How to Play Stewart Solitaire

A Martha variant where you can only move single cards, not sequences. Some cards start face down, adding an element of discovery to this puzzle.

Setup

1. Four Aces are dealt at the start to begin the foundation piles
2. Twelve tableau piles receive four cards each; even-numbered cards face up, odd-numbered face down
3. No stock or reserve piles

How to play

• Build foundations upward in suit from Ace to King; a card moves to the foundations automatically once no other card could be built on it (you can change this in Settings)
• On the tableau, play cards downward in alternating colors
• Only single cards can move on the tableau, not sequences
• Any card can fill an empty tableau space
• Flip face-down cards as they become exposed

How to win

Objective: Move all 52 cards to the four foundation piles.

You win by building all four foundation piles to King. You're stuck when face-down cards block what you need.

Tips

• Expose face-down cards early by building on tableau piles
• Create empty spaces for single cards you need to reposition
• Look for cards that will help expose important face-down cards

Play Stewart free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Stewart 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 Baker's Dozen family:

• Vineyard — A patience game with no stock or waste pile—all cards are dealt at once across ten tableau columns.
• British Canister — A stricter Canister layout: cards move one at a time, tableau piles build in opposite colors, and only a King can claim an empty spot.
• Canister — A straightforward game where all cards are dealt face up at the start with no stock.
• Exiled Kings — A streamlined solitaire where you deal cards to foundations and tableau, building down by rank in the tableau while filling empty spaces only with Kings.
• Four Leaf Clovers — A single-deck game where every card lands on one shared foundation pile, no matter its suit, climbing upward one rank at a time and wrapping from King back to Ace to place all 52 cards.