Rules

How to play Solitaire

Updated October 2026 · 1 player · about 10 minutes a deal

Solitaire is a card game for one player. You lay out seven columns of cards and try to move all 52 cards onto four piles, one for each suit, in order from the ace up to the king. Most people just say Solitaire. Card players call this game Klondike. You play against the cards, one deal at a time: everything you do with one shuffled deck is one deal.

What you need

A full 52-card deck without jokers, and a table with room for seven columns of cards side by side. Cards go in this order, from lowest to highest: ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king. A card's place in this order is its rank, so a 7 is one rank higher than a 6. In this game the ace is always the lowest card, and nothing is higher than the king. The suits are red (hearts and diamonds) and black (spades and clubs).

Dealing the cards

1. Shuffle the deck. Deal seven columns from left to right: 1 card in the first column, 2 in the second, 3 in the third, and so on up to 7 in the seventh. That uses 28 cards.
2. Lay each column so that its cards overlap, with the last card showing in full. Turn up only the last card of each column. The cards above it stay face down. These are the hidden cards.
3. Put the 24 cards that are left face down in one pile above the columns, at the left. This is the draw pile. Next to it, leave room for the turned-over pile, where cards go when you turn them over from the draw pile. At the top right, leave room for the four home piles.

A common way to deal is to lay seven cards in a row, the first face up and the rest face down. Then lay six cards on top of the second to the seventh column, the first of these face up, and so on. It gives the same kind of layout.

Building in the columns

In the columns, cards are built downward: each card goes onto a card of the other color that is exactly one rank higher. A red 6 goes onto a black 7. A black 7 goes onto a red 8. A card cannot go onto a card of its own color, and it cannot skip a rank. Only the last card of a column can have a card put on it.

A column built this way runs downward and alternates red and black, for example 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ 5♦.

Moving cards

There are no turns, because you are the only player. You make one move after another, in any order you like. These are the cards you can pick up:

• The last card of a column.
• The top card of the turned-over pile.
• Several cards of a column together. The face-up cards in a column always follow each other in order, so you can pick up any face-up card and every card below it, and move them all at once. They go onto a card that fits the first card you picked up. For example, if column 2 holds the black 7, red 6 and black 5, you can pick up the red 6 and the black 5 together, and put them onto another black 7.

When you move all the face-up cards out of a column, the hidden card above them turns face up, and you can use it. Turning over hidden cards is the main job early in a deal: you cannot win until every card has been turned face up.

Empty columns

When you move every card out of a column, the column is empty. Only a king can go into an empty column. It can go alone, or together with the cards below it in its column (a king, a queen, a jack and so on, in order).

The home piles

The four piles at the top right are the home piles, one for each suit. Each pile starts with the ace of its suit. Then you add the 2 of the same suit, then the 3, and so on up to the king, one card at a time and always in order. You can send home the last card of a column, or the top card of the turned-over pile.

You never have to send a card home. You may leave it where it is. Sometimes that is the better move, because a card that is home can no longer hold a card in the columns. In this practice game a card that is home stays home. Some rule books let you take it back down (see Common variations).

The draw pile

When you cannot, or do not want to, move any other card, turn over cards from the draw pile onto the turned-over pile. You choose how many at a time before the deal:

• One at a time. Turn over the top card of the draw pile. This is the easier way to play.
• Three at a time. Turn over three cards one after another, so that the last one turned is on top. This is harder, because the cards under the top one are out of reach until the top one is used. If fewer than three cards are left, turn over what is left.

Only the top card of the turned-over pile can be played. If you play it, the card under it can be played next. A card you do not play stays in the turned-over pile.

When the draw pile is empty, pick up the turned-over pile, turn it over without shuffling it, and use it as a new draw pile. You may go through the draw pile as many times as you like. Some rule books allow fewer (see Common variations).

Winning, and when you are stuck

You win when all 52 cards are on the home piles. Each pile then runs from the ace to the king.

You are stuck when no move can help: the only cards that could move would just be shifted from one column to another, and a whole trip through the draw pile gives you nothing to play. A deal that is stuck is usually lost. Now and then a move that looks pointless, such as shifting a few cards from one column to another, opens a way forward, so the practice game says a deal is lost only after it has checked every possible line of play.

Play a practice game of Solitaire

Rules make more sense once you have held the cards. The practice game deals a deal for you, lists where the cards you pick up can go, and explains one good move whenever you press Hint. It has no timer, and Undo has no limit, so you can try things without fear.

Four things beginners miss

Turn over the hidden cards first

You cannot win until every card is face up, and the hidden cards are the ones that decide the deal. When you can choose between moves, take the one that turns over a hidden card. If several moves would do it, take the one from the column with the most hidden cards. The draw pile is always there, so turn it over when no hidden card can be reached.

Do not rush cards home

Sending a card to a home pile feels like progress, but a card that is home can no longer hold a card in the columns. An ace can go home at any time. A 2 can go home as soon as its ace is there, because the only card that could ever be put on a 2 is an ace, and an ace can go home by itself. A higher card is safe to send home once the two cards of the other color that are one rank lower are already home. For example, the black 5 is safe to send home once both red 4s are home, because no card can still need to go on it. Before that, a red 4 that is not home yet may need it.

Think before emptying a column

An empty column is only useful once a king is ready to go into it. If you empty a column and no king is face up, the space may stay empty for a long time. Empty a column when a king is waiting. If two kings could go into an empty column, move the one whose column still has hidden cards, because moving it turns a hidden card over.

Keep red and black in step

The two cards that can go on a card are the two of the other color that are one rank lower. So the red and the black home piles need to stay close together. If you send red cards up far ahead of the black piles, the black cards lose places to go, and the same is true the other way round. As a rule of thumb, send a card home only when the two piles of the other color are no more than one card behind it.

Questions people ask

Do I have to send a card home when I can?

No. You may leave it in the column. The practice game's Auto button sends home only the cards that are safe to send, and a double-click sends any card that can go.

Can I move just part of a column?

Yes. Pick up any face-up card, and the cards below it come with it. Where the cards go depends only on the first card you picked up. You cannot pick up a card from the middle without the cards below it.

How many times can I go through the draw pile?

In the practice game, as many times as you like. Some rule books allow only one trip, or three trips in total (see Common variations). Going through it only once makes the game much harder.

What happens to a card I turn over and cannot use?

It stays in the turned-over pile, with the next card turned over on top of it. It comes round again when you have used up the draw pile and turn the turned-over pile back over.

Why can I not put a card on a card of the same color?

Because the columns alternate red and black. A red 6 goes onto a black 7, not onto a red 7. If the only 7s you can reach are red, the 6 has to wait.

Common variations

Rule books and computer versions differ on a few points. If you play with other people's rules, check which of these they use.

• Turning over three cards at a time. The Bicycle rules describe this version. Other rule books describe turning over one card at a time, which is easier and is where the practice game starts. You can switch with the buttons under the table.
• Limiting the trips through the draw pile. Some rule books allow only one trip, or three trips in total. One rule book puts the chance of winning at about 1 deal in 30 when you may go through the draw pile only once.
• Taking a card back down from a home pile. Some rule books and computer versions let you move the top card of a home pile back onto a column. In the computer study above it made very little difference: a perfect player won only 3 or 4 more deals in 1,000. This practice game does not allow it.
• Moving only a whole sequence. The Bicycle rules say that when a column has more than one face-up card, all of them must be moved as a unit. That can be read as moving only the whole face-up part of a column. Other rule books let you move part of it, and so does the practice game: pick up any face-up card, and the cards below it come with it.
• Points and clocks. Some computer versions give points for each move, or time you. The practice game only counts your moves.