Solitaire is a collection of card games that one person can play. Players do not need to play with another participant because they can play against the game.
Many solitaire games give players 52 decks of cards without the Jokers. However, some game variations allow for multiple decks.
All solitaire game variations aim to arrange cards by moving them across a tableau.
So you arrange the cards according to their rank or suit.
The order in which you arrange them depends on the solitaire variation you’re playing; some use an ascending order, while others use a descending order.
It is important to note that Solitaire has many variations, which this guide will discuss. Learn more about how to play Solitaire online or how to improve your chances of winning. Read below.
Solitaire’s Quick History
It first came to public attention in 1788 when someone from Germany published a book called Das Neue Königliche L’Hombre-Spiel.
According to some sources, people used Solitaire in fortune-telling, but it later evolved and required strategy to play.
Some solitaire variations are still used exclusively for divination today.
Its popularity spread to the French after people introduced the game in Rhineland.
As a result, many solitaire terms now have a French origin. For example, tableau means table, and talon means heel in French.
Here’s a fun fact, according to legend, Napoleon spent his exile days playing this game.
After this game became popular in the nineteenth century, Prince Albert from England adopted it because he enjoyed playing.
They published the first English solitaire games in the 1870s.
Afterward, they published a book called Illustrated Games of Patience.
The book’s popularity spread worldwide, and engineers created the first digital version you could play on computer screens.
The Basic Rules
Before discussing the rules, defining some terms used in Solitaire is necessary.
The main playing area in this game is a tableau, which has seven card piles.
There are also Foundations and four piles for suits ranging from Ace to King.
Then there’s the stock, a collection of cards you do not use to make a tableau.
Finally, there’s the talon, or waste pile, which consists of stock cards that players cannot use to make legal moves.
You aim to move cards from their starting position to the card foundation piles as a player. You will win this game if you do this and follow all of the solitaire game rules. The rules of Solitaire are as follows.
- You should only move cards from one pile to the next while adhering to the solitaire rules. For example, you can move a six on top of a 7. Or you can move a Queen on top of a King.
- Players must arrange their cards in alternating colours. For example, if the card above is red, the other must be black.
- The next face-down card is made available by moving a card from one pile to the next.
- Fill foundations in ascending order. Then ensure they match the appropriate suit. For example, two hearts can only be placed on top of an ace of hearts, followed by three.
- To create an empty tableau, an entire row will be moved to other positions, creating a vacancy.
- You can only use stockpile cards when a player’s moves are exhausted. So, if you cannot use a stock card, you need to transfer it to the talon, also known as a waste pile.
- After moving all stockpile cards to the talon, a player can begin going through them again.
Let’s go over the various ways you can deal with the deck’s remaining cards from stock to talon:
- You can turn three cards to waste simultaneously without restrictions on deck passes.
- Through three passes through the deck, you can dump them all at once.
- You can discard one card at a time with three passes through the deck.
- With a single pass through the deck, turn one card at a time.
- Turn a single card to the waste at a time—no limit on the number of passes through the deck.
The game ends once you move all the cards from the stock and tableau piles to the foundation piles or when no more legal moves are available.
You can also move face-up cards in a partial or complete pile as a unit to another tableau in descending order.
Six Solitaire Variations
As of now, there are six main Solitaire variations. Let’s check each one below:
Bowling Solitaire
In this variation, you need to use a deck with no face-down cards, only Aces through Tens.
After shuffling your deck, you place pins by constructing a pyramid of four rows of flipped-over cards.
As a result, your first row will have one card, the second two, and so on.
You set the bowling balls by creating three piles, the first with five cards, the second with three, and the third with two cards.
You can only flip the top card in these balls and then use them to “knock” the pins down.
Scoring is done the same way as in a regular game of bowling.
Emperor
It’s a time-consuming game akin to Spider Solitaire. However, you can play it with two standard decks of playing cards.
Then you must deal with ten piles of four cards. The first three cards in a column are dealt face down, but the fourth is dealt face up.
You cannot move the cards in groups. You can only move them one at a time.
Your goal is to free the Aces and lay the groundwork in the tableau.
FreeCell
This started in the 1980s. It is a winnable game consisting of 52 decks of cards dealt to 8 tableaus. The first and last piles contain seven and six face-up cards, respectively.
When playing, you will have four storage piles to keep your cards because you can only move up to one card in a single move in the FreeCell since the game can take a while.
Yukon
You will use a 52-deck card but no stock or talon piles.
When you begin this game, you use all the cards to create a seven-tableau pile.
After creating a traditional 7-pile tableau, add five extra cards face-up to piles 2 through 7.
A group of face-up cards can be moved anywhere in the tableau, regardless of their order.
Spider Solitaire
This is a more complicated version of traditional Solitaire. It employs two decks of cards and a tableau pile of ten.
Within a pile, players must arrange cards of the same suit in descending order, beginning with the King and ending with the Ace.
After completing a pile in the proper order, you can place it in one of the eight foundation squares.
You must repeat the sequence stack eight times. You win the game when you fill all eight foundation piles.
Forty Thieves
This game doubles the cards used in Spider Solitaire, also known as Napoleon at St. Helena.
To begin, each ten tableau pile has four cards to form the forty thieves.
Instead of alternating colors, construct the tableau in descending order from King to Ace of a similar suit.
You can use any card to fill the space. Then, when you transfer cards to the foundations in the correct order, you win the game.
Kings Corner, Accordion, and Street and Alleys are other solitaire variations.
Final Thoughts
Solitaire has numerous health and mental benefits. Aside from passing the time, it can improve your focus, patience, and cognitive function.
However, even though it is a simple game, it can be challenging. As a result, you must master the rules and take as much time as necessary to win your game.
Use the tips and hints discussed above to help you when playing this game.
However, keep in mind that some games will always be unbeatable. As a result, when you run out of moves, it’s time to call it quits.
