Stronghold Solitaire
How to play Stronghold
Stronghold is a one-deck solitaire game dealt face up into eight rows built down regardless of suit, with one free cell and foundations built up by suit from Ace to King.
Streets and Alleys with one free cell to park a card.
The goal of Stronghold
Move every card onto the four foundations, building each one up by suit from Ace to King.
How to set up Stronghold
The whole deck is dealt face up into eight rows, shown here as columns: the first four get seven cards and the last four get six. The Aces are shuffled in with the rest, so the four foundations start empty. There is one free cell, which starts empty, and no stock.
Stronghold rules
Play follows Streets and Alleys. Rows build down one rank at a time whatever the suit, the top card of a row can move onto its foundation, onto a row where it builds, into the free cell or into an empty row, and any card can fill an empty row.
The free cell holds one card at a time, and that card can go back onto a row or up to its foundation. A run already built in order moves as one move if it is no longer than two cards while the free cell is empty, or one card while it is full, doubled for each empty row. When it moves into an empty row, that row does not count. A card on a foundation never comes back into play.
Click a card to play it: to its foundation if it fits, otherwise onto a row, otherwise into the free cell, and only then into an empty row. A run you click only ever moves onto a row. Drag a card or a run to choose where it goes yourself. With Autoplay off in Settings, only a drag moves a card.
How to win at Stronghold
You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations. Once every row 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.
Stronghold strategy tips
The free cell is what makes a buried Ace reachable early: park the one card covering it, play the Ace up, and the cell is often free again a move or two later. Spend it on that rather than on a card you only want out of the way.
The free cell is the one place a card can wait without anything built on it. Keep it empty for the move that needs it rather than filling it early.
An empty row is worth more than the free cell, because it takes a whole run, not just one card, and each one doubles the run you can move.
Stronghold questions and answers
How do you play Stronghold solitaire?
Deal the whole deck into eight rows and move the top cards, building down regardless of suit. One free cell holds a single card at a time. Each foundation takes its Ace first and builds up by suit to the King. Any card can fill an empty row, and a run can move in one go when enough space is free.
What is the difference between Stronghold and Streets and Alleys?
Only the free cell. The deal and the building are the same, but Stronghold adds one cell that can hold any single card, so a card with nowhere to go on the rows can wait there.
Can every Stronghold deal be won?
Most can. One free cell changes the game a great deal: of 100 shuffled Stronghold deals, the solver's dealing search proved 69 winnable and only 2 lost, and the Hint button's longer search proved 81 winnable and 3 lost. Given Streets and Alleys deals, the same two searches proved just 22 and 35. Switch on Winnable in the menu beside New deal to be dealt only boards the solver has proved, never more than five shuffles away in testing.
Is there a daily Stronghold game?
Yes. Stronghold 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.