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How to play Solitaire

Solitaire is the card game you play on your own. In every version the idea is the same: move cards around a layout until every suit is sorted from Ace to King. Here are the rules for the three most popular games: Klondike, Spider and FreeCell.

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  • Card & board games
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Solitaire game

Klondike (classic Solitaire)

  • Layout: 7 columns with 1 to 7 cards each, the top card face up. The rest is the stock.
  • Goal: build all four suits on the foundations, Ace up to King.
  • In the columns, stack cards in descending order with alternating colours (a red 9 on a black 10). You can move a whole face-up run at once.
  • Only a King (or a run starting with a King) can go into an empty column.
  • Turn cards from the stock one at a time (Draw 1) or three at a time (Draw 3, harder). When the stock runs out, flip the waste pile back over.

Spider

  • Two decks, 10 columns. The goal is to build complete runs from King down to Ace in one suit. A complete run leaves the table by itself.
  • You can put any card on a card one rank higher, whatever the suit, but you can only move several cards together when they are the same suit.
  • Click the stock to deal one new card onto every column (every column must have at least one card).
  • Play with 1 suit (easy), 2 suits or 4 suits (hard).

FreeCell

  • All 52 cards are dealt face up into 8 columns, so you can plan everything.
  • There are 4 free cells, each holding one card, and 4 foundations.
  • Build columns down in alternating colours. Free cells and empty columns let you move longer runs.

Tips

  • Turn over face-down cards as early as you can. Hidden cards are what stop you.
  • Don't fill an empty column straight away unless the move really helps.
  • In FreeCell, keep free cells empty. Each empty cell lets you move bigger runs.
  • In our game every deal is checked by a solver to be winnable, and undo is unlimited.
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