Crescent Solitaire Strategy

Crescent Solitaire adds a challenging twist to traditional Solitaire. Restricted moves and prohibitive use of empty spaces will keep you on your toes. After a quick review of the rules, we outline our Crescent Solitaire strategy tips that will strengthen your skills and increase your chances of winning.

While there is a single-deck version of the game, we focus on the two-deck variant. After shuffling two standard decks of cards (without the jokers), deal them into the Crescent Solitaire layout:

• Eight foundation piles in the center. The top four are built from king to ace, and the bottom four are built from ace to king.
• Sixteen tableau piles encircle the foundation piles. The top card of each pile faces up.
• There are no stock and waste piles in this version.

Your goal is to get all of the cards into the foundation piles, organized according to suit and numerical sequence. To accomplish this goal, follow these rules:

1. Move cards between tableaus. You can move from one pile to another as long as the destination card is the same suit and adjacent numerical value.

2. Move cards between foundation piles. You can move from one pile to another as long as the destination card is the same suit and adjacent numerical value.

3. Cleared tableaus must remain empty.

4. Reshuffle the tableau piles up to three times.

The game ends when all cards have been successfully placed in the foundation piles according to suit or if there are no more moves available.

Now that we have gone over the rules, it’s time to dive into Crescent Solitaire strategies that will maximize your chances of winning.

Scan the tableaus for cards you can move into the foundation piles. You can have a free peek beneath the top card as you move it without needing to drop it into a destination pile. Alternatively, you can use the undo button to adjust your strategy. Whatever method you use, try to maximize the possibilities afforded by the visible cards at the outset of the game.

These tableaus are more flexible than Klondike, so you can place cards in ascending or descending order. This means you can play a 9, 10, and another 9 into the same pile, provided that the cards are of the same suit.

Unlike classic Solitaire, runs within the tableaus won’t help you complete suits as they cannot be moved in groups into the foundation piles. Additionally, they may hold cards in both ascending and descending order (ex. 4-5-4) which can put a halt to your efforts to complete suits. Instead of spending time building runs in the crescent piles, keep your eye on building the foundations.

One distinct advantage of Crescent Solitaire is the ability to move cards from one foundation pile to another. Use this to complete suits or uncover cards in the surrounding piles when it is to your advantage to do so.

Because Crescent Solitaire adds multiple challenges to traditional Solitaire, players may need more leverage than usual to conquer the game. Take a hint and use the ‘undo’ button when you find yourself going around in circles instead of building up the foundation piles.

There is a limit to how many times you can reshuffle, so use it only when all possible moves have been exhausted and no progress can be made toward completing the foundation piles.

Patience is a must. Remain objective, wait for opportunities, and take the time to reassess your moves.

Our games are browser-based, so you can play Crescent Solitaire whenever you want—no download needed.

Arkadium offers over 120 free online games. Browse our collection of Solitaire games, including Klondike, Spider Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire, Tripeaks Solitaire, Canfield, Crescent, Forty Thieves, Freecell, and more.