How to Play Carousel Solitaire

A complex two-deck game played with the Kings removed, so each suit runs Ace (low) through Queen. Three separate foundation types build differently: one pile for Aces, eight for even ranks, and eight for odd ranks. It's visually complex but rewards careful planning.

Setup

1. Shuffle two decks together with the Kings removed, so each suit runs Ace through Queen
2. Deal four cards face up to each of eight tableau piles
3. Leave the Ace, Evens, and Odds foundation piles empty—you'll start them as the right cards turn up
4. The remaining cards form the stock, ready to deal to the waste

How to play

• Click the stock to deal one card face up to the waste. Only the top waste card is playable, and there's no redeal.
• The single Ace foundation takes only Aces, alternating colors as you add them (like A♠, then A♥, then A♣...)
• Start an Evens foundation with a Two, then build upward by twos in the same suit, topping out at Queen (2♠ → 4♠ → 6♠ → 8♠ → 10♠ → Q♠)
• Start an Odds foundation with a Three, then build upward by twos in the same suit, topping out at Jack (3♥ → 5♥ → 7♥ → 9♥ → J♥)
• In the tableau, build downward by rank in the same suit (like 9♦ → 8♦ → 7♦). Only the top card of each pile is playable.
• When a tableau pile empties, it automatically refills with the top card from the waste, or from the stock if the waste is empty
• Cards automatically move to the foundations once no other card can be built on them. You can turn this off in Settings if you prefer to move them manually.

How to win

Objective: Build all foundation piles complete to win

You win when all 96 cards reach their foundation piles. You're stuck if no legal moves remain once the stock is empty.

Tips

• Plan which foundation each card should reach based on its rank (even or odd) and suit
• Create empty tableau piles early to maximize your flexibility
• Watch for sequences in the tableau that will unlock cards you need

Play Carousel free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Carousel 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:

• Even and Odd — Build two separate foundation groups where one foundation follows odd ranks (Ace, 3, 5, etc.) and the other follows even ranks (2, 4, 6, etc.).
• Racing Aces — A fast-paced game where four foundation types race in different directions—Aces up, Sixes down, Sevens up, and Kings down—while you feed them from a single-pass stock, a waste pile, and three long reserve piles.
• Royal Rendezvous — Two decks feed four different kinds of foundations at once: a full same-suit run, an odds-only ladder, an evens-only ladder, and four slots that each hold just a single King.
• Captive Queens — A quick, luck-focused game where three different foundation piles build from different ranks.