Solitaire FAQ: Clear Answers to Common Questions

Short answer: “Solitaire” names a family of card games, so the exact variant resolves most rule questions. PlaySoli Klondike builds down in alternating colors and reserves empty columns for Kings; Spider builds single cards down by rank but moves only same-suit groups; FreeCell uses four one-card cells and workspace-dependent sequence moves. PlaySoli makes no universal solvability guarantee for these variants SRC-001.

This FAQ starts with the decision a player is actually facing, then identifies the rule that controls it. The answers apply to the current PlaySoli implementations and deliberately avoid importing pass limits, empty-column rules, or automatic behavior from another app or printed book.

Contents

• Quick diagnostic
• 1. What does “solitaire” mean?
• 2. Which solitaire game should I choose?
• 3. What counts as winning?
• 4. What is the difference between Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3?
• 5. Why can’t I put this card in an empty Klondike column?
• 6. Why can I build across suits in Spider but not move the stack?
• 7. Why won’t Spider deal the next row?
• 8. How many cards can I move at once in FreeCell?
• 9. Is every solitaire deal winnable?
• 10. What do undo, hints, auto-moves, and daily deals change?
• In brief

Quick diagnostic

What happened?	Most likely rule to check
A visible Klondike waste card cannot be selected	Another waste card is above it; only the top available card can move.
A Queen cannot enter an empty Klondike column	Only a King or King-led sequence may fill the column.
A descending Spider stack moves only one card	The full moving group contains a suit break.
Spider refuses a new row	At least one tableau column is empty.
A FreeCell sequence was movable earlier but is not now	Fewer cells or columns are empty, reducing transfer capacity.
A foundation move is accepted but seems harmful	The move is legal; strategic timing is a separate issue.
A “win rate” online differs from another number	The variant, information model, sample, or outcome definition differs.

1. What does “solitaire” mean?

Solitaire is a family of card games, not one universal ruleset. In American usage, the unqualified word often points to Klondike. British players may call the same game Patience, while historical French sources use terms such as réussite. Those naming traditions overlap but do not erase the many different layouts within the family SRC-010.

The practical consequence is simple: ask for the variant before answering a rule question. These are all solitaire games, yet they behave differently:

• Klondike: hidden cards, stock and waste, seven tableau columns, four foundations.
• Spider: two decks, ten tableau columns, stock rows, eight complete suited runs.
• FreeCell: all cards face up, eight columns, four free cells, four foundations SRC-001.

A statement such as “you can move a sequence” is incomplete until the game defines the sequence. Klondike wants alternating colors. Spider group movement wants one suit. FreeCell also wants alternating colors, but the available workspace limits how many cards can transfer.

For names and vocabulary, see the glossary and Patience vs. Solitaire.

2. Which solitaire game should I choose?

Choose by the type of problem you want to solve rather than by a generic difficulty label.

Choose Klondike Draw 1 when you want a clear starting point

Each stock action exposes one card, so stock access is easy to read. You still manage hidden tableau cards, alternating-color sequences, Kings in empty columns, and foundation timing. PlaySoli permits unlimited passes SRC-001 SRC-002.

Choose Klondike Draw 3 when you want access planning

The tableau rules are unchanged, but up to three stock cards are turned and only the top waste card is available. The challenge is not merely seeing fewer cards; it is changing the waste order by playing the correct top cards. Passes are unlimited on PlaySoli SRC-001 SRC-003.

Choose Spider One Suit when you want to learn run construction

All cards behave as one suit, so every descending rank connection also supports group movement. You can focus on exposing cards, managing empty columns, and timing row deals.

Choose Spider Two or Four Suits when you want structural planning

Suit boundaries matter. A mixed-suit placement can be legal yet make the stack harder to move later. Two suits introduces that tension; four suits makes it central SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

Choose FreeCell when you prefer complete information

Every card is visible from the beginning. The puzzle is to order dependencies and preserve cells and columns as temporary workspace SRC-001 SRC-007.

Visit All Games for the current catalogue, or the beginner’s guide for the first moves in each variant.

3. What counts as winning?

The winning condition depends on the game.

Klondike

Move all 52 cards to four foundations. Each foundation contains one suit in ascending order from Ace to King. The tableau may be empty before the final moves, but the game is complete only when every card reaches the foundations SRC-001 SRC-002 SRC-003.

FreeCell

The destination is also four suited foundations from Ace through King. Unlike Klondike, all 52 cards start face up and no stock remains after the opening deal SRC-001 SRC-007.

Spider

Build eight complete same-suit descending runs from King to Ace. PlaySoli removes each completed run automatically. All eight must be removed SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

A score, move count, elapsed time, or streak can measure how a game was played, but it does not replace the winning condition. Likewise, reaching a position with no face-down cards is progress, not necessarily victory.

