Bisley Solitaire
How to play Bisley
Bisley is a one-deck solitaire game with the Aces on four foundations and the rest dealt face up into thirteen columns, where each suit builds up from its Ace and down from its King until the two piles meet.
The Aces start on the foundations, the Kings build down to meet them, and columns build up or down in suit.
The goal of Bisley
Move every card onto the eight foundations. Four start with the Aces and build up by suit, and four more take the Kings and build down by suit, until each suit's two piles meet.
How to set up Bisley
The four Aces start on their foundations. The other 48 cards are dealt face up into thirteen columns: the first four get three cards and the other nine get four. Four more foundations, one for each suit, start empty and wait for the Kings. There are no free cells and no stock.
Bisley rules
Columns build up or down one rank at a time in the same suit, and a column can change direction as it grows. Only the top card of a column moves, one card at a time, onto a foundation or onto a column where it builds. An empty column can never be filled.
The Ace foundations build up by suit, and the King foundations build down by suit, starting with the King. When a suit's two foundations meet, a card that fits either one can go on either. A card on a foundation never comes back into play.
Click a card to play it: to a foundation if it fits, otherwise onto a column. Drag a card to choose where it goes yourself. With Autoplay off in Settings, only a drag moves a card.
How to win at Bisley
You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations, however they are split between each suit's two piles. Once every column is in descending order, Auto complete, on by default in Settings, moves the remaining cards up for you. The game is stuck when no card has a legal move left.
Bisley strategy tips
Each suit can be played from both ends. A high card blocking a column can go up once its King foundation comes down to it, so plan every suit from both directions.
An empty column can never be filled again, so clearing one gains nothing. Spend your moves on reaching the cards the foundations want.
Columns build both ways in suit, so a card often has two places to go. Pick the one that leaves the card you need next on top.
Bisley questions and answers
How do you play Bisley solitaire?
The Aces start on four foundations and the rest of the deck is dealt into thirteen columns. Move the top card of a column onto the next higher or lower card of its suit, or onto a foundation. Each suit builds up from its Ace and down from its King until the two piles meet, and only one card moves at a time.
How do the King foundations work in Bisley?
Each suit has a second foundation that starts empty. Its King goes there first, and then the Queen, Jack and so on down in that suit. When a suit's Ace pile and King pile meet, a card that fits either can go on either, so the suit can be finished from whichever side is easier.
Can every Bisley deal be won?
Most can, though not every one. Given 100 shuffled Bisley deals, the solver proved 74 winnable and 6 lost in the quick search it makes while dealing, and 82 winnable and 12 lost in the longer search the Hint button uses. At least four deals in five can therefore be won. Turn on Winnable in the menu beside New deal and you are only dealt boards the solver has proved, which never took more than four shuffles in testing.
Is there a daily Bisley game?
Yes. Bisley has a daily board, the same deal for everyone that day, dealt the way a Winnable board is. You need to be logged in to play it.