Castle Solitaire

Game Description: Visit up to 10 enchanting castles while playing tripeaks solitaire and spot the difference games.

How to Play Castle Solitaire:

• After the game fully loads, and you come to the main game screen, click the 'Play' button to begin play.
• Each level has two separate games: a tripeaks solitaire game and a spot the difference game.
• The clock is located at the upper left corner.
• You are given a certain amount of time for each level. (Keep in mind the time you are given is the total time you have to complete both parts of the level. For example, on Level 1 you are given 7 minutes. This means you must complete both games for the level, the tripeaks solitaire game and the spot the difference game, within the 7 minutes).
• For each succeeding level, you are given less time than the previous level.
• There are 10 levels of play, with a total of 20 possible games.
• The game ends when you fail to win any of the 20 games.
• Important: After you begin your game, do not ever click the 'Menu' button at the top of the game screen. If you do, you will permanently lose all of your game progress!

How to Play Castle Solitaire Tripeaks:

• Every level of Castle Solitaire begins with a tripeaks solitaire game.
• Each tripeaks solitaire game uses a standard deck of 52 cards.
• All 52 cards are dealt face-up.
• There are seventeen stacks of three cards each.
• There is also one single card by itself (which is the first card of the foundation pile).
• In addition, there are also two temporary storage areas labeled 'Temp'.
• The rank of cards is the usual rank of: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K. (Also, in tripeaks solitaire, an Ace is considered to be one rank higher than a King, and a King is considered to be one rank lower than an Ace).
• Suits do not matter in tripeaks solitaire.
• Unless you use the 'Undo' button, (I will discuss the 'Undo' button in just a moment), the only cards that are moveable are the top card of any stack, and any card that has been placed into either of the two temporary storage areas.
• Moving a card requires two clicks. First, click the card you wish to move. The card will be highlighted in blue. (If you should change your mind and decide to move another card, simply click another moveable card). Then, click where you want to move the card.
• The top card of any stack may be moved to the foundation pile if it is either one card lower, or one card higher in rank than the last card played to the foundation pile. (Hint: Castle Solitaire will always show you the rank of cards that can be moved to the foundation pile. For instance, if the last card played to the foundation pile was a seven, Castle Solitaire will show two small numbers just above the seven card, in this case these would be a 6 and an 8. This is simply to remind you that you may play any moveable six or eight).
• In tripeaks solitaire, an Ace is considered to be one rank higher than a King. Therefore, since you are allowed to use moveable cards that are either one rank higher or one rank lower, when the foundation pile shows a King, any moveable Ace (which is one rank higher) or any moveable Queen (which is one rank lower) may be moved to the foundation pile. Similarly, if the foundation pile shows an Ace, any moveable King or any moveable two may be moved to the foundation pile.
• Any top card from a stack may be moved to either of the two temporary storage areas (labeled 'Temp').
• Each temporary storage area may only hold one card at a time.
• Any card from the temporary storage area may be played to the foundation pile if it is one card lower, or higher, in rank than the last card played to the foundation pile.
• A card from the temporary storage area cannot be moved to a stack (with the one exception of using the 'Undo' button).
• You may use the 'Undo' button to undo as many moves as you want, but it will cost you 100 points each time it is used.
• Your goal is to move all cards to the foundation pile before time is up. If you do, you go on to the spot the difference game for that level.
• If you run out of moves, or run out of time, the game is over.

Castle Solitaire Tripeaks Scoring:

• You earn 30 points for each card you move to the foundation pile.
• You lose 100 points each time you use the 'Undo' button.

How to Play Castle Solitaire Spot the Difference Games:

• If you successfully complete the Castle Solitaire tripeaks solitaire game, you will immediately begin the spot the difference game for that level. (But remember, the clock will not be reset and will continue to count down).
• In the spot the difference games there are two pictures side-by-side, and 7 differences to find.
• When you find and click on a difference it will be removed from the picture, and 10 seconds will be added to your available time.
• When you click anywhere other than on a difference, 5 seconds will be deducted from your available time.
• There is a 'Hint' button for the spot the difference games. You must press the hint button with the mouse hand and not with the decorated pointer. This will give you your hint, and Castle Solitaire will encircle a small area where you should click.
• If you are able to find all of the 7 differences, within the time limit, you will go on to the next level of play.
• If you run out of time before you find all 7 differences, the game is over.

