Play Castles in Spain Online
Castles in Spain uses the 13-column Baker's Dozen layout, but only the top card of each column starts face up. The 3 cards under it are face down, and the tableau builds in classic alternating colors. Empty columns can take any card, so the table is flexible, but the color rule and the hidden cards make each short stack more deliberate than it is in Spanish Patience.
If you like Spanish Patience but want more structure in the tableau, this is the sharper version. It has no stock pile to rescue a careless line, and every card you turn over can change the plan.
A Wide Board With Classic Color Logic
The game deals all 52 cards into 13 columns of 4, with the top card of each column face up. You build down by alternating color, turn over a face-down card whenever it is uncovered, move Aces to foundations and use empty columns as temporary space when a card needs to step aside.
Tableau Builds
A red 8 can move onto a black 9. A black Jack can move onto a red Queen. Same-color builds are not allowed even when the ranks are right, so check the color before every move that looks tidy.
Empty Columns
Any single card can fill an empty column. That freedom helps you repair a blocked color pattern, but it can also scatter the table if the moved card does not uncover a better card beneath it.
Plan Around Color
Bad positions usually come from color timing and from turning cards over in the wrong order. Before moving a card into a space, look for the opposite-color card that can receive it next. A move with no next landing spot is often just a delay. When 2 moves look equal, take the one that turns over a face-down card.
Players coming from Baker's Dozen should slow down here. In that game any card goes on the next rank up. Here the colors must alternate from the first move.
Look for Long Red and Black Runs
The color rule makes it worth looking a few moves ahead. A long descending run of alternating colors can shift as one idea even though you play it a card at a time. Look for where a red-black-red chain could form before you break it up for a quick foundation play.
Open columns help here in a way they cannot in Baker's Dozen, because you can park a card to keep a color order intact and reclaim the space later. The Baker's Dozen guide covers Castles in Spain alongside the 3 games that leave the build rule alone.
Quick Castles in Spain Answers
How is Castles in Spain different from Baker's Dozen?
Three rules differ. Castles in Spain deals 3 cards face down in each column, builds downward in alternating colors and lets any card fill an empty column. Baker's Dozen deals every card face up, builds by rank regardless of color and never refills an empty column.
Can any card go into an empty column?
Yes. Unlike Portuguese Solitaire, which holds its spaces for Kings, a cleared Castles in Spain column takes whatever card you need to move there.
Is it close to Klondike?
The building is. You stack down in alternating colors just as Klondike does, and each column hides face-down cards under its top card. The difference is that there is no stock to draw from, so all 52 cards start on the table.
Can every Castles in Spain deal be won?
Every Winnable deal has a known solution, while a Random deal may have none. You can check your position at any time with Is it winnable?, and a signed-in win without hints or undo counts on the Castles in Spain leaderboard.