How to Play Solitaire: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Short answer: First identify the variant, because “solitaire” is not one universal game. In Klondike, uncover the tableau and build four suited foundations from Ace to King. In Spider, organize two decks into eight same-suit King-to-Ace runs. In FreeCell, use four temporary cells and empty columns to move all cards to the foundations. A legal move, an empty column, and even the meaning of “sequence” change from one game to another.

The easiest way to learn solitaire is not to memorize every rule in the family. Learn the common parts of the table, then learn one complete ruleset. PlaySoli currently offers Klondike Draw 1, Klondike Draw 3, Spider in one, two, or four suits, and FreeCell SRC-001 SRC-009. This guide explains what you see, how to begin, what counts as progress, and which apparent moves are illegal.

Contents

• Choose the game before you learn the moves
• Learn the parts of a solitaire layout
• How to play Klondike Draw 1
• How to play Klondike Draw 3
• How to play Spider
• How to play FreeCell
• How to read a position before moving
• In brief
• Frequently asked questions

Choose the game before you learn the moves

Solitaire is a family of card games with many layouts and objectives SRC-010. The four practical questions below identify most of what a beginner needs to know:

1. Where do cards start? Some are hidden in Klondike and Spider; every card is visible in FreeCell.
2. How do cards build on the tableau? Klondike and FreeCell alternate colors; Spider builds by rank and reserves group movement for same-suit runs.
3. What can fill an empty column? Klondike requires a King-led move, FreeCell accepts one card, and Spider accepts a legal card or movable same-suit sequence.
4. What completes the game? Klondike and FreeCell fill four foundations; Spider removes eight complete suited runs.

A move can therefore look familiar but have a different result. A black 8 on a red 9 is a normal tableau move in Klondike and FreeCell. In Spider, any 8 may be placed on any 9 as a single card, but a mixed-suit stack normally cannot be moved together.

For terminology while reading, keep the solitaire glossary open.

Learn the parts of a solitaire layout

Tableau

The tableau is the main working area. Its columns hold the cards you rearrange during play. Hidden cards in a tableau create an information problem; open cards create a planning problem.

Stock and waste

The stock contains cards waiting to be dealt or turned. In Klondike, stock cards are turned into a waste pile, where only the currently exposed card is available. In Spider, the remaining stock is dealt as new rows across the tableau rather than into a waste pile.

Foundations

A foundation is a destination pile built according to the game. Klondike and FreeCell use four foundations, one per suit, normally from Ace upward to King. Spider does not use ordinary visible foundation piles in the same way; a complete same-suit King-to-Ace run is removed automatically.

Free cells

A free cell is a one-card temporary holding space in FreeCell. It increases mobility but is not a discard area. Occupying all four cells can make an otherwise open position difficult to reorganize.

Face-up and face-down cards

A face-up card is visible. A face-down card conceals its identity until the rules expose it. In PlaySoli Klondike, the top face-down card of a tableau column is turned face up after the card or sequence covering it is moved. FreeCell begins with all 52 cards visible SRC-001 SRC-007.

How to play Klondike Draw 1

Klondike Draw 1 is the most forgiving place to begin because every stock click exposes one card and PlaySoli allows unlimited passes through the stock SRC-001 SRC-002.

The layout and goal

• One standard 52-card deck.
• Seven tableau columns.
• The first column has one card, the second two, through to the seventh with seven; only each column’s top card begins face up.
• The remaining cards form the stock.
• Four foundations are built by suit from Ace to King.

You win after all 52 cards reach the four foundations.

Legal tableau building

Build downward by one rank while alternating colors. A black 9 can receive a red 8. That red 8 can receive a black 7. Suits do not need to match on the tableau; colors must alternate.

A correctly ordered face-up sequence can move as a unit. For example:

• red 8
• black 7
• red 6

may be moved onto a black 9. The destination is one rank higher than the sequence’s top card and the opposite color.

Legal example: move 7♣ onto 8♦.

