Strategy guides, game comparisons, variant rules, and tips for every classic Solitaire game. Written for players who actually want to get better.
How a 1780s card game spread through Napoleonic France, ended up bundled with Windows 3.0 to teach mouse skills, and became the most-played game in history.
FreeCell is 99.999% winnable — but most players still lose. Supermoves, free cell discipline, backward planning, and why deal #11982 is the one exception.
When to build foundations, how to value empty columns, and the statistical case for Turn 1 over Turn 3.
Most players lose Klondike not because of a bad deal, but because of habits that feel right and aren't. These 10 tips are drawn from probability and expert play patterns.
Universal principles: empty columns are power, don't rush to foundations, think backwards from the win state. Plus variant-specific tips.
Why 4-suit Spider is so hard, how to use empty columns as staging areas, and when to deal new rows.
Pyramid is only winnable 0.5–2% of the time. Here is how to maximize your odds: which pairs to save, how to cycle the stock, and when to give up on an impossible deal.
Start with Klondike. Learn the four board areas, the first 5 moves every beginner should know, and a progression ladder to harder variants.
The definition, every major variant, how difficulty varies, and answers to the most common questions about Solitaire — all in one place.
Want Klondike without the Microsoft account, ads, or subscription prompt? We compare free browser-based alternatives.
FreeCell wins 99.999% of the time — so why does Klondike feel easier to most players? A data-driven comparison.
Only deals #11982 and #146692 are provably unwinnable from the classic 32,000-deal set. Here is how computer solvers proved it.
Klondike Turn 1: ~43% optimal win rate. FreeCell: 99.999%. Pyramid: <2%. What the win-rate math actually means for how you should play.
Spider 1-suit has an 85%+ win rate and is the right starting point before 2-suit or 4-suit. Column-clearing strategy and when to deal.
Richard Canfield sold decks for $52 and paid $5 per card at his 1890s casino. Win rate: ~3%. The reserve pile, wrapping foundation, and strategy explained.
Also called Napoleon at St. Helena. Two decks, 10 columns, same-suit builds only, no redeals. Expert players win around 8% of deals.
Yukon removes the stock pile and lets you move any face-up card along with everything stacked on it. Full setup, rules, and strategy tips.
Scorpion uses same-suit group movement and auto-clears completed runs on the tableau. 7-column setup, reserve deal, legal moves, and strategy.
Baker's Dozen has a ~90% win rate because every card is face-up from the start and Kings auto-sink to the bottom of their columns.
Gaps (also called Montana) is a 4×13 grid game where you fill empty spaces to build same-suit rows from 2 to King.
One of the oldest named patience games. Flip one card at a time, choose a waste pile for each, build foundations Ace to King in any suit.
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