Solitaire Rules
Solitaire is a family of single-player card games built around one satisfying idea: take a shuffled deck and restore it to order. Most variants deal cards into a tableau (the main playing area), give you a stock of undealt cards, and ask you to build foundations - Usually one pile per suit, from Ace up to King. What changes between games is everything else: how many cards you can see, how groups move, whether builds follow suit or alternate colors, and how much luck stands between you and a win.
This page collects the rules for every game on Solitaire.now. Each section covers the goal, the legal moves, and the details that trip up new players - With a link to jump straight into a game. If you're brand new, start with Klondike (the classic), warm up with 1-suit Spider, or try FreeCell if you prefer pure strategy with no hidden cards.
💡 New to solitaire? Every game below shares the same core idea - build ordered piles from a shuffled deck. Learn one and the rest come quickly.
Every solitaire game at a glance
Skim the whole family first, then jump to the full rules for any game below.
| Game | Build rule | Decks | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klondike | Down, alternating colors | 1 | Easy to learn |
| Spider | Down; move same-suit runs | 2 | 1 Suit easy · 4 Suits expert |
| FreeCell | Down, alternating colors | 1 | Pure skill |
| Pyramid | Pair cards that total 13 | 1 | Quick & tactical |
| TriPeaks | One rank up or down | 1 | Fast & streaky |
| Golf | One rank up or down | 1 | Simple, subtle |
| Yukon | Down, alternating colors | 1 | Deep & thinky |
| Russian | Down, same suit | 1 | Very hard |
| Scorpion | Down, same suit | 1 | Tricky |
| Canfield | Down, alternating colors | 1 | Hard, casino-born |
| Forty Thieves | Down, same suit | 2 | Expert |
Classic Games
Klondike Solitaire
1 deck · Easy to learn · ~80% of Turn 1 deals are winnable
Klondike is the world's most popular solitaire game - The one most people simply call “Solitaire”. Build the four foundations up from Ace to King by suit, moving cards between seven tableau columns in descending order and alternating colors. Turn 1 flips one stock card at a time; Turn 3 flips three and is the tougher, purist's way to play. It is the version most people picture when they hear the word "solitaire" - The one that shipped with Windows and taught a generation to use a mouse. Beneath its familiar surface lies a surprising amount of decision-making: which face-down card to attack first, when to hold a card back from the foundations, and how to manage a limited stock all separate a lucky finish from a skillful one.
Goal
Move all 52 cards onto the four foundations, one per suit, built up from Ace to King.
Tableau
The seven columns build down in alternating colors (red on black, black on red). Move single cards or ordered runs. Only a King may fill an empty column.
Stock & waste
Click the stock to deal cards to the waste. In Turn 1 you deal one card; in Turn 3 you deal three but can only play the top one. You may recycle the waste when the stock is empty.
Flipping
When a face-down tableau card becomes exposed, it flips face up automatically.
Winning
The game is won when all four foundations are complete - Use auto-finish when everything is face up.
Spider Solitaire
2 decks · 1 Suit easy · 4 Suits expert · 1-suit ~95% winnable with good play
Spider deals two full decks across ten tableau columns. Build sequences down regardless of suit, but only same-suit runs move together - And only a complete King-to-Ace run in one suit leaves the table. One-suit Spider is a relaxing classic; four-suit Spider is one of the hardest solitaire games ever devised. The name refers to the eight foundations a spider's eight legs - And the game is unusual in that you never touch a separate foundation pile by hand: runs complete right in the tableau and lift off automatically. That makes Spider a game of patient in-column construction, where the real skill is reserving space, keeping same-suit runs intact, and choosing exactly when to trigger each irreversible deal from the stock.
Goal
Assemble eight complete runs from King down to Ace in the same suit. Each finished run flies off to a foundation.
Tableau
Cards build down in rank regardless of suit, but a group can only be picked up if it's a same-suit descending run.
Empty columns
Any card or movable run may be placed on an empty column.
Stock
Click the stock to deal one new card onto every column - But only when no column is empty.