Illegal example: move 7♣ onto 8♠. The ranks fit, but both cards are black.

Empty columns

Only a King or a legal sequence beginning with a King may enter an empty Klondike column. A lone Queen cannot fill it, even when moving the Queen would reveal a hidden card elsewhere SRC-001 SRC-002.

Foundations

Start each foundation with an Ace. Continue upward in the same suit: A♣, 2♣, 3♣, and so on through K♣. In PlaySoli, the exposed top foundation card may return manually to a legal tableau destination under the normal descending, alternating-color rule. The move is undoable, but moving upward too early can still cost time or remove a useful tableau bridge. See Klondike strategy for timing decisions SRC-001.

Stock play

Click or tap the stock to turn one card onto the waste. Only the top waste card is available. When the stock is exhausted, PlaySoli lets you begin another pass without a fixed pass limit SRC-001 SRC-002. Unlimited passes do not make every deal solvable; they simply remove one historical restriction.

A beginner’s first-pass routine

1. Scan the face-up tableau for Aces and safe low cards.
2. Prefer moves that uncover a face-down card.
3. Build alternating-color sequences only when they create access, not merely because they are legal.
4. Use stock cards to fill missing ranks or create a King-ready empty column.
5. Recheck the tableau after every card is exposed.

How to play Klondike Draw 3

Draw 3 uses the same tableau, foundation, color, rank, and empty-column rules as Draw 1. The difference is stock access SRC-001 SRC-003.

What “draw three” means on PlaySoli

Each stock action turns up to three cards onto the waste. Only the top available waste card may be played. Removing that card can expose the next card beneath it. At the end of a pass, a final group may contain fewer than three cards. PlaySoli allows unlimited passes SRC-001 SRC-003.

Imagine the next three stock cards are turned so that 4♣ is visible on top, with K♦ and 7♠ beneath it. You cannot take the King directly. You must first find a legal use for 4♣; then K♦ becomes available. If the 4♣ cannot move, the two lower cards remain blocked during that visit.

This access pattern is the central challenge. Moves in the tableau can change which waste cards become playable because removing one card can change the rhythm of later passes.

Draw 1 versus Draw 3 for a beginner

Choose Draw 1 to learn tableau and foundation rules with more direct stock access. Choose Draw 3 when you understand those rules and want a harder access-planning problem. The dedicated Draw 1 vs. Draw 3 comparison explains the practical trade-offs.

How to play Spider

Spider uses two decks, for 104 cards in total. Ten tableau columns hold the opening deal, and the remaining cards form a stock that supplies new rows SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

PlaySoli offers one-suit, two-suit, and four-suit versions. The layout and basic move rules are the same; more suits make it harder to assemble movable same-suit runs.

The goal

Create eight complete descending runs from King to Ace, all in the same suit. When a full suited run is formed, PlaySoli removes it automatically. Remove all eight runs to win.

Single-card building by rank

A single card may be placed on a card exactly one rank higher, regardless of suit. Any 8 may go onto any 9. This is legal even when the suits differ SRC-001.

Legal example: move 8♥ onto 9♣.

The cost is structural: the resulting 9♣–8♥ pair is not a same-suit connection, so it cannot move together as a unit later.

Group movement requires one suit

Only an uninterrupted descending sequence of the same suit can move together. For example, 9♠–8♠–7♠ may move onto any 10. By contrast, 9♠–8♥–7♥ cannot move as one group, even though all ranks descend correctly SRC-001.

Legal group example: move 7♦–6♦–5♦ onto 8♣. The moving group is one suit; the destination suit does not have to match.

Illegal group example: move 7♦–6♣–5♣ together. The rank order is correct, but the group contains a suit break.

Empty columns

An empty Spider column is powerful because it can hold a single card or a movable same-suit descending sequence. It gives you room to split mixed stacks and rebuild them. Unlike Klondike, it is not reserved for Kings.

