Play Perseverance Solitaire Online — Cruel With the Kings Buried

Perseverance is Cruel with runs, buried kings and a stricter redeal. The four aces start on the foundations; forty-eight cards are dealt face up into twelve columns of four, and any king dealt to a column goes to its bottom. Columns build down in suit; a packed run moves as a unit; an empty column takes nothing. When stuck, the columns are picked up in reverse order — the last column first — and redealt four to a column without shuffling, twice in a game. Bank all 52 to win.

Setup

Shuffle one deck and place the four aces on the foundations. Deal forty-eight cards face up into twelve columns of four, moving any king to the bottom of its column as it is dealt. The redeal pile shows two redeals.

Rules

• Foundations build up in suit from the ace.
• Tableau builds down in suit.
• Runs travel: a packed run in suit moves as a unit.
• Spaces take nothing.
• The redeal: the columns are picked up in reverse order, the twelfth onto the eleventh and so on, and dealt back four to a column without shuffling.
• Two redeals.
• Win when all four foundations are complete.

Strategy

Buried kings are a gift: a king at the base of a column can never block anything, and a column that runs down from its king banks in one sweep once its suit's low cards are up. The two redeals are the constraint, and the reverse gather changes what they do.

• Bank as you go. Twos and threes go up at once; every banked card leaves the redeal cycle.
• Build long runs under kings. A king-headed run in suit is thirteen cards waiting to bank; extend it rather than starting a second run of the suit.
• Reverse means the last column leads. After a redeal the twelfth column's cards land first. Put the cards you want on top of the new first columns at the far end before you redeal.
• Unbalance before you redeal. Twelve columns of four come back as the same cards in a different order only if the reverse gather changes them; leave uneven columns so the fours cut differently.
• Spend redeals last. Two is not many. Exhaust every build first.
• Empty columns stay empty. They take nothing, but each one changes the count for the next redeal.

Where It Sits in the Castle Family

Perseverance is the Cruel line's most-documented member and its most disputed: the two published sources bury the kings and pick the columns up in reverse, where PySolFC's own code doubts both; this version follows the published rules and records the conflict. Relaxed Cruel and Ripple Fan share its runs and suit build with unlimited forward redeals.

Other Games to Try

• Cruel — the original, unlimited redeals, one card at a time
• Relaxed Cruel — Cruel with runs
• Baker's Dozen — the buried kings without a redeal
• Indefatigable — up or down in suit, two redeals

About This Version

Perseverance runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer and it works offline. You get unlimited undo, a hint button that names a legal move, statistics that track your wins and times, and seeded deals: every game has a seed you can replay, so a board you enjoyed (or lost) can be played again exactly.