Solitaire

  • Game Type: Rummy
  • Age: 12+
  • Players: 2+
  • The pack: 52 card deck

OBJECT OF THE GAME

Solitaire is a popular card game enjoyed by people of all ages worldwide as a favourite pastime. It is a solo-player card game; however, a few Solitaire variations exist that are multi-player in nature. Solitaire is also known as ‘patience,’ as it requires you to patiently build a complete deck in an ascending sequence to win the game.

Typically, Solitaire is played using one or more standard deck of playing cards. A standard deck of cards comprises 52 playing cards. Due to the size and number of cards, the game is typically played on a large, flat surface such as a table or bedspread.

Solitaire card game online is also available on various websites and mobile applications. However, the true charm of playing classic Solitaire lies in using actual playing cards.

STARTING THE GAME

Solitaire is one of the simplest yet engaging card games. As mentioned, the game is played using one or more standard decks of playing cards. The game revolves around four piles of cards – Foundation, Tableau, Stock/Hand, and Waste/Talon. A detailed description of the piles is mentioned in the following part of the blog. Continue reading.

To win the Solitaire game, you need to build a complete deck in the Foundation pile. The deck should be built by suit, with the cards arranged in ascending order. You need to keep moving the cards across the piles to achieve this.

The King holds the highest value in this deck, followed by the Queen, Jack, and the number cards. The Ace of Cards has the lowest value in this deck. This means that as you build a deck in the Foundation pile, the cards will be arranged in ascending order, from Ace to King.

In Solitaire, the cards are placed in two ways – face up and face down. As the name suggests, "face-up" means that the card is placed so that its value is visible when it is added to the game. On the other hand, “face-down” means the card is placed so that it its value is not visible when it is added to the game. Given this reason, the face down cards is often referred to as blocked.

HOW TO PLAY

Setting up a Solitaire game is easy. You need to create four piles of playing cards. A description of the card piles is as follows:

Foundation pile

As the name suggests, the Foundation piles form the base of the Solitaire game. There are four Foundation piles. Each pile for each suit – Heart, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. You need to build a complete deck of each of suit in ascending order on their respective Foundation pile to win the Solitaire game.

Tableau pile

There are seven Tableau piles in a Solitaire game. These piles are arranged across the table to ensure better visibility and ease of card movement. Each of the Tableau piles contains one face-up card, while the remaining are face-down cards.

The following pointers explain the number of cards and the arrangement of face-up and face-down cards in each pile:

  • 1st pile – One face-up card
  • 2nd pile – One face-up card and one face-down card
  • 3rd pile – One face-up card and two face-down cards
  • 4th pile – One face-up card and three face-down cards
  • 5th pile – One face up card and four face down cards
  • 6th pile – One face up card and five face down cards
  • 7th pile – One face up card and six face down cards

Note: The piles are arranged in alternative colours. This means, if the 1st pile is red in colour, the 2nd pile will be black in colour. This applies till the end of the seven piles.

• Stock / hand pile

The hand/stockpile comprises cards that are not laid out at the start of the game. The pile is used to introduce additional cards into the Solitaire card game according to the rules.

• Waste/ Talon pile

The waste/ Talon pile includes cards that are not included neither in the Foundation nor the Tableau pile of cards. Basically, these cards have no role to be play in the game and hence, considered to be waste.

Now that you know how to set up the game, let’s learn how to play Solitaire.

How do you play the Solitaire game?

As mentioned, in the Solitaire game, you need to build a complete deck in the Foundation pile. The following pointers explain how to accomplish this:

  • • First things first, you need to build the Tableau piles.
  • • Once Tableau piles are built, the cards can be moved to form a sequence.

Go fish 1
Go fish 1
Go fish 1

Note: When you move a card, it unblocks a face-down card underneath it. The face-down card becomes a face-up card that can be played in the Solitaire game.

  • For example, if you have a face-up eight on one pile and a face-up nine on another, you can move the eight on top of the 9 (since it follows the correct sequence). As you do this, the card underneath eight will be revealed and become viable to play.
  • If you move the cards across Tableau piles, a gap may be created.
  • You need to fill this gap by placing a King card. However, doing so blocks the face down card underneath.
  • As per the Solitaire rules, you can also use the stockpile to complete the decks.
  • Draw a card from the stockpile. Check if you can add it to any of the Tableau piles. If the card fits in a pile add to its sequence. If the card doesn’t fit in any pile add it to the waste pile.
  • The Solitaire card rules also allow you to complete the deck by combining two piles together. This means you can move one entire sequence of cards onto another pile.

Note: This is only allowed if the top face-up card of the sequence you're moving fits the descending pattern.

  • For example, you can move a pile that starts with a ten onto a pile that has a Jack as the top card since ten, and Jack are part of the correct descending order.

Note: As you move the pile of cards onto another, the cards beneath the top card of the moved pile will become unblocked. You can flip these cards and continue the game.

  • You win the Solitaire game as the decks are built on their respective Foundation piles.

Wrapping it up

Solitaire is one of the most engaging card games you can enjoy as a solo player.

The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The game revolves around four piles of cards – Foundation, Tableau, Stock/Hand, and Waste/Talon.

You need to create a complete deck in the Foundation pile to win the Solitaire game. The deck should be built by suit, with the cards arranged in ascending order. This means the cards should be arranged from Ace to King.

If you are wondering how to play a Solitaire game, it's simple. You need to move the cards across the Tableau piles to form a sequence. You can also introduce additional cards from the stockpile to form sequences.