How to Play Street and Alleys Solitaire
Street and Alleys Solitaire is a variation of Beleaguered Castle, but with no Aces starting in the foundation. Similar to FreeCell, the game starts with a tableau of all 52 cards face-up.
Objective
The aim of the game is to build the foundations from Ace to King in ascending suit order. For example, a foundation pile will begin with the Ace of Diamonds and finish with the King of Diamonds.
The Setup and Play Area
Foundation piles: These are the 4 piles at the top of the game where you will build sequences from Ace to King by suit in ascending order.
Tableau piles:These are the 8 columns of face-up cards. The first 4 columns have 7 cards each, and the last 4 columns have 6 cards each, totaling 52 cards.
There is no stock or waste piles in the game, as all cards are laid out in the tableau.
Available moves
- You can only move 1 card at a time.
- The last card in each tableau column is playable.
- Cards in the tableau can be moved and placed on top of other cards if they are in descending order, regardless of suit. For example, a 10 of Hearts can be moved onto a Jack of Spades, Clubss, or a 10 of Diamonds.
- You cannot move groups of cards.
- Once you’ve removed all the cards from a tableau column, you can move any card into that space.
- When all cards have been moved to the foundation, you win!
Strategy
- Plan multiple moves ahead. Because you can see all the tableau cards, you can evaluate and strategize your moves.
- Find the Aces early and move them directly to the foundation.
- Don’t rush to move cards to the foundation. For example, instead of adding a 4 of Clubs to the foundation, you may want to leave it on the tableau so a 3 of Spades can be placed under it in order to free up another important card.
- Prioritize clearing out columns. Because any card can be placed in an empty column, you can move cards blocking you to empty columns to help you advance in the game.
- Because foundations are built from Ace to King, try to make low cards available so you can move them out of the tableau into the foundation.
- Try to build the foundations evenly. If one foundation is built immediately in the game, you now have fewer cards to help you sequence.
What are the odds of winning?
When looking at 493 random games played, 25 were won, making the win rate 5.07%. This makes the game much harder than Beleaguered Castle, which has a win rate of 23.75%. This is because in Beleaguered Castle, you start with 4 Aces in the foundation, making it easier.
What are similar games to try?
Beleaguered Castle and Castle have similar rules.
What are other popular Solitaire games?
Be sure to check out these games:
We’d really love your support! - Get an an ad-free experience