Out of all solitaire varieties, Crescent Solitaire is probably one of the simplest. However, there are certain peculiarities that make it different from other types of this game. First of all, it’s played with two decks, not one. Secondly, there are untypical many piles in this version. And lastly, there is a shuffling feature that isn’t present in all solitaire games. If you want to find out more, let’s go!
Your goal
All the cards that are in tableaus have to be moved onto the foundations according to their ranks. Half of the foundations should have the cards arranged from the lowest rank to the highest, in the other half they have to be placed visa versa. The game isn’t very simple, so don’t be upset if you fail to win at the first attempt!
Playing the tableaus
The first type of piles you will see in this solitaire variety is tableaus, and there are 16 of them. As implied by the name, they are put down on the table in a crescent shape. At the start, each pile has 6 cards that are placed face up. That allows you to draw away the top card, look at the card right under it and then put the top card back.
Cards can be moved between the tableaus, but no more than one at a time. To do that, you need to consider the suit and rank of the card you want to move and then the top card of the tableau where you want to move it. The move is possible:
– if the cards are of the same suit;
– if the card moved is one rank higher or lower than the top card of the tableau.
Ace can be put on the king and serve as a starting point to put a 2 on it.
The cards keep being gathered in the tableaus until there is a whole sequence that you can move onto the foundations.
Shuffling the cards
It’s not always that any of the top cards in the tableaus is useful. When there seems to be no move you can make, there is a Shuffle option you can apply. In the classic version, you’re allowed to shuffle the cards just three times during a single game. But that makes it very difficult to win, so we have included three modes based on the number of shuffles available.
If you’re a beginner, it’s recommended to start with the Easy mode that has 9 shuffles. The Medium mode brings this number down to 6. And the Hard mode has 3 shuffles, just like the classic Crescent Solitaire.
Clicking the Shuffle button will take the bottom card from the tableaus and put it on top of the pile. So you see, it’s actually not shuffling, but it gives you access to new combinations.
Playing the foundations
There are 8 foundations in Crescent Solitaire. They are organized in two rows, each containing four of them. The foundations in the top row start with Kings and the cards there should be organized in the descending order based on their ranks. Meaning that the next card after a King should be Queen, and so on. The foundations end with aces that are put on 2s.
The foundations in the bottom row are built by increasing the ranks of the cards put onto them and start with aces. So the first card you should put on an ace is a 2, and so on until you end the foundations with Kings.
The cards can also be moved from the foundations back onto the tableaus if you think that can assist you in wining the game. However, the starting cards must remain in their places and aren’t allowed to be moved. That means you can’t use the Kings from the top row and the aces from the bottom row.
Start playing Crescent Solitaire online and enjoy your time!