All you need is a deck of cards and a flat table. Solitaire is a one-player game that has kept people happy for well over a hundred years. This guide walks you through the whole thing, from shuffling to your last move.
- You play Solitaire alone with one standard 52-card deck.
- The goal is to build four stacks, one per suit, from Ace up to King.
- You move cards by alternating colors and going down in rank.
- Flip the deck three cards at a time, or one at a time for an easier game.
What you need to start
You only need two things. The first is a standard deck of 52 cards. Take out the jokers and set them aside. The second is a clear, flat space like a kitchen table or a desk.
The most famous version of this game is called Klondike. When people say "Solitaire," this is almost always the one they mean. If you would rather practice on a screen first, you can play the same game free on the Klondike Solitaire homepage and then try it with real cards.
Give your deck a good shuffle. A shuffled deck keeps every game fresh and fair. If your cards are new and sticky, shuffle a few extra times so they slide easily.
The goal of the game
Your job is to build four piles, called foundations. Each pile holds one suit: hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades. You start each pile with the Ace, then add the 2, the 3, and so on all the way up to the King.
When all four piles run from Ace to King, you win. That is the whole point. Everything else you do is just a way to free up the cards you need.
How to deal the cards
The setup looks fancy, but it is easy once you do it once. Follow these steps in order.
- Deal seven cards in a row from left to right. The first card is face-up. The other six are face-down.
- Skip the first pile. Deal a card on top of piles two through seven. Again, the first new card in each round is face-up and the rest are face-down.
- Keep going, moving one pile to the right each round, until every pile has one face-up card on top.
When you finish, pile one has one card, pile two has two, and pile seven has seven. These seven piles are called the tableau. The cards left in your hand become the draw pile, also called the stock. There is a full walkthrough on our Solitaire rules page if you want to see it drawn out.
| Area | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Tableau | Seven piles where you sort cards |
| Foundations | Four empty spots for Ace-to-King stacks |
| Stock | The extra cards you draw from |
| Waste | The face-up cards you turned over |
The rules for moving cards
Now the fun part. You move face-up cards to sort them and clear the board. Here are the rules you follow every time.
- In the tableau, build down and switch colors. A black 6 goes on a red 7. A red 5 goes on a black 6.
- Only an Ace can start a foundation pile. After the Ace, add the same suit in order.
- When you free up a face-down card, flip it over. It is now in play.
- An empty tableau column can only be filled by a King, or a King with cards already on it.
You can also move a whole run of cards at once, as long as the run keeps the color-switch order. When you get stuck, draw from the stock. Flip three cards at a time and play the top one if you can. If you want a gentler game, flip just one card at a time. Our guide on turn 3 vs turn 1 explains why that choice changes your odds so much.
Simple tips to win more often
Solitaire has some luck, but smart play helps a lot. Try these habits.
Always play an Ace or a 2 to the foundations right away. Those cards rarely help you in the tableau. After that, slow down. Do not rush every card up top, because you might need a card later to move something.
Work to flip your face-down cards. Every hidden card you turn over gives you more choices. Piles with the most face-down cards should get your attention first. And when you can empty a whole column, save that open spot for a King. If you want more sorting practice, a game like FreeCell shows nearly every card, so it teaches planning fast.
Play Solitaire with a real deck today
That is really all there is to it. Shuffle your 52 cards, deal the seven piles, and build each suit from Ace to King. Move cards down in rank and switch colors as you go, flip your hidden cards, and draw from the stock when you stall. Play a few rounds and the setup will feel like second nature. Once you know the flow with real cards, you can jump to any version you like, from the classic game to a whole shelf of others on our more games page.