How to Play Chessboard Solitaire

A Fortress variant where a random base rank sets the foundations each deal. Build tableau piles up or down in the same suit, wrapping King to Ace, for extra flexibility in how you maneuver cards.

Setup

1. A random base rank is chosen at the start—the card dealt to the first foundation reveals it, and all four foundations start with that rank.
2. The rest of the deck is dealt face up across 10 tableau piles; pile sizes differ slightly since the cards don't divide evenly.

How to play

• Move cards between tableau piles by building in the same suit, either upward or downward (your choice per card).
• Ranks wrap around: you can build a King on an Ace and an Ace on a King, staying within the same suit.
• Only the top card of each tableau pile can move.
• Fill empty tableau spaces with any available card.
• Matching cards automatically move to the foundations once they can no longer help in the tableau; you can change this behavior in Settings if you prefer manual control.
• Strategic empty spaces create temporary holding areas to maneuver blocked cards.

How to win

Objective: Move every card to the four foundation piles, each starting with a randomly chosen rank that wraps from King to Ace.

You win when all cards are on the four foundations in proper sequence. You're stuck when tableau cards are blocked and no moves remain.

Tips

• Use empty tableau spaces as way stations—temporarily hold a card there while you dig out the card you need underneath.
• The base rank flexibility means you can build in different directions; use this to your advantage.
• Note the base rank shown on the foundations at the start—since it wraps from King to Ace, it sets the building sequence you'll follow all game.

Play Chessboard free on Windows

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

• Selective Castle — Selective Castle is based on Beleaguered Castle but adds an interesting twist: the base rank for the foundations is chosen randomly each game and revealed by whichever card is dealt to the first foundation.
• Castle's End — A flexible game where the foundation base rank changes each deal, and tableau cards can build either up or down in the same suit, creating unique strategic puzzles.
• Castle of Indolence — A two-deck game that combines an open tableau with hidden reserve cards, requiring strategic decisions about which cards to expose and when.