Suits
1 Suit uses spades only, 2 Suits adds hearts, 4 Suits uses the full deck pattern. Fewer suits = easier moves.
FreeCell Solitaire
1 deck · Pure skill · 99.999% of deals are winnable
FreeCell deals the entire deck face up into eight columns, so nothing is hidden and nearly every game can be won - It's pure strategy. Four free cells act as temporary parking spots. The catch: you can only move as many cards at once as your free cells and empty columns allow. Because there is no hidden information and almost every deal is solvable, FreeCell is widely regarded as the purest test of skill in solitaire: a loss is nearly always a mistake rather than bad luck. That openness makes it ideal for players who enjoy thinking several moves ahead, and it is why FreeCell has a devoted following of solvers who study individual deal numbers and compete to finish in the fewest moves.
Goal
Build the four foundations from Ace to King by suit.
Tableau
Eight columns build down in alternating colors. All cards are dealt face up.
Free cells
Four cells each hold one card. Use them as temporary storage - But a full set of cells paralyzes the game.
Moving runs
You can move (free cells + 1) × 2^(empty columns) cards as a unit. With all cells free and no empty columns, that's a 5-card run.
Empty columns
Any card may start an empty column.
Canfield Solitaire
1 deck · Hard, casino-born · Casinos paid out above 10 foundation cards
Born in Richard Canfield's 1890s Saratoga casino, where gamblers bought the deck for $50 and earned $5 per card they could foundation. A 13-card reserve feeds four tableau piles, foundations start from a random rank and build up with wrap-around. Legendarily stingy - And compulsive. The casino origin is baked into how the game feels: the thirteen-card reserve behaves like a penalty box that you fight to empty, and the wrap-around foundations mean the climb is rarely a straightforward Ace-to-King run. Most deals leave you short of a full clear, which is exactly why the house profited, and why the game keeps players coming back for one more attempt. With unlimited redeals you always feel one clever line away from beating the odds.
Goal
Build all four foundations up by suit, 13 cards each, starting from the dealt base rank and wrapping from King to Ace.
Reserve
Thirteen cards sit face down with the top one live. The reserve auto-fills empty tableau piles.
Foundations
The first card dealt sets the base rank for all four foundations (e.g. base 7: build 7, 8, 9 … K, A … 6).
Tableau
Four piles build down in alternating colors with rank wrap-around; full piles move as a unit.
Stock
Deal three cards at a time to the waste, unlimited redeals.
Matching Games
Pyramid Solitaire
1 deck · Quick & tactical · ~20% winnable in strict rules
Pyramid deals 28 cards into a seven-row pyramid. Remove pairs of exposed cards whose ranks sum to 13 - Kings fly off alone. A quick, addictive arithmetic puzzle where each removed pair uncovers the row above. Unlike building games such as Klondike or FreeCell, Pyramid is about demolition: you are tearing a structure down rather than assembling one, and each card you remove exposes the cards it was resting on. That gives the game a satisfying cascade rhythm, but it also means a single mismanaged pair can seal off cards you still needed, which is why Pyramid rewards planning your removals a few steps ahead.
Goal
Clear all 28 pyramid cards by removing pairs that total 13.
Values
Ace = 1, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13. Pairs: A+Q, 2+J, 3+10, 4+9, 5+8, 6+7. Kings are removed alone.
Exposed cards
A pyramid card is playable only when no cards overlap it from below.
Stock & waste
Flip stock cards one at a time; pair the top waste card with pyramid cards (or the next stock flip).
Redeals
You may cycle the stock twice more after the first pass.
TriPeaks Solitaire
1 deck · Fast & streaky · ~60% with careful chaining
TriPeaks deals three overlapping peaks of cards. Play any exposed card that's one rank above or below the waste card - Ranks wrap around from King to Ace - And chain moves together for big streak bonuses. Fast, forgiving, and dangerously moreish. TriPeaks borrows its core rule from Golf solitaire but adds two twists that give it a personality all its own: ranks wrap around, so an Ace bridges Kings and 2s, and long unbroken chains pay escalating streak bonuses. Those bonuses turn a simple matching game into a scoring chase, where the choice of which card to play first, rather than merely whether a play exists, is what separates a modest round from a huge one. It is a staple of casual and mobile solitaire for exactly that reason.
