How to Play Castle of Indolence Solitaire

A two-deck game that combines an open tableau with hidden reserve cards, requiring strategic decisions about which cards to expose and when. The goal: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building Ace up to King on each pile regardless of suit.

Setup

1. Eight foundation piles start empty (from the two-deck pack, but any suit can build on any pile)
2. Four reserve piles hold 13 cards each face down, with only the top card visible
3. Eight tableau piles have the remaining cards dealt across them face up

How to play

• Play only the top card from each reserve pile—it can go to the tableau or foundations
• Build tableau piles down regardless of suit: move any 5 onto any 6, a 3 onto any 4
• Matching cards automatically move to the foundations once no other move is available for them; you can configure this in Settings
• Empty tableau piles accept any card to create space for maneuvers
• When you play a reserve card, the next card in that pile becomes available, giving you new options

How to win

Objective: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building Ace up to King on each pile regardless of suit.

You win when all 104 cards reach the eight foundations. You're stuck when tableau piles are blocked and reserve cards cannot be played.

Tips

• Exposing reserve cards strategically is key—sometimes a buried card is exactly what you need
• Build long sequences on the tableau to clear space for reserve cards
• Cards buried near the bottom of a reserve pile stay locked away until you play through everything above them, so plan ahead for those

Play Castle of Indolence free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Castle of Indolence 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 Beleaguered Castle family:

• Beleaguered Castle — The four aces begin already on the foundations, and the rest of the deck sits face up across eight tableau piles.
• Fortress — A rare game where the tableau allows bi-directional building—each pile can grow either higher or lower in the same suit, offering strategic flexibility but also considerable challenge.
• Street and Alleys — A fan-style game where all cards are dealt at the start with no stock pile.