Play on Full Screen

Please Note: Before playing Castle Solitaire in Full Screen mode, you may want to take a moment, or two, to read my review. Then, after playing your game, simply click the back button on your browser to return to this page.



Castle Solitaire Game Options:

• The background music may be turned on or off by clicking the musical note icon located at the upper right corner.
• The game sounds may be turned on or off by clicking the yellow microphone icon located just to the left of the musical note icon.
• Click the 'Pause' button, also located near the upper right corner, to pause the game. Click the 'Back' button to resume play.

Castle Solitaire Playing Tips:

• Be careful about placing a card into either of the temporary storage areas. You always want to think before you place a card into the temporary storage area, "How, and when, am I going to be able to play it to the foundation pile?" It is best if you have a plan to play it quickly. Let me give you a very simple example. Let's say that the foundation pile shows a 5, and there is a stack of cards with a 3 on top of a 4. In this instance you could place the 3 into the temporary storage area, then immediately play the 4, that you freed up by removing the 3 that was on top of it, to the foundation pile and then also immediately play the 3 from the temporary storage area to the foundation pile on top of the 4 you just played. Of course, the temporary storage areas must be used. But, always try to have a plan in mind to get those cards quickly to the foundation pile.
• When you have the choice of either playing a single remaining card from a stack that does not cover any cards, or playing the same ranked card from a different stack that covers one or two cards, always play the card that is covering the other cards. The reason is simple. You want to uncover as many cards as possible. This gives you more playing options.
• With the tripeaks solitaire game you have to be careful, and not to paint yourself in the proverbial corner. That is, you have to figure out how you are going to finish the solitaire game and not leave any remaining cards. You will usually begin to form a plan about midway through the game. However, there is a simple technique that I have used successfully quite a few times. It doesn't always work, of course. It all depends on how difficult of a hand you are dealt. But, this will always work if you are lucky enough not to have been dealt too difficult of a hand. The best part of this technique is that you have a plan from the very beginning, and then you simply have to follow the plan. Okay, here is my technique. We know that in the Castle Solitaire tripeaks game that there is exactly 52 cards. Let's say that the first card in the foundation pile shows a 10. Now, looking at your deal, decide if you want to try to build up or down by rank. Then, repeat the same sequence four times and the game is won! In our example, let's say that you decide to build up in rank. Since the first card is a 10, you would play J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Then 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Then 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. And finally 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Of course, you will need to use the temporary storage areas along the way. Just remember. This will only work sometimes, but not always. It depends on your deal. It has worked for me several times. In fact, it seems to work a good deal of the time. So, I thought it was worth mentioning. You may want to try it. Or, try some variation of it.
• Work quickly! Remember, you must complete the tripeaks solitaire game and leave yourself enough time to also complete the spot the difference game.

Richard's Rating: 4 out of 5.

Pro: Castle Solitaire is another beautiful, and challenging game from developer Bram Schoonhoven. You will find that this particular version of tripeaks solitaire is much more challenging than your typical tripeaks game. And, the spot the diffference games are to me, equally as challenging. Overall, it is a superb game!

Con:

• In the tripeaks solitaire games it can be difficult, at least it is for me, to distinguish between certain covered cards. For instance, it can be difficult to know if a covered card is an eight, a nine, or a queen because you can only see the top curve of the card. Also, it can be hard to distinguish between a covered two or a three. This is unfortunate, because knowing which cards are which is important in playing your cards. Since all cards are dealt face-up, I can only assume that the intent was to allow the player to identify all of the covered cards. This could have been easily accomplished by allowing more vertical space between the cards.
• There seems to be no way, that I can see, to save your game progress. So you will either have to complete your game in one sitting, or leave your computer turned on and come back later to finish your game.

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