Crescent Solitaire
Play Crescent Solitaire free online with two decks of cards. Your aim is to move every card from the sixteen outer piles to the eight foundations in the middle. Four foundations build up from Ace; four build down from King. Start with the exposed cards and take your time — Hint and Undo are available when you need them.
How to play Crescent Solitaire
The game uses 104 cards. An Ace and a King of each suit start on the foundations. The other 96 cards are dealt face up into sixteen piles of six, often called fans. The cards overlap, so only the exposed top card of each pile can move. There is no stock to draw from.
- Look for an exposed 2 or Queen. Move a 2 onto its same-suit Ace, or a Queen onto its same-suit King.
- Keep building the foundations one card at a time in their own direction and suit.
- If a needed card is covered, move the card above it onto another outer pile when the rules allow.
- Use Shuffle to bring buried cards to the top when useful moves run out. Move all 104 cards to the foundations to win.
From Ace upward
From King downward
Crescent Solitaire rules
Move one exposed card at a time. Between outer piles, the card must be one rank higher or lower and the same suit as the card it covers. Hearts go on hearts, for example — matching red colors is not enough. An Ace may go on a King of the same suit, and a King may go on an Ace. This wraparound rule applies to the outer piles, not the foundations.
Empty outer piles cannot be filled. Unlike classic Solitaire, Crescent gives you no empty space to use as temporary storage.
Moving cards back from the foundations
You may move a foundation’s top card to the other foundation of that suit if it fits the receiving pile’s direction. You may also move it back onto an outer pile, following the same-suit, one-rank rule. The eight starting Ace and King bases stay in place.
For example, a 7 of hearts on the upward foundation can move onto an 8 of hearts on the downward foundation. This makes room for the other 7 of hearts on the upward pile.
What does Shuffle do?
You have three shuffles per game. Each shuffle takes the bottom card of every outer pile and puts it on top of that same pile. The cards in between keep their order. It does not mix cards between piles or deal a new game. Empty piles stay empty, and a pile with one card stays as it is.
This three-card example shows what happens inside one pile. The cards are spread out here so you can read the order; in your game, they overlap.
Before Shuffle
After Shuffle
To shuffle, select the face-down card in the middle of the board. Its number shows how many shuffles remain. Undo restores a spent shuffle as well as the previous card order.
Plan the card you will uncover
A legal move is most useful when it opens another useful card. Before moving a pile’s top card, look at the card immediately beneath it and check whether that card can reach a foundation. There are two copies of each card, so also look at both foundations of the matching suit before choosing where to place it.
Five Crescent Solitaire tips
These checks can help you make progress without using a shuffle too soon.
- Look for exposed 2s and Queens at the start. A 2 can go onto its matching Ace foundation; a Queen can go onto its matching King foundation.
- Check the card underneath before rearranging a pile. Moving a card back and forth without exposing anything new uses moves but makes no progress.
- Remember that empty outer piles cannot be filled. Removing a pile’s last card helps clear the table, but also removes a place where another card could be placed.
- Check for useful moves before spending a shuffle. You can shuffle while moves remain, but there are only three, and each one changes all the outer piles together.
- Use Undo to compare a different move or reverse a shuffle. If both foundations can take a card, consider what each choice will leave available next.
Help while you play
- Moving a card
- Drag an exposed card to its destination. With 1-Tap Move enabled in Settings, tapping a card chooses a legal destination for you.
- Choose a destination without dragging
- Turn off 1-Tap Move in Settings. Select an exposed card, then select the pile you want to move it to.
- Hint
- Ask for a suggested move or shuffle. A suggestion does not guarantee a win.
- Undo
- Take back your last move. You can repeat Undo to revisit earlier choices in the current game.
- New Game and Restart
- New Game deals different cards. To try the same starting layout again, open the game menu and choose Restart.
- Settings
- Adjust the available card, display and sound options to make the game comfortable to use.
Leaving the page and coming back
Your game saves in this browser when storage is available. Returning on the same device and browser can restore it. Clearing site data or using a private window can remove that saved game.
Watch how to play Crescent Solitaire
See the two foundation directions, legal moves between outer piles, and how Shuffle brings a buried card to the top.
Duration: 1 minute 29 seconds.
In this video
How often can Crescent Solitaire be won?
Our solver tested 1,000 random deals with different shuffle allowances. With all three shuffles, it found a complete solution for 450 deals — 45%. The other 550 were unresolved within its search limits.
These figures describe solutions found by a computer, not how often people win. They are minimum confirmed shares of this sample; an unresolved deal may still have a solution.
See the results for each shuffle allowance
| Shuffles allowed | Wins found |
|---|---|
| 0 | 58 (5.8%) |
| 1 | 130 (13.0%) |
| 2 | 269 (26.9%) |
| 3 | 450 (45.0%) |
There were 942 unresolved deals with no shuffles, 870 with one, 731 with two, and 550 with three. Each run used the same search budget. With three shuffles allowed, the best lines found placed an average of 102.2 of 104 cards on the foundations across the sample.
The game uses random deals rather than a pool of verified winning layouts. Read the sample and method on our Solitaire win rates page.
Questions about Crescent Solitaire
Is every Crescent Solitaire deal winnable?
This game deals random cards, so a winning solution is not guaranteed. In our study of 1,000 random deals, the solver found wins for 450 with three shuffles available. The remaining 550 were unresolved within the search limits; that does not prove they were impossible. The 45% figure is a minimum confirmed share for that sample, not a player win rate.
Can I fill an empty outer pile?
No. Once an outer pile is empty, it stays empty for the rest of the game. This also applies when you use Shuffle. Undo can restore the card you just moved out of it.
Can I move cards between the foundations?
Yes. A top card may move to the other foundation of the same suit if it is the next card that foundation needs. For example, a 7 of hearts on the upward pile can move onto an 8 of hearts on the downward pile. You can also return a non-base foundation card to a legal outer pile. The original Ace and King bases cannot move.
Can a King go on an Ace?
Yes, on an outer pile and only in the same suit. An Ace can also go on a King. Foundations do not wrap: an upward foundation finishes at King and a downward foundation finishes at Ace.
Why is it called Crescent Solitaire?
The name comes from the traditional layout, where the outer piles form a curved, half-moon shape around the foundations. On this page they are arranged in two rows to fit the screen. The same sixteen-pile rules apply.
Does Hint guarantee a win?
No. Hint searches your current position and suggests a move or a shuffle. It can follow a winning continuation when one is found, but its search has limits. Treat a suggestion as help with your next decision, not a promise that the game can be finished.
Try the first few moves
Return to the game above and check the exposed cards for a 2 or Queen that fits a foundation. After moving one, look at the card it uncovered. You can use Undo to put it back and compare another choice.
