Rules
Easthaven Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Deal seven tableau columns with three cards in each column.
- Only the top card of each opening column starts face up.
- Build tableau columns downward by alternating red and black cards.
- Move a single face-up card or a valid face-up descending sequence.
- Only a king or a legal sequence beginning with a king may fill an empty column.
- Build four foundations upward by exact suit from ace to king.
- Deal the stock directly onto the tableau, one face-up card per column, whenever you choose.
- The final stock deal has three cards, placed on the first three columns.
- Win when all 52 cards reach the foundations.
Basics
What is Easthaven Solitaire?
Easthaven Solitaire is a one-deck patience game in the Klondike neighborhood, but it does not play like ordinary draw-one Solitaire. The opening tableau is flatter: seven columns, three cards each, with only the top layer available. The stock is not a waste pile. It waits then drops a new face-up row across the columns whenever you ask for more cards.
That row-deal rule gives Easthaven its character. A fresh row can uncover opportunities, but it can also bury cards you were hoping to use. The game rewards the same instincts as Klondike, such as revealing hidden cards and building foundations carefully, while adding a sharper sense of timing around when the next row lands.
Setup
Easthaven setup and layout
- Tableau: Seven columns with three cards each
- Opening visibility: Only the top card of each column starts face up
- Stock: 31 cards remain after the opening deal
- Foundations: Four empty suit foundations
- Waste: None in this version
- Redeal: None; stock cards are dealt once as tableau rows
Objective
The goal: turn a crowded tableau into four foundations
A win means every card reaches a foundation. Each foundation belongs to one suit and builds upward from ace through king. Aces are valuable because they give low cards a place to go; buried aces and twos are often the reason an Easthaven deal feels jammed.
The tableau is temporary working space. It builds downward by alternating color, and the stock keeps adding new top cards until it is empty. Good play turns hidden cards face up, creates useful king spaces, and moves low cards to foundations before a stock row covers the column you need.
Moves
Legal and illegal Easthaven moves
Tableau cards build down by one rank and alternate color. A black 10 can take a red 9. A red 6 can take a black 5. If several face-up cards already form a correct descending, alternating-color sequence, the whole sequence can move together.
Foundations are stricter. An ace starts its suit foundation, the 2 of that suit goes on the ace, and the pile continues upward by exact suit. A face-down card is not available until everything above it moves away. When a face-down card becomes exposed, this game turns it face up automatically.
Red 8 onto black 9Legal because tableau cards build downward by one rank and alternate color.
Black 8 onto black 9Illegal because the colors do not alternate.
Queen into an empty columnIllegal unless it is part of a legal sequence that begins with a king.
King-led sequence into an empty columnLegal when the moved packet starts with a king.
Top ace to foundationLegal when it starts the matching suit foundation.
Face-down cardIllegal until the cards above it move away and the card turns face up.
Stock
How stock rows work
Easthaven has no waste pile. The 31 stock cards are dealt directly onto the tableau as face-up rows. You can deal the next row whenever stock cards remain, even if tableau or foundation moves are still available. The first four stock deals place one card on each of the seven columns.
After those four full rows, three stock cards remain. The final deal is short: one card lands on each of the first three columns. There is no redeal, so once a stock card lands, it becomes part of the tableau puzzle.
Columns
Empty columns are king spaces
An empty column is powerful because it can move a king-led packet out of the way and expose a hidden card. It is not a spare parking place for any card. In this version, only a king or a legal sequence beginning with a king can move into an empty tableau column.
Because stock rows can refill a board quickly, an empty column is often best used before the next deal. If the space reveals an ace, a low card, or a long sequence, it may be worth more than a tidy move that leaves every hidden card buried.
Ranks
Card order, colors, and suits
Easthaven reads the deck in two directions. Foundations climb from ace to king by suit. Tableau columns descend from king to ace by alternating color. This means a card can be excellent foundation material and still be needed as a tableau support for a lower card.
AStarts a foundation
2-10Build upward in foundations and downward in the tableau
JBuilds on a queen in the tableau
QBuilds on a king in the tableau
KThe only rank that can open an empty column
Suits matter exactly in the foundations. In the tableau, only color matters: hearts and diamonds are red, clubs and spades are black. A heart can build on a club or spade if the rank is one lower.