Dealing a new row

When no useful rearrangement remains, deal a stock row: one new card goes onto each of the ten columns. You cannot deal a new row while any tableau column is empty on PlaySoli SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006. Fill every empty column first, even if doing so temporarily reduces mobility.

Which suit level should you choose?

• One suit: learn rank building, empty-column use, and the effect of new rows.
• Two suits: learn to preserve and merge suited segments.
• Four suits: every suit boundary matters; planning and temporary disorder become much more demanding.

See Spider suit levels compared for a fuller decision guide.

How to play FreeCell

FreeCell deals all 52 cards face up into eight tableau columns. Four free cells provide temporary storage, and four foundations are built by suit from Ace to King SRC-001 SRC-007.

Because every card is visible, FreeCell is less about discovering information and more about preserving enough working space to execute a plan.

Tableau building

As in Klondike, build downward by one rank in alternating colors.

Legal example: move Q♣ onto K♥.

Illegal example: move Q♠ onto K♣. Both are black.

Free cells

Each free cell can hold at most one card. You may move a free-cell card back to the tableau or to a legal foundation. A cell is most useful when it is part of a plan to uncover and rebuild a column; storing a card without an exit plan consumes one quarter of the available cell space.

Empty columns

An empty tableau column accepts a single card as a primitive move SRC-001 SRC-007. Unlike Klondike, the card need not be a King. Empty columns are more powerful than free cells because they can participate in moving longer sequences.

Group moves and supermoves

Physical-card FreeCell moves one card at a time. A computer interface can animate a sequence move when that sequence could be transferred through a series of legal single-card moves using the available free cells and empty columns. This is commonly called a supermove.

With no empty tableau column, each empty free cell lets you temporarily hold one more card. As a simple baseline, zero empty cells means a one-card move; one empty cell can support two cards; two can support three. Empty columns can multiply the workspace because they can be used recursively, subject to whether the destination itself is empty and to the implementation’s move calculation. The detailed cases are covered in FreeCell supermoves.

Do not infer that a visible sequence is automatically movable. The interface checks whether enough workspace exists.

Foundations

Build each suit from Ace to King. Automatic foundation moves can be convenient, but the strategic issue remains: a low card may be needed as a tableau landing place before it is safe to send upward.

Is every FreeCell deal solvable?

No universal guarantee should be made. FreeCell has a reputation for a high proportion of solvable deals, but exact statements depend on the deal set and rules. PlaySoli does not state that every deal is solvable SRC-001 SRC-007.

How to read a position before moving

A beginner often asks, “What can I move?” A stronger question is, “What will this move make possible?” Use this five-part scan in any variant:

1. Identify constrained cards

In Klondike and Spider, look for face-down cards and the face-up cards blocking them. In FreeCell, look for low cards trapped beneath long columns.

2. Count working spaces

An empty Klondike column has value only if a King-led move is ready. An empty Spider column can split stacks. An empty FreeCell column and an empty free cell determine sequence capacity.

3. Check destination rules exactly

Confirm rank, color, suit, and empty-column restrictions. “One rank lower” is not enough information by itself.

4. Separate reversible from irreversible actions

Moving a card between tableau columns may be reversible. Dealing a new Spider row, covering a waste card in Draw 3, or filling every FreeCell workspace can sharply reduce options.

5. Prefer moves that unlock something

An unlocking move may expose a hidden card, free a cell, create an empty column, reveal a needed waste card, join same-suit Spider cards, or release a low foundation card.

In brief

• Always name the variant before applying a rule.
• Klondike uses alternating-color tableau sequences, King-only empty columns, and suited foundations.
• Draw 1 exposes one stock card; Draw 3 exposes up to three, with only the top waste card playable. Both allow unlimited passes on PlaySoli.
• Spider uses two decks, rank building for single cards, and same-suit-only group movement. Complete eight suited King-to-Ace runs.
• FreeCell begins fully open. Each cell holds one card; sequence capacity depends on empty cells and columns.
• A legal move is not necessarily a useful move. Prefer access, mobility, and planned exits.
• PlaySoli does not guarantee that every deal is winnable.

