Seahaven Towers Solitaire

Seahaven Towers, rules and strategy

A solitaire game in which all cards are visible from the start, as in FreeCell, but with ten columns, same-suit sequences, and only a king allowed to fill an empty column. It all comes down to thinking. This site explains the app’s exact rules, strategy, and solved deals verified card by card. To play: Seahaven Towers Solitaire, on iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Read the rulesDownload the app

Available on the App Store and on Google Play.

Seahaven Towers on a phone held in landscape orientation: a game in progress on the green table background, ten columns of cards, the four cells (the “Towers” row in the app) and the four foundations, time, score, and moves.

Seahaven Towers at a glance

Seahaven Towers is played solo with a deck of 52 cards, all face up: 5 cards in each of the 10 columns, and the last 2 in the cells. Each of the 4 cells holds one card aside, and 4 foundations receive the cards of each suit, from ace to king. The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the foundations.

In the columns, a card is placed on the card of the same suit and one rank higher: the 9 of hearts on the 10 of hearts. An empty column accepts only a king. Each card therefore has only one possible parent, and a buried king blocks everything it covers. The game involves freeing the aces and kings without filling the cells. The rules detail every move, and the strategy explains how to approach the game.

A deal from the app

Here is the deal with code SH1-C4-AAAAAJ2 exactly as the app deals it. Paste this code into the New Game window to play it; its solution in 85 moves is detailed on the Examples page.

Cells (4): 2 of hearts, 3 of hearts, empty, empty. Foundations, cards placed: 0 spades, 0 hearts, 0 diamonds, 0 clubs. Column 1: 9 of hearts, 8 of diamonds, 3 of diamonds, king of spades, 5 of spades (top: 5 of spades); column 2: 7 of clubs, 6 of clubs, 8 of spades, king of hearts, jack of clubs (top: jack of clubs); column 3: jack of hearts, 7 of spades, ace of clubs, ace of spades, king of diamonds (top: king of diamonds); column 4: 5 of diamonds, 10 of spades, 4 of spades, 8 of hearts, ace of diamonds (top: ace of diamonds); column 5: 10 of hearts, jack of spades, jack of diamonds, 10 of clubs, 5 of clubs (top: 5 of clubs); column 6: 2 of spades, 8 of clubs, 4 of hearts, 5 of hearts, 4 of clubs (top: 4 of clubs); column 7: 9 of clubs, queen of diamonds, 7 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds, 2 of diamonds (top: 2 of diamonds); column 8: 9 of diamonds, 6 of spades, 6 of diamonds, 2 of clubs, 7 of hearts (top: 7 of hearts); column 9: queen of hearts, queen of spades, ace of hearts, 3 of clubs, 9 of spades (top: 9 of spades); column 10: queen of clubs, 6 of hearts, 10 of diamonds, king of clubs, 3 of spades (top: 3 of spades).

Deal SH1-C4-AAAAAJ2 at the start: 10 columns of 5 cards, 2 cards in the cells, and empty foundations.

Where to start?

On phone and tablet

The app is played in landscape orientation. It offers 4, 2 or 1 free cells to adjust the difficulty, a code for each game to replay or share a deal, undo for the last 100 actions, and statistics.

Seahaven Towers on a phone in landscape orientation: the start of a game, ten columns of five cards on the green table background, two cards in the cells, and foundations still empty.
Phone, in landscape orientation.
Seahaven Towers on a tablet in landscape orientation: the same game in progress, with more green playing surface around the columns, cells and foundations.
Tablet, in landscape orientation.