Twelve four-card packets
Every tableau pile starts with four face-up cards. Only its exposed end card can move, either to the next higher card of the same suit in another pile or to the next rank on its suited foundation.
Cruel Solitaire
Move all 52 cards to the four suited foundations from Ace through King.
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How to play
Move all 52 cards to the four suited foundations from Ace through King.
- The four Aces begin on foundations and the remaining cards form twelve face-up piles of four.
- Move one exposed card onto the next higher card of the same suit or onto its suited foundation.
- Redeal the remaining tableau without shuffling whenever that repacking changes the layout; empty piles otherwise stay closed.
Strategy tips
- A redeal preserves global card order but repartitions cards into packets of four, so inspect the resulting pile boundaries.
- Advance foundations when doing so changes which cards will become packet tops.
- Avoid cycling between moves that return the tableau to an unchanged redeal layout.
Complete guide
Rules, scoring, and strategy
Cruel Solitaire removes the four Aces to foundation and deals the other 48 cards into twelve packets of four. Exposed cards build down by suit, while an order-preserving redeal can change which cards sit on top without shuffling the remaining tableau.
Empty piles stay closed
A normal card move cannot fill an empty tableau position. This makes direct rearrangement restrictive and gives the packet redeal an essential role in exposing cards from depleted and enlarged piles.
Redeal without shuffling
A redeal gathers the remaining tableau in stable left-to-right, bottom-to-top order and lays that sequence back into packets of four. It is available whenever repacking would actually change the layout; a redeal that reproduces the same piles is rejected.
Change the packet boundaries
Moving a card to foundation or between piles changes pile lengths, which can shift the boundaries of the next redeal. Look beyond the immediate exposed cards and estimate which cards will become the ends of the new four-card packets.
Questions players ask
Are Cruel redeals shuffled?
No. Remaining cards preserve their global order and are simply repartitioned into packets of four.
How many redeals are allowed?
This rules edition has no numeric limit, but the redeal must change the current tableau layout.
Can a card fill an empty pile directly?
No. Empty tableau piles are closed to ordinary card moves.
Related games
FreeCellUse four open cells to reorganize a fully visible deal and build every suit onto its foundation.Beleaguered CastleBuild four suited foundations from a fully exposed eight-column deal, using empty columns and rank-only tableau moves to free blocked cards.Four SeasonsBuild wrapping suited foundations from a random base rank around a five-card cross, with rank-only wrapping tableau piles.Flower GardenCultivate six open flower beds with a sixteen-card bouquet reserve, moving one card at a time down by rank regardless of suit.