Common beginner mistakes

Using the rule from the wrong game

A Queen may fill an empty FreeCell column but not an empty Klondike column. A mixed-suit descending stack may look orderly in Spider but cannot move as a group.

Moving every Ace immediately

Aces usually belong on foundations, but an automatic habit can be harmful when the next low card is still needed for a tableau transfer. Check what the move removes from the working area.

Filling an empty space without a follow-up

Empty columns are scarce resources. Before filling one, know whether the move exposes a card, creates a suited run, releases a cell, or positions a King.

Dealing the Spider stock too early

A new row adds ten cards and can break promising structures. Exhaust useful rearrangements first, and remember that PlaySoli blocks the deal while a column is empty.

Treating FreeCell cells as permanent storage

Four occupied cells eliminate the simplest temporary workspace. Every stored card should have a planned destination.

Assuming undo changes the rules

Undo changes what the interface lets you reconsider, not what was legal. Use it to study consequences, not as evidence that a move belongs to the physical-card rules.

Frequently asked questions

Which solitaire game should a beginner play first?

Klondike Draw 1 is the clearest introduction to tableau building, hidden-card exposure, foundations, and stock play. Spider One Suit is a good next choice for learning run construction, while FreeCell suits players who prefer complete information.

What is the usual goal of solitaire?

There is no universal goal. Klondike and FreeCell move all cards to four foundations. Spider removes eight complete same-suit King-to-Ace runs. Other patience games may have different destinations or success conditions.

Can I put any card in an empty column?

It depends on the variant. PlaySoli Klondike accepts only a King or King-led sequence. FreeCell accepts a single card as a primitive move. Spider accepts a legal single card or movable same-suit sequence.

Why can I move one Spider card but not the whole stack?

Single cards may build downward by rank across suits. A group may move only when every card in the moving sequence is descending and of the same suit SRC-001.

Why can I not deal another Spider row?

At least one tableau column is empty. PlaySoli requires every column to contain a card before the next ten-card stock row can be dealt.

What does “only the top waste card” mean in Draw 3?

When up to three cards are turned, only the card visually on top is available. If you legally play it, the next card beneath becomes available. You cannot select a lower waste card directly.

How many cards can I move at once in FreeCell?

The answer depends on the number of empty free cells, empty tableau columns, and whether the destination is itself empty. The interface may animate the result as one move, but the capacity represents a sequence of legal one-card moves. See the supermove guide.

Does unlimited redeal mean Klondike is always winnable?

No. Unlimited stock passes improve access compared with limited-pass rules, but the initial arrangement and hidden-card dependencies can still prevent completion. See solitaire solvability explained.

Should I use hints whenever they appear?

A hint normally identifies a legal move, not necessarily the best strategic move. Compare what the suggested action reveals, blocks, or consumes before accepting it.

Related PlaySoli guides

• Why solitaire moves are legal or illegal
• Strategy across Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell
• Complete Klondike rules
• Complete Spider rules
• Complete FreeCell rules
• Playing solitaire with physical cards

Sources used

• SRC-001 PlaySoli implementation and editorial specification.
• SRC-002 PlaySoli — Klondike Draw 1.
• SRC-003 PlaySoli — Klondike Draw 3.
• SRC-004 PlaySoli — Spider One Suit.
• SRC-005 PlaySoli — Spider Two Suits.
• SRC-006 PlaySoli — Spider Four Suits.
• SRC-007 PlaySoli — FreeCell.
• SRC-009 PlaySoli — All Solitaire Games.
• SRC-010 David Parlett — history and classification of Patience/Solitaire.
• SRC-033 Michael Keller — FreeCell technical reference.

Material checked: 2026-07-17.

Disputed or unverified facts: No historical origin claim is required to follow these rules. Variant names may cover different rules on other sites or in printed books; the instructions above describe the current PlaySoli implementations SRC-001.

Editorial responsibility: PlaySoli Editorial Team.