Citadel Solitaire is a single-deck member of the Beleaguered Castle family, closest to Streets and Alleys — with one twist that happens before you touch a card. As the 52 cards are dealt across eight open piles, any card that fits a foundation at that exact moment is played there instead. The four Aces always go up this way, and often several low cards follow, so every game opens with a head start the deal itself earned.
Objective: Move all 52 cards to the four foundations, each built up in suit from Ace to King.
Storm the Citadel - your siege starts with the walls already breached!
That is the deal-time skim, Citadel's defining rule. As each card is dealt, it is checked against the foundations: an Ace on an empty foundation, or the next card in suit on a started one, is played there immediately and never reaches the tableau. The moment the deal ends, skimming stops - after that, cards reach the foundations only through your moves.
The rules of play are identical: eight open piles, build down by rank regardless of suit, one card at a time, any card to an empty pile, foundations up in suit. The only difference is the deal - Streets and Alleys starts with empty foundations, while Citadel plays every card that fits a foundation during the deal itself.
Yes. An Ace always fits its empty foundation at the moment it is dealt, so all four Aces skim on every deal. Most deals send a few more low cards up with them - the size of your head start is part of each game's character.
No. Foundations are one-way in the whole castle family, and that includes the cards the deal skimmed. Once a card is on a foundation, it stays there.
Every card that skims to a foundation skips its place in the layout, and the deal simply continues with the next card. At most 48 cards reach the tableau, so the piles finish at most six deep, and usually with uneven lengths.
No. Like the rest of the Beleaguered Castle family, some layouts lock up no matter how well you play - and a bigger head start does not always mean an easier game, because the skimmed cards are no longer available as tableau landing spots. The game detects a provably dead position and tells you rather than leaving you to shuffle forever.