Strategy
Easthaven Solitaire strategy that changes the position
Your first priority is exposing hidden cards. The opening tableau has fourteen hidden cards, and each one might be an ace, a low foundation card, or the king needed to use an empty column. When two moves are legal, favor the one that flips a card over or opens a path to a buried card.
Think before moving a long sequence. Packet moves are useful, but a neat-looking stack can be a trap if it covers a column that was close to revealing something. Easthaven rewards functional disorder: a board that reveals cards is usually healthier than a board with one impressive column and six blocked piles.
Watch the low cards. Aces, twos, and threes are easy to bury under stock rows, and once they are buried, higher cards of the same suit cannot leave. If a top ace can go home, it usually should. For middle cards, pause long enough to see whether the tableau still needs that card as a landing place.
Mistakes
Common Easthaven mistakes
- Moving a sequence only because it is legal, without checking what it exposes.
- Wasting an empty column on a king that does not reveal or organize anything useful.
- Forgetting that a stock row will cover every active column it reaches.
- Leaving obvious aces and twos in the tableau until they are buried by later rows.
- Dealing automatically every turn before checking whether a useful reveal is already available.
- Building columns too neatly while hidden opening cards remain untouched.
Winnability
Is Easthaven Solitaire winnable?
Easthaven is not guaranteed from a random shuffle. The hidden opening cards can trap key low ranks, and the row-dealt stock can bury a card just when the foundations need it. This page uses random deals rather than a winnable-only generator, so some losses are simply part of the game.
Skill still matters. Strong play reveals cards sooner, preserves useful king spaces, and moves foundation cards at the right time. Undo is included so you can test a move order and see whether a different reveal changes the deal.
This version
What this Easthaven page includes
- Included: seven tableau columns of three cards.
- Included: top card of each opening column face up; lower cards hidden until exposed.
- Included: tableau building down by alternating color.
- Included: movable face-up sequences when the sequence is already legal.
- Included: king-only empty columns.
- Included: stock rows dealt directly onto the tableau whenever you choose.
- Included: automatic flips, undo, restart, hints, and win or stuck dialogs.
- Not included: a waste pile, redeals, scoring, timers, daily deals, or winnable-only deals.
Variants
Easthaven variants and house rules
Easthaven belongs to a family of Klondike-like patience games, so rule details can vary by book, app, or local habit. This page lets players deal the next row whenever they want, because forced-move-before-deal rules can create reversible loops that add friction without adding much strategy.
Empty-space rules are another common source of drift. Allowing any card into an empty column makes the game looser and more forgiving. Restricting spaces to kings gives the game its Klondike-style pressure, which is the version implemented here.
Names
Easthaven, Westcliff, Aces Up, and naming drift
Solitaire names are not perfectly tidy. Easthaven is often described as a variant related to Westcliff, and some sources have also used or mentioned the name Aces Up in ways that can confuse players. On this site, the distinction is simple: Easthaven Solitaire is the seven-column builder on this page. Aces Up Solitaire is the separate four-pile discard game on the homepage.
The important thing is the rule set in front of you. If a page says Easthaven but uses a waste pile, unlimited row deals, or any-card spaces, it will feel different. This page keeps the rules explicit so the game, strategy, and article all match the playable board.
Tracking
How Easthaven is tracked here
The status bar shows foundation progress, stock cards, hidden tableau cards, and moves. A stock row counts as a move because it changes every active column it reaches. A win happens only when all 52 cards are on the foundations.
New game starts a fresh shuffle. Restart returns the same deal to its opening position. Undo restores the previous state, including flipped cards and stock rows. There is no score penalty for learning the position.
Nearby games
How Easthaven compares with other solitaire games
Easthaven is a good next step if you like Klondike but want a shorter, denser tableau. Klondike gives you a waste pile to manage. Yukon gives you more freedom to move exposed packets. Scorpion makes the packet play tougher by building in suit. Easthaven sits between those moods: familiar foundation building, less stock cycling, and constant pressure from row deals.
If you want something lighter, Golf and TriPeaks are faster removal games. If you want more visible planning, FreeCell is cleaner and more tactical. If you want a harder tableau puzzle with less forgiveness, Scorpion and Forty Thieves are natural follow-ups.