How to Play Alternate Solitaire

Alternate uses a single deck with four foundations that build in opposite directions: two ascending in alternating colors and two descending in alternating colors. A stock pile and four reserve piles provide the working area.

Setup

1. A single deck (52 cards) is shuffled
2. Deal 1 red Ace (of a different suit) to each of the 2 Red Foundation piles, and 1 black King (of a different suit) to each of the 2 Black Foundation piles
3. Create 4 empty reserve piles
4. The remaining 48 cards form the stock; its top card is turned face up and can be played directly

How to play

• The top card of the stock is always face-up and playable directly to a foundation or a reserve pile
• Cards automatically move to the foundations when no other moves are available for them; you can change this behavior in Settings
• The two Red Foundation piles build upward from their Ace with alternating colors (a black card goes on the next card up, then a red card, and so on)
• The two Black Foundation piles build downward from their King with alternating colors, and wrap from Ace back to King to keep going
• Any card can be placed on any reserve pile, whether it is empty or already has cards, so reserve piles can hold more than one card
• Only the top card of a reserve pile can be played from it
• The stock deals only one pass; once it runs out, there is no redeal

How to win

Objective: Move all 52 cards to the 4 foundation piles: two built up from Aces with alternating colors, two built down from Kings with alternating colors.

You win when all 52 cards are moved to the four foundations, each built correctly. You're stuck when the stock is exhausted and no more legal moves remain.

Tips

• Carefully manage the reserve piles—only use them when the stock doesn't immediately help
• Plan foundation sequences ahead since the color requirements are strict
• Save reserve spaces for cards that would otherwise block better plays

Play Alternate free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Alternate alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the Foundations family:

• Bisley — All 52 cards are laid out face up at once.
• Box Kite — A two-deck game with eight foundations divided into two groups—four climbing from Aces and four descending from Kings—offering multiple strategic paths to victory.
• Caprice — An unusual two-deck game where you build two sets of foundation piles simultaneously—four ascending (Ace to King) and four descending (King to Ace), all within their respective suits.
• Crescent — A two-deck game where one foundation row ascends (Ace to King) and the other descends from King and wraps around past Ace.
• Deuces and Queens — Build cards upward and downward simultaneously on two sets of foundations in this challenging two-deck game.