Fortress Solitaire

Ten Columns • Total Visibility • Pure Tactical Logic
Fortress Solitaire Game

Fortress Solitaire is a unique "open" solitaire game where all 52 cards are dealt face-up from the beginning. There is no luck of the draw here—only your ability to navigate the complex interactions of the tableau will lead to victory.

PLAY NOW

How to Play

1

The Open Deal

All 52 cards are dealt into 10 columns. Six columns contain 5 cards, while four columns contain 6 cards. Every card is visible and playable if it's at the top of its pile.

2

Bidirectional Building

In the tableau, you can move a card onto another card of the same suit if it is either one rank higher OR one rank lower (e.g., a 7 of Hearts can be placed on an 8 of Hearts or a 6 of Hearts).

3

Foundation Goals

Move Aces to the foundations as soon as they are freed. Foundations are built up by suit from Ace to King. Unlike the tableau, foundations only move in one direction.

4

Empty Spaces

Clearing a column is a major tactical advantage. Any single card can be moved into an empty space to help unblock buried cards elsewhere.

Common Questions

Is Fortress Solitaire winnable?
While it is an open-deck game, it is quite difficult. The tight tableau and single-suit building mean that many deals require perfect play to solve.

Can I move sequences of cards?
No. In Fortress, you can only move one card at a time. This makes the game much more challenging than variants like FreeCell where sequences can often be shifted.