Solitaire guides

Learn how solitaire works, then follow exact PlaySoli rules for Klondike Draw 1, Draw 3, Spider and FreeCell with examples and first-game strategy.

A precise glossary of solitaire terms, from tableau, stock and waste to runs, redeals and FreeCell supermoves, with historical and PlaySoli usage notes.

Follow computer solitaire from PLATO FreeCell to Windows Solitaire, mouse training, Microsoft FreeCell, Spider in Plus! 98 and modern browser implementations.

Answers to common solitaire questions about rules, winning, terminology, undo, redeals, empty columns, game choice and PlaySoli’s exact implementations.

Trace solitaire from disputed eighteenth-century evidence through Moscow, French, British and American books to computer play—without turning legends into facts.

Understand solitaire rules as a system: components, legal moves, empty spaces, sequence movement, stock passes and computer-assisted actions across PlaySoli games.

Improve at solitaire by managing information, mobility and irreversible choices, with separate practical guidance for Klondike, Spider and FreeCell.

Learn what “winnable” means in Klondike, Spider and FreeCell, why percentages depend on rules and information, and what a solver can actually prove.

Learn the exact PlaySoli rules for Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3, including setup, legal sequences, empty columns, foundations, waste access and unlimited redeals.

Plan stronger Klondike moves by balancing hidden-card exposure, King lanes, foundation timing and stock access in both Draw 1 and Draw 3.

An available Two is usually safe to advance once its Ace is on the foundation. Check only whether moving it changes a useful waste or tableau sequence first.

Plan the second Draw 3 pass by naming a target, recording which earlier cards you removed, and predicting its new packet slot before you redeal.

Prefer the move with the stronger follow-up. Revealing a hidden card usually adds information, but a foundation move can be better when it unlocks the waste or a forced chain.

Removing two cards before a target shifts it two positions earlier on the next Draw 3 pass. A target that was fifth can become third and immediately accessible.

Removing one card before a target shifts that target one position earlier in the next Draw 3 pass. This may make it playable—or move it into another covered slot.

Reach a blocked Draw 3 card by playing the cards above it in the packet or by removing earlier stock cards so the target becomes topmost on a later pass.

Clear the shortest column first when its cards have clean destinations and the empty lane enables a King move that opens deeper cards. Length alone is not enough.

Clear a column before redealing when a known waste King can use it or the lane will unlock a planned sequence. Do not force the clear by losing needed support.

Keep an empty column open when it is needed to rearrange sequences or no King move creates immediate access. Fill it when a King-led move reveals or clears.

A King-led run usually uses an empty column efficiently, but a bare King is better when moving it reveals a hidden card or preserves a needed sequence elsewhere.

Move the tableau King first when it reveals a hidden card; move the waste King first when it exposes a crucial waste card or changes Draw 3 access more usefully.

Choose the black Eight that improves access while preserving a destination for the red Seven you still need. Compare the cards beneath both Eights.

An available Ace is normally safe to send to its foundation immediately: no lower tableau card needs it as a parent, and the move usually improves access.

Make the tableau move first when it reveals a card or creates a destination. Draw first when the move would bury a landing card needed by the next waste card.

Do not target the deepest column automatically. Prefer the reveal with the lowest cost and strongest follow-up, especially one that creates an empty lane.

A waste card may remain visible while another card lies above it. Only the top waste card is playable; remove it or cycle the stock to regain access.

A Queen may be placed on a King of the opposite color: red Queens on black Kings, black Queens on red Kings. Suit does not need to match.

A King cannot be placed on another tableau card because no rank is higher than King. A King or King-led sequence may move only into an empty column.

An exposed Klondike Ace may start its suit foundation or sit on an opposite-color Two in the tableau. It cannot enter an empty column, which is King-only.

A Klondike card cannot move from one foundation to another. Each foundation is a single-suit Ace-to-King pile; only its top card can return to the tableau.

You may move the exposed bottom card or any legal tail of a Klondike sequence. You cannot pull out an interior card while leaving cards beneath it behind.

A face-down tableau card turns face up as soon as it becomes the uncovered end of its column. It stays closed while any face-up card remains below it.

In PlaySoli Klondike, the top foundation card may return to a legal tableau destination. Use this reversal only when it restores a needed parent or route.

The top waste card may move directly to its suit foundation when the next rank is due: an Ace starts it, then Two through King follow in order.

The top Klondike waste card may move to the tableau when it is one rank lower and the opposite color. Moving it also exposes the next waste card.

When the Klondike stock is empty, use any playable waste card, then redeal the remaining waste without shuffling. Check the tableau before cycling again.

Compare Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3 on PlaySoli: stock access, difficulty, planning, waste order and which version fits a player’s goals.

Diagnose the Klondike decisions that most often block progress, from premature foundation moves and wasted King lanes to Draw 3 access errors.

Trace Klondike from early printed “Seven-Card Klondike” rules and disputed gold-rush stories to Draw 1, Draw 3 and Windows Solitaire.

Learn the exact PlaySoli Spider rules for one, two and four suits: two decks, ten columns, rank building, same-suit group moves, stock rows and completed runs.

Improve Spider by balancing card exposure, same-suit structure, empty-column work and the timing of new stock rows across all suit levels.

No occupied column can receive a King because no rank is higher than it. A King or King-led same-suit group can move only into an empty column.

An Ace may go on any Two, regardless of suit, or into an empty column. It cannot go on a Three, and no lower card can be placed on the Ace.

Yes. You may move any contiguous lower tail that descends by one rank in one suit, provided its leading card fits a card one rank higher or an empty column.

Fix the Spider habits that create immovable mixed stacks, waste empty columns or make new rows harder than necessary.

Investigate Spider Solitaire’s early printed evidence, the debated 1937 and 1949 dates, the uncertain name origin and its spread through Microsoft Plus! 98.

Compare Spider One Suit, Two Suits and Four Suits by rule consistency, suit conflicts, planning load and the skills each level develops.

Learn the exact PlaySoli FreeCell rules: all cards face up, eight columns, four free cells, alternating-color builds, foundations and workspace-limited group moves.

Plan FreeCell by tracing low-card dependencies, keeping cells in circulation, creating empty columns and restoring borrowed workspace.

Correct the FreeCell habits that fill all cells, waste empty columns, strand partial sequences or advance foundations in the wrong order.

Trace FreeCell from related open-card games through Paul Alfille’s PLATO program, its uncertain paper lineage and Jim Horne’s Windows implementation.

Compare PlaySoli FreeCell and Klondike by layout, hidden information, empty-column rules, sequence movement, stock access and decision style.