4. What is the difference between Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3?

The difference is stock access. Both versions use one deck, seven tableau columns, alternating-color descending tableau builds, King-only empty columns, and four same-suit Ace-to-King foundations SRC-001.

Draw 1

• Turn one stock card onto the waste.
• That card is immediately the top available waste card.
• Continue until the stock is exhausted.
• Begin another pass; PlaySoli has no fixed pass limit SRC-002.

Draw 3

• Turn up to three stock cards.
• Only the top card of the resulting waste is available.
• Playing it may expose the next card beneath it.
• A final packet can contain one or two cards.
• PlaySoli again has no fixed pass limit SRC-003.

Example: A Draw 3 packet lands with 5♠ on top, Q♦ below, and A♣ below that. The Queen and Ace are not directly selectable. If 5♠ has a legal destination, moving it exposes Q♦; moving the Queen may then expose A♣.

Because removals alter later access, Draw 3 rewards remembering the waste cycle. It is not simply Draw 1 with three visible choices.

See the full comparison.

5. Why can’t I put this card in an empty Klondike column?

An empty Klondike column is reserved for a King or a legal sequence whose top card is a King SRC-001 SRC-002 SRC-003. The rule does not say “any available card may fill a blank.”

Legal examples

• K♣ by itself.
• K♥–Q♠.
• K♦–Q♣–J♥–10♠, assuming the entire face-up group is in alternating-color descending order.

Illegal examples

• Q♣ by itself.
• Q♥–J♣, even though the pair is internally ordered.
• K♠–Q♣–J♠, because Q♣ and J♠ are both black, so the moving sequence is not legal Klondike order.

The rule makes clearing a column a commitment. Before moving a King into it, check what the King releases and whether a useful Queen can follow. A King with no continuation can occupy the lane for a long time.

Do not transfer this rule to other games. PlaySoli FreeCell accepts one card of any rank in an empty column. Spider accepts a legal card or movable same-suit sequence.

6. Why can I build across suits in Spider but not move the stack?

Spider has one rule for placing a card and a stricter rule for moving a group.

Placement rule

A single card may be placed on any card exactly one rank higher, regardless of suit. Therefore 8♥ may go onto 9♣ SRC-001.

Group rule

A group may move together only when every card in it forms an uninterrupted descending sequence of one suit. Therefore 8♥–7♥–6♥ can move as a unit, but 8♥–7♣–6♣ cannot SRC-001.

The mixed-suit placement is legal because it helps expose or organize cards. It creates a suit break, which means the cards on opposite sides of the break are not one movable unit.

Diagnostic method: Start at the bottom selected card and trace upward. The ranks must decrease by one, and the suit must remain unchanged throughout the entire moving group. The destination only needs to be one rank higher; its suit may differ.

This is why a column can look neatly descending yet still require an empty column to split and rebuild it.

7. Why won’t Spider deal the next row?

At least one tableau column is empty. PlaySoli Spider does not allow a new stock row while any of the ten columns is empty SRC-001 SRC-004 SRC-005 SRC-006.

To continue, place a legal card or movable same-suit sequence into every empty column. Then deal the row, which places one new card on each column.

The restriction creates an important timing decision:

1. Empty columns are the best workspace for separating mixed stacks.
2. A new row cannot be dealt until that workspace is occupied.
3. Therefore, perform every useful split, exposure, and suit join before filling the column for the deal.

A common mistake is to fill the first empty column immediately and lose the chance to reorganize. Another is to leave it empty and assume the stock button is broken. The interface is enforcing a game rule.

After the row lands, its ten new cards may cover previously movable endpoints. Deal only after current improvements are exhausted.

8. How many cards can I move at once in FreeCell?

There is no fixed universal number. The transfer capacity depends on:

• how many of the four free cells are empty;
• how many tableau columns are empty;
• whether the destination column is empty;
• whether the sequence itself descends in alternating colors;
• the implementation’s correct decomposition into legal one-card moves SRC-001 SRC-007 SRC-033.

At the primitive level, FreeCell moves one card at a time. A computer supermove animates a sequence because the cards could be transported through the available temporary spaces.

Simple case: no empty tableau columns

With no empty columns, an intuitive capacity is:

• 0 empty cells → 1 card;
• 1 empty cell → 2 cards;
• 2 empty cells → 3 cards;
• 3 empty cells → 4 cards;
• 4 empty cells → 5 cards.

The extra card is the one moving directly to the destination while the others temporarily occupy cells.

