Cruel Solitaire

Cruel Solitaire is a classic patience card game that combines strategic same-suit building with a unique redeal mechanic. With 12 piles of 4 cards each and aces pre-placed on foundations, every move matters. When you get stuck, the redeal button gathers all tableau cards and re-deals them in groups of 4 without shuffling — giving you new possibilities without changing the card order.

How Cruel Solitaire Works

Remove all four aces and place them on the four foundation piles. Deal the remaining 48 cards face-up into 12 piles of 4 cards each. Build foundations up by suit from Ace to King. Stack tableau cards in descending order by same suit — place a 5♠ on a 6♠. Only the top card of each pile can be moved. Empty piles cannot be filled. Use unlimited redeals to unblock stuck positions.

The Redeal Mechanic

The redeal is what makes Cruel unique among solitaire games. When activated, all tableau cards are gathered from right to left (top card first), then re-dealt into groups of 4. The card order is preserved — only the grouping changes. Timing your redeals strategically is the key to mastering Cruel Solitaire.

Learn More

• How to Play Cruel Solitaire — Complete rules and strategy guide
• Play Beleaguered Castle — Another challenging variant with aces pre-placed
• Play FreeCell — The classic free cell solitaire
• Types of Solitaire — Explore 20+ solitaire variants