Rules
Brigade Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Move the four aces to the foundations before dealing the layout.
- Deal seven tableau piles with five face-up cards in each pile.
- Deal the remaining thirteen cards as individual reserve cards.
- Foundations build upward by suit from ace to king.
- Tableau piles build downward by alternating color.
- Only one available card moves at a time.
- The top card of each tableau pile is available.
- Every filled reserve slot is available, but empty reserve slots stay closed.
- Empty tableau piles accept any available card.
- Cards above the foundation aces may move back to the tableau when useful.
- There is no stock, waste, or redeal.
How to play
How to play Brigade Solitaire
Brigade begins after the easiest foundation move has already happened: all four aces are placed on the foundations. The real work is finding a route from the open layout to four complete suit piles. Because every non-foundation card is visible at the start, the puzzle is less about surprise and more about order, space, and timing.
On each turn, choose one available card. That can be the top card of a tableau pile, any card still sitting in the reserve, or a foundation card above its base ace. Move it to a matching foundation if it is the next card of that suit, or move it to the tableau if it builds down by alternating color. A black 8 can land on a red 9. A red 8 can land on a black 9. Suit does not matter in the tableau.
Empty tableau piles are the main source of freedom. They accept any available card, not only kings. That sounds generous, but Brigade makes you earn those spaces. The reserve does not refill and there is no stock to rescue a bad position later, so every card that leaves the reserve should either build a foundation, expose a better tableau card, or create a cleaner landing place.
Setup
Brigade setup and layout
- Foundations: Four aces are removed first and placed as the foundation bases.
- Tableau: Seven tableau piles are dealt five face-up cards each.
- Reserve: The remaining thirteen cards are dealt as separate reserve cards.
- Stock: None. Brigade has no stock, waste, or redeal in this version.
Foundations
How the foundations work
The foundations are suit piles. Clubs build on clubs, diamonds on diamonds, hearts on hearts, and spades on spades. Since the aces are already in place, the first foundation cards you are looking for are the twos. After a 2 of spades is played, the spade foundation needs the 3 of spades, then the 4 of spades, all the way to the king.
Brigade has a useful wrinkle: foundation cards above the ace are still in play. If you move a 6 to a foundation and later need it as a tableau landing card, this version lets you bring it back when it fits. That does not make foundation moves free. Pulling cards back costs tempo, and moving a card home too early can still leave the tableau with no useful supports.
Reserve
The thirteen reserve cards are one-time help
Brigade's reserve is not a stock pile. There is no draw button and no hidden order waiting underneath. The thirteen reserve cards are all visible and all available immediately. When one leaves, its slot closes.
Treat those reserve cards as tools, not clutter. A reserve 2 that starts a foundation is usually welcome. A reserve queen that fills an empty tableau pile may be brilliant if it lets you move a jack and uncover a pile, or wasteful if it merely blocks the only open space. Because empty reserve slots never refill, using a reserve card should change the board in a way you can name.
Moves
Legal and illegal Brigade moves
Brigade is a single-card game in this version. A tidy descending run in the tableau is helpful because it creates order, but it does not move as one packet. Only the exposed top card of a tableau pile can leave that pile.
LegalA black 6 onto a red 7 in the tableau
LegalAny reserve card into an empty tableau pile
LegalThe 3 of hearts onto the 2 of hearts foundation
LegalA foundation card above the ace back onto a matching tableau card
IllegalA red 6 onto a red 7
IllegalMoving a buried tableau card while another card sits above it
IllegalRefilling an empty reserve slot
IllegalMoving a whole tableau sequence as a packet
Empty tableau piles are deliberately flexible. Any available card can move into an empty pile, whether it is a king, a 9, or a low foundation card brought back into play. That rule is why clearing a pile matters so much: an empty pile can turn a blocked top card into a useful transfer, and a useful transfer can expose the next foundation card.
Raglan family
What makes Brigade a Raglan-type game?