Why empty columns increase capacity

An empty column can hold a subgroup, allowing the remaining cards to be moved and the subgroup rebuilt. With multiple empty columns, the process can repeat. However, a destination that is itself empty may consume one of those columns, so the maximum is destination-sensitive.

Before selecting a long sequence, count the workspace. If the same sequence moved earlier but is rejected now, a cell or column has probably become occupied.

See the complete supermove guide for formulas and worked examples.

9. Is every solitaire deal winnable?

No general guarantee applies. Solvability depends on the exact variant, initial arrangement, pass rule, movement model, and available information. PlaySoli does not promise that every Klondike, Spider, or FreeCell deal is solvable SRC-001.

Three concepts are often confused:

• Deal solvability: at least one legal winning path exists.
• Player win rate: a person wins a fraction of counted attempts.
• Solver success rate: an algorithm completes a fraction of tested deals under resource limits.

A loss proves that one attempt failed, not that the deal had no solution. A solver timeout also does not prove impossibility.

A 2026 peer-reviewed study reports 81.945% (95% CI: ±0.084 percentage points) for Thoughtful Klondike, where all card identities are known SRC-030. That result must not be rewritten as “PlaySoli is 81.945% winnable” or “a player should win 81.945% of games.” PlaySoli Draw 1, Draw 3, and ordinary hidden-card decisions require their own exact definitions.

FreeCell’s open layout makes solution analysis easier, and many known deal sets have a very high solvable proportion. It still does not follow that every possible arrangement or implementation is solvable SRC-033.

Read the full solvability guide before trusting or comparing a percentage.

10. What do undo, hints, auto-moves, and daily deals change?

They change the play environment, not necessarily the core rank and suit rules.

Undo

Undo reverses accepted actions. It can support learning and branch comparison. A win achieved with undo is still a completion under the card rules, but it belongs to a different performance condition from a no-undo first attempt.

Hints

A hint normally identifies a legal move according to the program’s selection method. It does not guarantee that the move is strategically best or part of a complete solution.

Automatic moves

Some automation performs an inevitable mechanical step, such as turning an exposed hidden card or removing a complete Spider run. Auto-foundation and auto-finish policies can be more strategic because they may choose when a movable card leaves the tableau.

Daily deals

A daily mode gives players a shared arrangement associated with a date. It may be seeded, selected, or curated, but “daily” alone does not prove that a solver verified the deal. The key benefit is that players can compare decisions from the same start. See Daily Solitaire.

Move and time counters

Counters measure interaction under a product definition. One interface may count a FreeCell supermove as one action; another may count the underlying primitive transfers. Compare scores only when the counting rules match.

In brief

• Name the variant before applying a solitaire rule.
• Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3 share tableau rules; stock access differs.
• Only a King-led move fills an empty PlaySoli Klondike column.
• Spider permits mixed-suit single-card building but same-suit-only group movement.
• Spider cannot deal a row while any column is empty.
• FreeCell sequence capacity changes with empty cells and columns.
• Winning means four complete foundations in Klondike and FreeCell, or eight removed suited runs in Spider.
• Hints certify an available suggestion, not optimal play.
• Daily identifies a shared dated deal, not an automatic solvability guarantee.
• No universal solitaire win percentage should be quoted without a precisely matched ruleset.

Common answer traps

Giving one rule for every game called solitaire

Family labels are not rulesets. State the game and implementation.

Answering a strategic question with legality alone

“The move is allowed” does not answer whether it consumes critical workspace or blocks a future card.

Importing a pass limit from memory

PlaySoli Draw 1 and Draw 3 both allow unlimited stock passes SRC-001. Other programs may differ.

Treating a visible card as an available card

A card can be face up beneath the top waste card or inside an immovable group.

Calling a daily deal guaranteed

Use “shared dated deal” unless solver verification or curation is documented.

Repeating a percentage without its information model

Thoughtful Klondike exposes card identities to the decision-maker. Ordinary hidden-card play is a different problem.

Related PlaySoli guides

• Complete beginner’s guide
• Legal move system
• Terminology reference
• Decision-making across variants
• Solvability and win-rate methodology
• All PlaySoli games

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-008 PlaySoli — Daily Solitaire.
• SRC-009 PlaySoli — All Solitaire Games.
• SRC-010 David Parlett — historical terminology and family classification.
• SRC-030 Blake and Gent — 2026 peer-reviewed winnability research.
• SRC-033 Michael Keller — FreeCell technical reference.

Material checked: 2026-07-17.

Disputed or unverified facts: Game names can cover different rules across books and software. Numerical solvability claims are retained only for their defined variant and information model. No curation or guaranteed-solvability claim is inferred for Daily Solitaire without a documented product statement.

Editorial responsibility: PlaySoli Editorial Team.