. Each wing will have six cards, the top one of which will be fully exposed and the rest will be partially visible. You will probably find it convenient to deal the cards from the centre outwards, so that the exposed cards will be to the left of the left wings and the right of the right wings. However, your preference may be to deal all the wings in the same direction.

The eight exposed cards are available for play, either on to the bases or on to other exposed cards, in descending value but irrespective of suit or colour, so that a five of clubs could be played on to the six of spades for example. Only one card can be played at a time, so strings of cards cannot be moved as a block.

If a wing is completely removed, the space may be filled by any exposed card from another wing.

In this game, it is important to plan ahead, and just because a move is possible does not mean that it is sensible to make it. This applies both to building on exposed cards and playing to the foundations. The aim should be to try to create spaces, and you should plan your moves ahead to enable you to do this. If you can, build your foundations in parallel (i.e. don’t build one suit at a time), because you will need to keep cards that are close in number on the wings to make building possible.

It is also worth noting at the outset where the low numbered cards are so that you do not bury them too deeply as you play. If all your two and threes are deeply buried to start with, you are probably not going to win. That is where the luck comes into play!

© John Welford