Card Capture: Monsters from Mars — Free Solitaire Deck Builder
Card Capture: Monsters from Mars!
The sirens are wailing and the radar is lit up like a Christmas tree. The Martian High Command has deployed their heavy hitters, and the only thing standing between their heat-rays and our cities is your tactical reserve.
Card Capture is a solo deck-building challenge using a standard 54-card deck. Your starting forces are thin — a handful of 2s, 3s, and 4s — but every enemy commander you capture gets reverse-engineered into your arsenal, bolstering your firepower for the battles ahead. Clear the front line before they overwhelm you, and before one of their commanders makes it through earth's defenses, or we are surely lost.
The Armory — Deck Setup
The Martian Fleet (Enemy Deck)
- Remove all 2s, 3s, 4s and both Jokers from the deck.
- Shuffle the remaining 40 cards (5s through 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces) — this is the Enemy Draw Deck.
- Deal four cards face-up to form the Front Line. Any Ace, Jack, Queen, or King that appears here is immediately moved to the bottom of the Enemy Draw Deck and replaced — the commanders don't show themselves until the conditions are right.
The Global Resistance (Your Deck)
- The 2s, 3s, 4s, and both Jokers (14 cards) are your Personal Draw Deck — the scrappy remnants of Earth's tactical reserve.
- Shuffle them and place face-down. You draw up to four cards for your hand each round.
- Every enemy commander you capture goes into your discard pile and cycles back — turning their own weapons against them.
Combat Values
- 2–10: face value
- Jack: 11
- Queen: 12
- King: 13
- Ace: 14
- Joker: mimics any other card you play alongside it — copying that card's suit and value. Two Jokers each mimic a card independently, so a 4♥ played with two Jokers counts as three 4♥s (12 total).
Victory & Defeat
- Victory: The Enemy Draw Deck is empty and all four Front Line positions are clear. The fleet is shattered — the invasion is repelled.
- Defeat: An Ace, Jack, Queen, or King ends up in the Enemy Capture Pile — or you cannot make any legal move. Earth is lost.
Tactical Mechanics — Each Round
Each round of engagement runs through four phases in order.
1
Enemy Phase — Reinforcements Incoming
The Martian High Command pushes fresh troops to the front. Slide any remaining cards rightward to close gaps, then deal new cards from the Enemy Draw Deck into the empty positions on the left. If the Enemy Draw Deck is empty, skip this phase — their reserves are spent.
2
Discard Phase — Thin the Ranks
You may discard any number of cards from your hand face-down into your Personal Discard Pile. Shed assets that won't be useful this round — freeing up hand space for better draws. You may not look through your discard pile at any time.
3
Draw Phase — Resupply
Draw from your Personal Draw Deck until you hold four cards. If your deck runs dry, shuffle your discard pile into a new draw deck and keep drawing. Captured enemy commanders are now cycling back through your supply chain — high-value assets ready for deployment.
4
Capture Phase — Engage
Take one action against the Front Line:
- Neutralise an enemy card — capture it into your arsenal
- Tactical Sacrifice — spend two cards to push one enemy back
- Tactical Retreat — let the enemy take one of your cards
One Front Line position is emptied at the end of every Capture Phase and will be refilled by the next Enemy Phase.
Engaging the Front Line
A
Neutralise — Capture an Enemy Card
Target one enemy card in the Front Line. Commit cards from your hand whose total value equals or exceedsthe target's value. All committed cards must be the same suit as the target.
A Joker mimics another card you play — it copies the suit and value of one other card in the same attack. If you play two Jokers, each one independently mimics a card. A 4♥ played with two Jokers becomes three 4♥s: 12 Hearts total.
On success, the captured enemy card and all cards you spent go into your Personal Discard Pile. That commander will return to your hand in a future round as a high-powered 11–14 value unit.
Example: the 9♥ is in the Front Line. Play a 4♥ + one Joker (mimicking the 4♥) = 8 Hearts — not enough. Add a second Joker (also mimicking the 4♥) = 12 Hearts. Target neutralised.
B
Tactical Sacrifice — Push Back
Can't match the target's suit? Hold the line at a cost. Place any two cards from your hand into the Enemy Capture Pile — those assets are lost. In exchange, choose one enemy card from the Front Line and send it to the bottom of the Enemy Draw Deck. It will return, but you've bought time.
Restriction: You may not sacrifice an Ace, Jack, Queen, or King. Losing a commander would end the game immediately.
C
Tactical Retreat — Let the Enemy Capture
Last resort only. The enemy card in the rightmost occupied Front Line position seizes one card of your choice from your hand. Both the enemy card and your chosen card are placed in the Enemy Capture Pile and removed from the game.
Instant defeat: if an Ace, Jack, Queen, or King ever lands in the Enemy Capture Pile — yours or theirs — the invasion succeeds.
Use this only to purge a low-value card you can afford to lose. Never risk a commander.
Commander's Briefing — Strategy Tips
- Reverse-engineer their tech. Captured Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces cycle back as 11–14 value powerhouses. Every commander you neutralise makes future captures easier.
- Sacrifice is attrition warfare. Those two cards are gone for good — every sacrifice permanently shrinks your deck. Use it as a last resort, not a first option.
- Discard Phase is your intelligence move. Shed cards that don't match any Front Line suit this round, so your hand on Draw Phase is purpose-built for the threats you face.
- Guard your commanders. An Ace, Jack, Queen, or King in the Enemy Capture Pile ends the game instantly — no exceptions, no matter how well the campaign is going.
- A thinning fleet is your window. As the Enemy Draw Deck shrinks, the Front Line becomes harder to refill. A nearly-empty enemy deck late in the game is your best opportunity to clear the board.