Goal
Clear all 28 cards from the three peaks.
Moves
Play any uncovered peak card that is one rank higher or lower than the current waste card. Aces link to both Kings and 2s.
Chains
Every consecutive play without using the stock builds your streak multiplier.
Stock
Stuck? Flip a new stock card to the waste - But it resets your chain.
Flipping
Face-down peak cards flip automatically once both cards covering them are gone.
Golf Solitaire
1 deck · Simple, subtle · Roughly 1 in 3 deals clear
Golf deals 35 cards into seven face-up columns. Like TriPeaks, you play cards one rank up or down onto the waste, but with no wrap-around and no second chances - Every leftover card counts against your score, just like strokes in golf. Golf is deceptively simple: a single rule governs every move, yet the strict structure - No rank wrap-around and only one pass through the stock - Means many deals cannot be cleared at all. That turns Golf into a scoring game as much as a winning one, where players compete to leave as few cards behind as possible and chase the elusive hole-in-one of an empty tableau. Its tiny footprint and quick rounds have made it a fixture of solitaire collections for decades.
Goal
Move all 35 tableau cards to the waste pile. Leftover cards are penalty points.
Moves
Play the bottom card of any column if it's one rank above or below the waste card.
No wrap
In classic Golf, nothing plays on a King except… nothing. Kings are chain-enders (Aces only link to 2s).
Stock
Flip a stock card when no play exists - 17 flips and they're gone.
Scoring
Your score is the number of cards left when the stock runs dry. Zero is a hole-in-one.
Klondike Family Games
Yukon Solitaire
1 deck · Deep & thinky · ~80% winnable with strong play
Yukon deals all 52 cards at the start - No stock, no waste. You may move any face-up card together with everything stacked on top of it, ordered or not, as long as it lands on a card one rank higher of the opposite color. Chaotic-looking, deeply strategic. Because there is no stock and only twenty-one cards start face down, almost everything is on the table from the first move, and the freedom to relocate unordered groups gives you far more options than Klondike. That combination makes Yukon a favorite among players who feel Klondike leans too heavily on the luck of the deal: here, strong players win the large majority of games, and most losses come down to reading the board wrong rather than an unwinnable shuffle.
Goal
Build the four foundations from Ace to King by suit.
Deal
Seven columns; the first holds one card and the rest hold face-down cards topped by five face-up cards each. Every card is in play from move one.
Moves
Pick up any face-up card with all cards above it - The group doesn't need to be in order. The landing card must be one rank higher and the opposite color.
Empty columns
Only Kings (with their groups) may move to an empty column.
Flipping
Exposed face-down cards flip automatically.
Russian Solitaire
1 deck · Very hard · Under 10% of deals fall
Russian Solitaire is Yukon with one merciless change: tableau builds must be the same suit instead of alternating colors. The same free-wheeling group moves, a fraction of the legal landings. Widely considered one of the toughest single-deck games worth playing. That one rule change is dramatic. Where Yukon gives every card two possible landing spots, one of each color, Russian gives each card exactly one - The next card up in its own suit - So the number of legal moves collapses and a single blocked card can freeze an entire line of play. Many enthusiasts play it with undo as an open puzzle, savoring the long, careful sequencing that a rare win demands rather than expecting to clear most deals.
Goal
Build the four foundations from Ace to King by suit.
Deal
Identical to Yukon: seven columns, 21 face-down cards, everything else face up from the start.
Moves
Move any face-up card plus everything on top of it - But it must land on the next-higher card of the same suit.
Empty columns
Kings only.
Flipping
Exposed face-down cards flip automatically.
