Free · Two decks · 20-minute clock
Refuge Solitaire: a crescent of cards above a mountain lake
Refuge Solitaire is a two-deck patience card game by RavalMatic, based on the classic Crescent Solitaire, in which you move every card from an arc of 16 face-up piles onto eight foundations. Four foundations start with Aces and build up in suit to the King; four start with Kings and build down in suit to the Ace. Inside the arc, a card may be placed on a same-suit card whose rank differs from it by exactly one, which is how you reach buried cards. The table sits in front of a lake at sunset with snowy peaks and a lit cabin on the shore, and a clock at the bottom counts down from about twenty minutes.
Quick facts
- Developer: RavalMatic, Barcelona
- Genre: two-deck Crescent-style patience
- Layout: 16 fanned piles, 8 foundations below
- Assists: 3 hints, 3 reshuffles, undo
- Clock: counts down from about 20:00
- Built with Phaser; first published 2016
How to play Refuge Solitaire
The in-game Help screen gives the whole rule set: empty the outer piles onto the eight foundations, using same-suit stacking in the arc to dig out the cards you need.
- 1
Read the layout
Sixteen piles fan across the top in a crescent. Below them, Aces of all four suits sit on the left and Kings of all four suits on the right.
- 2
Build the foundations
Drag a 2 of hearts onto the Ace of hearts, a Queen of spades onto the King of spades, and so on. Each foundation takes one suit in one direction.
- 3
Stack within the arc
Move the top card of a pile onto another pile's top card of the same suit and one rank higher or lower. Every move reveals the card beneath.
- 4
Use the helpers
Press Hint for a suggested move, Reshuffle when you are stuck, and the curved arrow to undo. Hints and reshuffles are limited to three each.
Controls
Desktop
- Drag a card with the mouse to a foundation or another pile
- HELP at the top left reopens the Refuge Solitaire rules
- SAVE and RESIGN sit at the top right of the table
Phone & tablet
- Drag cards with a finger instead of the mouse
- Play in landscape; the crescent is wider than it is tall
- A tablet shows the 16 overlapping piles more clearly than a phone
What sets Refuge Solitaire apart
Crescent layout
The 16 piles curve across the top of the table in an arc, following the classic Crescent Solitaire the game is based on.
Countdown clock
A timer at the bottom center counts down; in our test it went from 19:48 to 19:28 in twenty seconds.
Three hints, three reshuffles
Counters beside the Hint and Reshuffle buttons start at 3 and drop by one with each use.
Lakeside setting
Sunset light over snowy mountains, a still lake and a cabin with lit windows form the backdrop.
Tips for Refuge Solitaire
- Start with the 2s and Queens. They are the only cards that can go straight onto the starting Aces and Kings.
- Look under before you move. Each card you lift reveals another; in our deal, moving a 2 of diamonds uncovered the Queen of diamonds.
- Feed both foundations of a suit. Low cards climb on the Ace pile while high cards descend on the King pile, so a suit can shrink from both ends.
- Hold reshuffles for dead ends. You get three; use one only when no pile has a legal move left.
- Keep an eye on the clock. The countdown runs while you think, so make the obvious foundation moves first.
Who is Refuge Solitaire for?
Players who know Algerian Solitaire
The same developer and the same eight-foundation rule, dealt as a crescent instead of rows.
Solitaire players who like a limit
The countdown and the three-use helpers put a boundary on each game.
Anyone who wants a calm scene
The lakeside artwork and card-only play suit a short break.
Winning and the clock
You win when the crescent is empty and every card sits on a foundation, each suit split between an Ace pile that rose to its King and a King pile that fell to its Ace. The clock at the bottom center counts down from about twenty minutes, so the deal has to come out within that time. Three hints and three reshuffles are available per game, and Save and Resign buttons sit at the top right. We did not see a points total on screen, so finishing the deal is the measure of success.
Frequently asked questions
What is Refuge Solitaire?+
Refuge Solitaire is a free two-deck solitaire card game by RavalMatic, based on Crescent Solitaire. You clear a fan of 16 piles onto eight foundations: per suit, one Ace pile that rises and one King pile that falls.
How do you play Refuge Solitaire?+
Drag cards onto the foundations in suit order, or onto another pile's card of the same suit one rank higher or lower. Moving a card uncovers the one beneath it.
Is Refuge Solitaire timed?+
Yes. A clock at the bottom of the table counts down from about 20 minutes, and it keeps running while you plan.
How is Refuge Solitaire different from Algerian Solitaire?+
Both are RavalMatic games with eight same-suit foundations built from Aces and Kings. Refuge deals its cards into a crescent of 16 piles and adds a countdown, hints, reshuffles, undo and a save button.
Can you undo a move in Refuge Solitaire?+
Yes, the curved arrow button at the bottom left takes back your last move. It becomes active once you have made a move.
Privacy
Refuge Solitaire is delivered by GamePix through an embedded frame. GamePix decides which ads run in and around the card table and handles them; What Games Play has no hand in that. No sign-in is required to deal a game.
Sixteen piles are waiting
Find the 2s and Queens, start the foundations and beat the twenty-minute clock.
↑ Play Refuge Solitaire
