What is Solitaire?

"Solitaire" is a French word and means "solitary person." Solitaire card game was not always known as such; in England, Poland, and Germany, it was initially known as "patience." The game is known as "Kabale" in Scandinavian nations. These titles all refer to the card game's fundamentals: it needs a great deal of patience and time, but it also makes players happy when they win. Because this is an unaccompanied game, the source of the name "solitaire" is "sol," which means "alone."

Playing solitaire requires the use of the brain, allowing specific mental talents to grow and different skills to develop and strengthen over time.

Solitaire Game

Did you know that Solitaire is a card game genre rather than a specific game? Because solitaire has been around for almost 200 years, there are several varieties of the game. Find out more about this fascinating genre in this article.

What is your sweet escape when you are bored at work? Many would say it is playing solitaire. Solitaire is a single-player card game that is pre-installed with Microsoft Windows. You can play the solitaire card game to kill some time and divert your attention from everyday stress.

Solitaire History

The game of solitaire has a long and illustrious history. Card solitaires are said to have started at the end of the 18th century in the Baltic area of Europe, probably as a type of fortune-telling; where the outcome of the game signified if the player's wish would come true.

Since then, hundreds of variations of the solitaire card have been recorded, many of which are minor variants of one another and all of which may be classed into one of a few fundamental kinds of solitaire formats.

How to Play Solitaire Game?

Let us understand how to play solitaire below:

Objective

All the cards must be arranged in the foundation pile to win the solitaire game. The cards are arranged rank and suit-wise in the foundation pile. The order must be Ace to King (A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K) and the cards of the same suit are in one pile.

Types of Piles

There are four types of piles in the solitaire game:-

  1. Foundation Pile.
  2. Tableau.
  3. Stockpile.
  4. Waste Pile.
  1. Foundation Pile:- The cards of the same suit are arranged in numerical order, starting from A to K, in the four foundation piles for the four card suits, namely, hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds.
     
  2. Tableau:- The tableau in the solitaire game online has seven rows. The cards are arranged in a staircase pattern. The first row has one card, and each subsequent row has one additional card. The seventh row has seven cards. All the cards in the tableau are face down. Only the top card in each row is face up. There are 28 cards in the tableau and the rest of the cards are kept in the tableau.
     
  3. Stockpile:- 24 cards are kept in the stockpile. You can draw the remaining cards from the stockpile. The cards that are not used will go to the waste pile. After all the cards are turned over, the remaining cards that weren’t moved to the tableau or foundation can be redrawn from the stockpile in the same order.
     
  4. Waste Pile:- The waste pile is the one that is faced up next to the stockpile. Whenever the cards from the stockpile cannot be used for forming a sequence, they are put in the waste pile.

How Many Rows Are There in Solitaire?

There are seven rows in the classic solitaire game. The first row has one card, the second row has two cards, and the third row has three cards. Each row on the right has one additional card. This means the fourth row has four cards, the fifth row has five cards, the sixth row has six cards, and the seventh row has seven cards.
Allowed moves

The following moves are allowed in the Solitaire game: 

A player can move cards in the following way in the solitaire game online:

  1. You can move cards from one Tableau Pile to another Tableau Pile.
  2. You can flip the cards that are face down on the Tableau.
  3. You can move cards from Foundation Pile to Tableau.
  4. You can transfer the card from a Foundation Pile to Tableau.
  5. You can move cards from Tableau to Foundation Pile.
  6. You can move cards from Stock Pile to the Waste Pile.
  7. You can move cards from Waste Pile to Foundation Pile.
  8. You can move cards from Waste Pile to Tableau.
  9. You can draw cards from the stockpile. There are turn 1 cards and turn 3 cards options. For the turn 1 option, you can draw one card from the stockpile. For the turn 3 option, three cards are drawn but only the 3rd card is used to play the game.
  10. You can use the undo feature in the game to undo as many moves as you like.

The time required to finish the game is calculated. You can challenge yourself and try finishing the game before the time taken to finish the previous game.

Solitaire Game Set-Up

  1. In the solitaire game online, after shuffling a 52-card deck, begin laying out the tableau by arranging the cards in seven columns, face down, with each new card placed in the next column. 
  2. The tableau grows from left to right, with one card in the leftmost pile and seven in the rightmost pile.
  3. The first seven cards in the solitaire game will generate Tableau's seven columns. 
  4. After the piles are finished, they should cascade downwards to form a "reverse staircase" to the right.
  5. Finally, you'll have seven piles, with the first containing one card, the second containing two cards, the third containing three cards, and so on.
  6. Only the last card in each Tableau column is flipped over face up so that the suit, color, and value can be seen.
  7.  After the foundations are built, all remaining cards become the "Stock," where you can turn over the first card.

What are the Solitaire Rules?