Spider Family Games
Scorpion Solitaire
1 deck · Tricky · ~20% without the reserve, more with care
Scorpion crosses Spider with Yukon: build four King-to-Ace runs in suit, moving any face-up card with everything on top of it onto the next-higher card of the same suit. Three reserve cards wait face down - The scorpion's sting - Dealt out exactly when you choose. What makes Scorpion tricky is not luck but structure: because every card has a single legal landing (the next-higher card of its own suit), deals can settle into genuine deadlocks where two cards block each other in an unbreakable loop. Spotting those cycles before you commit to an obvious move, and timing the three-card reserve to break or avoid them, is the heart of the game. Get it right and the board unravels; get it wrong and the sting is fatal.
Goal
Build four complete King-to-Ace runs, each in a single suit, anywhere in the tableau.
Deal
Seven columns of seven cards; the first four columns hide three face-down cards each. Three cards remain as a face-down reserve.
Moves
Move any face-up card with all cards above it onto the next-higher card of the same suit - Order on top doesn't matter.
Empty columns
Kings (with their piles) only.
The sting
Click the reserve at any time to deal its three cards onto the first three columns - Your one wildcard, so time it well.
Two-Deck Games
Forty Thieves Solitaire
2 decks · Expert · ~10% for skilled players
Forty face-up cards guard ten tableau columns; behind them, a 64-card stock you may pass through exactly once. Builds are down in suit, one card at a time. Napoleon supposedly played it in exile - A game with plenty of time to think suits a game this demanding. Everything about Forty Thieves is austere: cards move only one at a time, the tableau builds down in suit rather than by color, and the stock is turned just once with no second chances. That combination gives it one of the lower win rates in classic solitaire and a well-earned reputation as an expert's game, where empty columns are your engine and a single card buried in the waste at the wrong moment can decide the whole deal.
Goal
Build all eight foundations (two per suit) from Ace to King.
Deal
Ten columns of four cards, all face up.
Moves
Tableau builds down in the same suit, strictly one card at a time. Any single card may fill an empty column.
Stock
Flip one card at a time to the waste - One pass only, no redeals.
Waste
The top waste card is always playable, but everything under it is trapped until you free it.
A few terms that apply everywhere
Tableau
The main playing area where most cards are dealt and rearranged. Each game defines its own build rule - Down in alternating colors, down in suit, or by rank alone.
Foundation
The goal piles, typically built up by suit from Ace to King. In matching games like Pyramid and TriPeaks there are no foundations - Cleared cards simply leave the board.
Stock & waste
The stock holds undealt cards; flipping it sends cards to the waste pile, where usually only the top card is playable. Games differ on how many redeals you get - From unlimited to none.
Reserve
A side pile of set-aside cards, used in games like Canfield and Scorpion. Reserve cards typically enter play under special conditions, and clearing the reserve is often the real battle.
Ready to put the rules to work? Try today's Daily Challenge, race a friend in Multiplayer, or check the FAQ for common questions about solitaire in general.
Solitaire rules FAQ
How do you play solitaire?
In most solitaire games you deal cards into a tableau of columns and build them into ordered piles. In Klondike, the classic, you build the tableau down in alternating colors and move cards up to four foundations by suit, from Ace to King, using a stock of undealt cards to fill the gaps. Clear all 52 cards to the foundations to win.
What is the goal of solitaire?
In most versions the goal is to move every card onto the foundation piles, built up by suit from Ace to King. Matching games like Pyramid and TriPeaks instead ask you to clear all the cards from the board by pairing or laddering ranks.
Which solitaire game is the easiest to learn?
Klondike Turn 1 and one-suit Spider are the friendliest starting points - simple rules and plenty of winnable deals. FreeCell is also very winnable once you get used to planning ahead.
Which solitaire game is the hardest?
Russian Solitaire, Forty Thieves and four-suit Spider are the toughest common variants, with under one deal in ten falling even to strong players.
Are all solitaire games winnable?
No. Winnability varies widely by variant: about 99.999 percent of FreeCell deals, roughly 80 percent of Klondike Turn 1 deals, and only around 20 percent of strict Pyramid deals can be won with perfect play. Some individual deals are provably impossible.
Want more answers? See the full solitaire FAQ (40+ questions) or look up any term in the glossary.