Brigade belongs near King Albert and Raglan: open one-deck builders with reserve pressure, alternating-color tableau play, and foundations that climb by suit. King Albert deals a larger descending tableau and keeps only seven reserve cards. Raglan makes the game more approachable by starting the aces on the foundations. Brigade keeps that Raglan idea, then changes the shape to seven equal tableau piles and thirteen reserve cards.
That layout changes the feel of the game. Seven equal piles make the opening easier to scan than a long staircase tableau, but the larger reserve tempts you to spend cards too quickly. Brigade is often won by resisting the obvious move until you know which pile or foundation it actually improves.
Strategy
Brigade Solitaire strategy
First, look for twos and threes. Since the aces already sit on the foundations, low cards create immediate progress and reduce the number of loose cards that must be parked in the tableau. A low card trapped under the wrong top card can shape your first several moves.
Second, create an empty tableau pile before spending the reserve casually. Empty tableau space is flexible enough to hold any available card, so it is more valuable than an average tableau move. If a reserve card opens a pile, it may be worth playing. If it only moves from the reserve to a crowded tableau with no follow-up, it may be better left alone.
Third, do not overbuild foundations just because a card is legal. Brigade lets foundation cards above the ace come back, but that does not mean every foundation move is harmless. A red 7 might be the only landing spot for a black 6 that exposes a needed 2. Good Brigade play often means waiting until the card is no longer useful as tableau support.
Finally, use undo as a thinking tool. Since the whole deal is visible, you can compare two lines without guessing at hidden cards. Try the move that opens space, note which card it releases, then undo and test the quieter foundation-first line.
Mistakes
Common Brigade mistakes
- Using reserve cards as storage instead of asking what each reserve move unlocks.
- Filling the first empty tableau pile with a card that has no useful follow-up.
- Moving middle cards to foundations before checking whether they are needed as supports.
- Forgetting that reserve spaces close permanently after their cards leave.
- Trying to move a descending tableau sequence as a group.
- Ignoring a foundation rollback that could reopen a blocked tableau move.
Difficulty
Why Brigade feels tactical
Brigade gives you full information but limited motion. There are no face-down surprises, yet the top-card-only tableau still blocks many of the cards you can see. That creates a satisfying kind of pressure: you often know exactly which card you need, but you must make space before it can move.
The absence of a stock also sharpens every decision. In Klondike, a draw pile can change the board. In Brigade, the initial layout is the entire deal. The only way to create new options is to move cards in a better order.
Winnability
Is Brigade Solitaire winnable?
Brigade is not always winnable from a random shuffle. Open information gives you more control than a hidden-card game, but the deal can still bury low foundation cards beneath awkward top cards or place too many important supports in the reserve. This page does not filter for solvable deals, so some shuffles will simply run out of useful moves.
Skill matters because the board is visible. Better players preserve flexible tableau space, delay reversible foundation moves until they are actually safe, and use reserve cards to open piles instead of merely moving cards around. If a deal fails, replaying it can teach more than immediately starting over.
This version
What this Brigade page includes
- Included: one standard deck and four ace-started foundations.
- Included: seven tableau piles of five face-up cards.
- Included: thirteen one-card reserve slots.
- Included: alternating-color tableau building and any-card empty tableau piles.
- Included: single-card movement only.
- Included: foundation cards above the aces can move back to the tableau.
- Included: undo, restart, hints, and the shared win or stuck dialog.
- Not included: stock cards, redeals, sequence movement, scoring, daily deals, or guaranteed-winnable deals.
Variants
Brigade variants and nearby rules
The main nearby games are King Albert, Raglan, and Relaxed Raglan. King Albert is the older reference point, with a larger stepped tableau and a smaller reserve. Raglan starts the aces on the foundations, which removes one layer of early searching. Brigade keeps the aces in place but changes the opening shape to seven piles of five cards and thirteen reserve cards.
Relaxed Raglan is important because it highlights what this Brigade version does not do: tableau sequences do not move together here. If a software version lets you move packed runs, it will play looser and usually feel easier because empty tableau spaces become much more powerful.