How to Play Unusual Solitaire

A two-deck solitaire challenge where you race to build eight foundation piles while managing 24 tableau columns. Only the top card of each pile can move, making this a game of careful sequencing.

Setup

1. Shuffle two decks together and deal the first 8 cards face up to the 8 foundation piles (these serve as the Ace bases).
2. Deal the remaining 96 cards face up across 24 tableau columns, 4 cards to each column.
3. The foundation piles build upward by suit; the tableau allows only single-card moves downward by suit.

How to play

• Build tableau sequences downward by suit: for example, a 6 of spades can only go on a 7 of spades.
• Move only the top card from each tableau pile; you cannot move runs of multiple cards together.
• When a tableau column becomes empty, it cannot be refilled—empty spaces don't help you.
• Cards that can no longer be built upon in the tableau move to the foundations automatically.
• You can change this auto-move behavior in Settings if you prefer to move foundation cards yourself.
• Expose buried cards by strategically moving top cards to build sequences in the tableau.
• Keep the flow going toward the foundations; with no stock or waste pile, every move must count.

How to win

Objective: Move all 104 cards to the eight foundations, building each from Ace up to King in the same suit.

You win when all eight foundation piles reach King in their suit. You're stuck when no more moves are possible and cards remain in the tableau.

Tips

• Prioritize building long sequences in the tableau to expose cards that might otherwise stay buried.
• Remember that empty tableau spaces cannot be filled, so avoid emptying columns unless you have a specific plan.
• Look ahead: sometimes a card buried in the tableau can eventually reach the foundation through a sequence of intermediate moves.

Play Unusual free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Unusual 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 Fan family:

• Demon Fan — Demon Fan deals the whole deck across 18 tableau piles, with just the top card of each pile face up.
• Indefatigable — A single-deck solitaire where the entire deck is dealt out at the start, four Aces already in the foundations.
• Linus — Linus deals all 52 cards across 18 small tableau piles and challenges you to free them one at a time into suit-ordered foundations, building tableau sequences in alternating colors along the way.
• Perseverance A — Perseverance A is a tableau-heavy game where the four aces start on the foundations.
• Perseverance B — Perseverance B is a companion to Perseverance A: the four aces start on the foundations, and you clear the rest of the deck from twelve tableau piles by moving same-suit sequences.