How to Play Shuffle Solitaire

A clever pairing game based on Neptune where you remove pairs of cards one rank apart. Look for matches like 3 and 4, or 10 and Jack—any adjacent ranks.

Setup

1. Deal 8 cards face up to the tableau piles, one card each. Remaining cards stay in the stock (face down).
2. Four foundation piles are visible above, ready to receive an Ace and build upward in the same suit.

How to play

• Look for two uncovered cards that are one rank apart: 5 and 6, Jack and Queen, etc.
• Drag one uncovered card onto its pair to remove both cards together to the discard pile.
• Each tableau pile holds one card at a time, and only that card can be paired or sent to a foundation.
• You can also send a top tableau card to a foundation pile, building upward in the same suit starting from an Ace.
• When a tableau pile empties, the top card from the stock automatically fills it.
• Cards in the stock cannot be played directly—they remain face down until used to refill empty piles.
• If you can't make any pair moves or foundation moves, you're stuck (the stock doesn't redeal).

How to win

Objective: Clear the board by removing all 52 cards as pairs of cards one rank apart.

Win by removing all cards through pairing or moving them to the foundations. You lose if no valid pairs or foundation moves remain.

Tips

• Take a pair whenever one is available, since a stuck tableau card can only be cleared by a foundation move.
• Every card you clear is instantly replaced from the stock, so don't be afraid to make a move—it's the only way to see fresh cards.
• Keep an eye on the foundations as a second way to clear a card when no pair is available.

Play Shuffle free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Shuffle 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 Pairing family:

• The Wish — A relaxing memory game using only high cards (7 through Ace).
• Doublet Cell — A pairing game with four temporary cells (like FreeCell) to help maneuver.
• Doublets — A straightforward pairing game where you remove any two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit.
• Isabel — Remove cards in matching pairs while building in the foundations as a bonus.
• Nestor — A simple single-deck pairing game.