Below are a few solitaire rules:

  • Individual cards from the stockpile, as well as solitaire game cards and groups of cards, can be moved in the tableau if they are placed on top of a card of a different color in descending rank. On top of a Four of Hearts, a Three of Clubs might be used.
  • You can place a King in an empty tableau column. 
  • To win the solitaire card game, you must move all the cards in the tableau to the four foundation piles in the sequence of suits and from Ace to King.
  • We understood how to play solitaire and the solitaire rules above. Let us now look at a few solitaire tips ahead.

How to Play Solitaire Game Online?

There are variations of this popular card game available online. Here are a few Apps and websites that you can play on:

Msn Games: The MSN website is one of the most popular go-to places to play games online for pure entertainment. It offers a plethora of online gaming options and you can play the solitaire game online on this website.

Microsoft Solitaire: You can play games like Klondike Solitaire, Pyramid, Spider Solitaire, and Freecell on this app.

Card Games: Solitaire, spider solitaire, Hearts, Free Cell, Spades, and other games are available on this basic platform. On this platform, you do not need to sign in to play.

Google Solitaire: You can play solitaire online on google. You can play both easy and challenging Solitaire card games here. You also don't need to register for this Google gaming platform. This platform's visuals are basic but engaging. The sound effects in the game are virtually identical to those in the original edition.

The Advantages of Playing Solitaire Online

Solitaire is a popular card game played all over the world, and free online Solitaire is even more popular. There are numerous causes for this:

  • It is Relaxing: Solitaire-free online is a terrific method to unwind since the light mental exertion required encourages the mind to enter a meditative state. During your office break, put on a game to take your mind off the stresses of the day.
     
  • It is Entertaining: Solitaire is a simple method to pass the time when you are bored. It is ideal for circumstances where you need to kill time, such as on the way to work or in waiting rooms, because the risks are modest.
     
  • It Evokes Patience: Solitaire is known as the patience game for a reason. To play it well, one must learn that holding one's ground and waiting rather than acting on the spur of the moment yields a higher "return on investment."
     
  • It Aids in the Development of Strategy: Solitaire, while not as complicated as a game like chess, is nevertheless a conundrum that requires strategy if you want to win by anything other than luck. Learning how to make the appropriate moves increases your overall strategizing abilities.

You can play solitaire online on any website that hosts online card games. If you are a Microsoft Windows user, you can go to the windows option on your computer system and play a solitaire game.

Tips to Play Solitaire

Let us have a look at how to play solitaire below and ace the game with the tips given below.

  • Knowing the rules for your version is one of the most important tips when playing solitaire. Some solitaire variants allow players to draw three cards in succession rather than one from the stockpile when they have no available moves. You may play solitaire of different types online, each of which requires you to play in a somewhat different method. However, some general guidelines can be applied to every solitaire game:
  • Patience is a virtue, and each decision you make should be carefully considered while playing online solitaire.
  • When you are learning the game, don't keep track of the time.
  • Understand the terms for the various card stacks in the game.
  • Once you have mastered the rules of the variants you will be playing, it is a good idea to put your newfound knowledge to the test by playing free online solitaire.
  • The goal is to stack the four suits of cards in ascending face-value order from Ace to King, then down to three and two. The game you are playing will determine which suits must be matched. Spider Solitaire game, for example, requires players to build stacks by matching alternate-colored suits. In most cases, the face of a king card must be placed in a space on the game board.
  • Players must have four clean piles at the end of the game, each with a top card of two in the corresponding suite.

How to Win Solitaire Games Tips?

Have a look at these tips to play solitaire:

  • The biggest strategy for winning solitaire games is to practice patience.
  • Consider solitaire, in the same manner, you would a chess game.
  • This means that you need carefully plan your moves before making them and evaluate how they will affect your following two, three, or four moves.
  • Adopting this strategy is the closest thing to a surefire way to win at solitaire, whether you are playing online or with a real deck of cards.
  • If you are interested in card games, you must have heard about poker. It is a trending game that is played by adults. The game involves real money gaming!

Solitaire Card Game Formats

Klondike Solitaire

The most popular variation of the Solitaire card game is Klondike. So much so that when the name "Solitaire" is used alone, it typically refers to this game. Its origins are unknown; however, it is said to have originated during the 19th-century gold rush in the Klondike area of Canada, from where it gets its name.

Klondike Solitaire Rules

  • The foundations of the finishing Klondike stacks are the four aces. Each ace must be played to a row above the piles when it becomes available. Following that, cards of the proper suit are sequentially played on the aces.
     
  • Any moveable card can be put on a card of the opposite color that is next in rank.
     
  • When a pile has no more face-up cards, the top face-down card is flipped up and made available.
     
  • Only a king can fill an empty space in the layout.
     
