Hillside Steps
Italian deck · 40 cardsOne up, one downHillside Steps is a one-up-one-down patience for the 40-card Neapolitan deck. Climb up and down the values – 1 to 7, then Fante, Cavallo and Re – to clear five columns of cards.
Rules
Twenty-five Italian cards are dealt face up in five columns of five. One card starts the pile; the other fourteen wait in the stock.
- The order of values is Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Fante, Cavallo, Re. Suits do not matter in this game.
- Move the bottom card of any column onto the pile when it is one step above or below the card on top: a 7 goes on a 6 or on a Fante, a Fante on a 7 or on a Cavallo.
- There is no wrap-around: the Re and the Ace do not connect.
- When nothing fits, tap the stock to turn its next card onto the pile. The stock is used only once.
- Clear all five columns to win. Cards left in the stock do not count against you.
Strategy and tips
Look for the long chain
Before you play, trace the longest run of steps through the column bottoms and the cards behind them. A chain like 4-5-6-5-4 clears five cards for the price of one stock card.
At a fork, look one card deeper
When two cards fit – say a 5 and a 7 on a 6 – check what each choice uncovers. Pick the one that leaves a next step, not the one that ends the chain.
The ends are dead ends
The Ace and the Re connect in one direction only. Play them when something can follow, and expect a stock card whenever the pile shows an Ace or a Re.
Keep the columns even
Deep columns left at the end are the usual way to lose. When two moves are equally good, take the card from the fuller column.
Each stock card ends a chain
There are fourteen stock cards and no second pass. Turn one only when no column card fits.
Numbered deals of Hillside Steps
Thirty fixed deals of Hillside Steps, each won by the solver before it was listed. Start with an easy one or jump straight to the hard ones.
- Deal #3Easy · 39 moves in the solver's line · 1% quick wins
- Deal #5Easy · 39 moves in the solver's line · 4% quick wins
- Deal #2Medium · 38 moves in the solver's line · 0% quick wins
- Deal #4Medium · 38 moves in the solver's line · 2% quick wins
- Deal #1Hard · 39 moves in the solver's line · 0% quick wins
- Deal #6Hard · 39 moves in the solver's line · 0% quick wins
Questions and answers
How is it different from golf solitaire?
The idea is the same, but with 40 cards and ten values the deal is smaller: five columns of five instead of seven. We call it Steps because of the stair-like order 7, Fante, Cavallo, Re.
Is every deal winnable?
With “Only winnable deals” on (the default), every new deal has been won by the solver first. The daily deal and the numbered deals are always checked. Without the check, roughly a quarter to a third of random deals cannot be won at all.
Do the suits ever matter?
No, only the values count. That makes Hillside Steps a good first game with the Neapolitan deck: you learn the order of the court cards without worrying about the suits.
What happens when the stock is empty?
If no column card fits the pile, the game is over. You will see a “no more moves” message with the option to undo and try another route.
Go further
- One up, one downHow to play one-up-one-down solitaire well: chains instead of single moves, forks, end values, the stock as a clock, wrap-around and hidden cards.
- The Neapolitan deck, card by cardA clear guide to the 40-card Italian deck: Coins, Cups, Swords and Batons, the court cards Fante, Cavallo and Re, values in games and how it differs from the French deck.
- Daily dealToday's daily deal for seven solitaire games: the same shuffle for every player, checked as winnable. Play one a day and keep your streak going.
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