How Do You Play Solitaire (Solitaire Rules & Cards)

Solitaire is a single-person playing card game where the aim is to arrange the cards into four piles by suit from ace to king. The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards and is won when you have arranged the whole deck into the foundation. Solitaire is also known as patience in England, Poland, Germany, and many other countries.

How Do You Play Solitaire

To play solitaire first understand the cards types and then the setup and rules:

Solitaire Cards

A standard deck of solitaire cards has 52 cards in four suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. Each suit type has 13 cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King. Modern decks also usually include two jokers, but they are not used in solitaire. The goal of play is to move all cards onto the foundation.

Solitaire Playing Cards Meaning

Here are some other types of cards in a deck:

Number cards

These are the cards with numbers from 2 to 10. The number on the corner of the card matches the number of symbols in the center of the card.

Aces

These are the cards with a single symbol of their suit. There are four aces in a standard deck, one for each suit. Aces are the lowest value cards in solitaire.

Face cards

These are the cards with a picture of a person on them. There are three face cards in each suit: Jack, Queen, and King. Face cards are the highest value cards in solitaire.

Spades

These are the cards with one or more black spade symbols: ♠. Spades are one of the four suits in solitaire.

Hearts

These are the cards with one or more red heart symbols: ♥. Hearts are one of the four suits in solitaire.

Diamonds

These are the cards with one or more red diamond symbols: ♦. Diamonds are one of the four suits in solitaire.

Clubs

These are the cards with one or more black club symbols: ♣. Clubs are one of the four suits in solitaire.

German-suited playing cards

These are a type of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe. They have 32 or 36 cards in four suits: Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells. They are not used in solitaire.

Pinochle deck

This is a special deck of cards used for the card game Pinochle. It has 48 cards in four suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. Each suit has two copies of the 9s through Aces. It is not used in solitaire.

Solitaire Cards Rank

The rank of cards in solitaire is: A (low), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K (high). The cards must be arranged in ascending order by rank on the foundations. For example, an Ace of Spades can be followed by a 2 of Spades, then a 3 of Spades, and so on, until a King of Spades is placed on top.

The rank of cards in Solitaire is K (high), Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A (low). The correct order of a tableau sequence is King at the bottom, followed by Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and Ace on top. If a tableau pile is empty, you can only place Kings there. Revealed tableau cards can be moved to the foundation individually.

How to Set Up Solitaire

To set up a game of solitaire, you need a standard 52-card deck and a flat surface. You can follow these steps:

• To start Solitaire play, shuffle a deck of cards and give seven cards to each person in a row from left to right. The first card should be face up and the rest should be face down. This is the first column of the tableau, the main area of gameplay.
• Deal another card face up on the second card from the left, and then deal five cards face down to the right of it. This is the second column of the tableau.
• Repeat this process for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth columns, dealing one less card face down each time. The seventh column should have only one card face up.
• You should now have seven columns of cards, with one to seven cards in each column. The top card of each column should be face up, and the rest should be face down. The tableau should look like a triangle or a pyramid.
• Place the remaining cards face down in a pile next to the tableau. This is the stock, which you can draw new cards from and leave some space above the tableau for the four foundations, where you will build the sorted piles by suit.

How to Play Solitaire Cards

To play solitaire, you can follow these rules:

• The motive is to move all the cards from the tableau and the stock to the foundations, arranging them by suit and rank from Ace to King.
• You can carry one card at a time from the tableau to the foundations. The card must match the suit and be one rank higher than the top card of the foundation. For example, you can move a 2 of Hearts to the foundation if there is an Ace of Hearts there, or a 3 of Spades to the foundation if there is a 2 of Spades there. If the foundation is empty, you can start it with an Ace of any suit.
• You can also move one card at a time from the tableau to another column of the tableau. The card must be one rank lower and of the opposite color than the top card of the destination column. For example, you can move a 9 of Clubs to a column that has a 10 of Hearts on top, or a 5 of Diamonds to a column that has a 6 of Spades on top. If a column is empty, you can move any King there.
• You can flip over the top card of any face-down pile in the tableau when it becomes exposed. This will reveal a new card that you can use.
• You can draw one card at a time from the stock and place it face up on a waste pile next to the stock. You can move the top card of the waste pile to the foundations or the tableau, following the same rules as above. You can only go through the stock once, so use the cards wisely.
• You win the game when you have moved all the cards to the foundations. You lose the game when you have no more moves left.

Solitaire Winning

Solitaire is a card game that you can play by yourself with a standard 52-card deck. The goal is to sort the cards into four piles by suit and rank, from ace to king. Each pile is called a foundation and represents one of the four suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. The game is won when all 52 cards are moved to the foundations.

While almost 80% of solitaire games are winnable, the chances of winning may vary based on the variation you are playing. For instance, FreeCell has the highest chance of winning, while Pyramid Solitaire has the lowest.

Solitaire Points

In Solitaire, you can earn points by performing certain actions. The following are the points awarded for each action:

• Moving a card from the stock to the tableau: 5 points
• Moving a card from the tableau to the foundation: 10 points
• Turning over a tableau card: 5 points
• Moving a card from the foundation back to the tableau: -15 points

Additionally, if you are playing a timed game, you can earn bonus points based on how quickly you finish. The formula for calculating bonus points is 700,000 divided by the number of seconds played, minus 2 points for every 10 seconds played.