  • The cards are shuffled and arranged in a tableau of seven heaps, each with one extra card from left to right. The first card is facing up, while the second is facing down.
     
  • The game aims to have 4 stacks of cards of the different suits in sequential order.
     
  • If the player has no more useful moves left, then it is concluded that the player has lost the Klondike game.

Spider Solitaire

Spider solitaire gets its name from the eight foundation piles that must be stacked, just like the eight legs of a spider. It's one of the most popular two-deck patience games on the market. Most people play this Spider solitaire game with two regular decks of cards; however, this makes the game extremely challenging. There are Spider One Suit and Two Suit solitaire card game versions that use 104 cards but only use the Spade in one suit and Spades and Hearts in the other. To make up the numbers, more packs of cards are necessary. This makes it easy to play this solitaire game.

Spider Solitaire Rules

  • The top card in a pile, as well as all face-up cards below it in ascending suit and order, maybe moved.
     
  • At any time, a sequence of accessible cards can be disrupted by leaving some cards behind.
     
  • When all of the face-up cards in a pile are eliminated, the next card in the pile is flipped face-up and becomes accessible.
     
  • A moveable unit of cards, regardless of color or suit, maybe put in a space or on a card of the next higher rank to the bottom card of the unit.
     
  • A king can only be moved onto a certain spot. Alternatively, any moveable unit can be used to fill the slots.
     
  • When all of the player's available or preferred movements have come to a halt, the player deals a new row of ten cards face up.

Pyramid Solitaire

Another popular solitaire card game variation is Pyramid. To make the Pyramid, you'll need a deck of 52 playing cards, with 28 of them dealt face up. The pyramid is made up of seven rows of cards, with a single card on the top row and seven cards on the seventh row. The remaining cards are piled together, face down.

Pyramid Solitaire Rules

  • Discard the exposed cards that add up to 13 until the pyramid is cleared or you run out of cards.
     
  • Draw 1 card at a time, which can be used for a pair until the next time you need to draw.
     
  • Jacks are worth 11 and Queens are worth 12. Kings are worth 13 points.
     
  • You can use the deck only 3 times before it gets exhausted in the Pyramid Solitaire.

Freecell Solitaire

The four empty spots above the tableau that are used for temporary card storage are referred to as "FreeCells." You can only move one card at a time under the rules, however, the Freecell Solitaire may be used to transfer bigger sequences of packed cards between tableau columns.

Freecell Solitaire Rules

  • Only one card can be moved at a time.
     
  • Playable cards include the top cards of tableau piles and cards from cells.
     
  • You may construct tableau heaps by alternating colors.
     
  • Only one card can be moved at a time. Any tableau pile's top card can also be moved to any cell.
     
  • Only one card may be placed in each cell. If feasible, cards in the cells can be relocated to the foundation piles or returned to the tableau piles.

What is the Difference Between Klondike and Classic Solitaire?

There is no difference between Klondike and Classic Solitaire. Not many people know that Klondike Solitaire is the name for the original or classic solitaire game. The classic version is popular as ‘Solitaire’ and people rarely use the word Klondike. Whenever someone tells you ‘Let’s play Solitaire’, it is assumed that they are referring to Klondike Solitaire.

Solitaire Vs Poker

Poker

Solitaire

Poker is a casino game that requires two or more poker players including a dealer.

Solitaire means "solo” and is supposed to be played by one person only.

Poker is a real money game.

Solitaire is a fun card game and is not played for real money.

Players must make a poker hand in this poker game.

Players must arrange the cards in a sequence in this game.

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Solitaire Game FAQs

Q.1) How do I find my solitaire game?

If you have a windows computer then you will probably have the Solitaire game pre-installed on your computer. But if that option is not available, you can just google it and you will find a lot of results pop up. You can even download the Microsoft Solitaire App and play solitaire online.

Q.2) Is solitaire good or bad?

Solitaire is actually a very good game to hone your mental skills. It requires discipline, patience, and a lot of strategizing against yourself.

Q.3) What is the most difficult Solitaire game?

The most unconventional Solitaire card game online will be Pyramid Solitaire because it employs a different approach than the other variations of the game. Here you need to add cards up to 13 in order to be able to discard them.

Q.4) How many versions of solitaire are there?

There are more than 500 versions of Solitaire. However, the popular versions are klondike solitaire, spider solitaire, pyramid solitaire, and Freecell solitaire.

Q.5) What is the easiest Solitaire game?

Klondike solitaire is the original and most popular solitaire game. There are various levels but a beginner can start with the easy level of this game.

Q.6) What are the rules for solitaire?

The goal is to place every card from the stockpile and the tableau into one of four build piles.

Q.7) How many cards are in Solitaire game?

There are 52 cards in the solitaire game.
 

Here are Some Other Solitaire Games: