Beleaguered Castle

Laying Siege, Sham Battle

For 1 Player — Level: Easy

Layout: Lay out the cards in two large wings, each made up of four rows of six overlapping cards.

In the middle, place a column of Aces — the foundations.

There is a traditional way to layout the cards:

Start with the Aces in a column in the middle. Then deal out a column of four cards along the left-hand side, and a column of four cards at the right-hand side. Then alternate in dealing columns, left and right, until the pack is all laid down.

To win the game: Build the Aces up to Kings in suit.

Play: The only cards that may be moved onto the foundations are the completely exposed ones on the ends of the wings. The cards on the ends can also be moved onto each other, regardless of suit, going downward in rank. For instance, in the example above, the 9 of Hearts could go on the 10 of Spades, but not on the 8 of Diamonds.

Should any row in the wing become empty, you can fill it with any exposed card.

Citadel

Play in exactly the same way as in Beleaguered Castle, except:
1. Do not set up the Aces ahead of time, but mix them in with the pack.
2. During the process of dealing, you may play any cards to the foundations that they are ready to receive. Once an Ace is in place, for example, you may fill in with deuces, and if deuces are there, you could even build 3s or higher. When a card is placed on a foundation during the dealing, do not replace it in the layout; just leave its space empty.
3. When dealing, once a card is laid down on the wings, it cannot be moved until dealing is over.

Streets and Alleys

Play in exactly the same way as in Beleaguered Castle, except:
1. Do not set up the Aces ahead of time, but mix them in with the pack.
2. Deal seven cards to the top two rows of the wings on each side.

From '101 Favourite Card Games for One'.
© 1992 Sheila Anne Barry.