Games
Solitaire
Solitaire is part of Toolspire and is ready as soon as this page loads. The classic card game, done properly — draw one or three, Windows or Vegas scoring, deals you can always win, and the bouncing cards when you do.
On this page
What you can do here
Every deal can be won
The solver tries each deal before you get it, so a loss is never the cards’ fault. Turn it off for random deals.
Plays the way you do
Tap to move, drag and drop, or use the keyboard. Left-handed layout puts the stock on the right.
Help when you’re stuck
Hints point to a useful move, undo has no limit, and the game tells you when no useful moves are left.
Windows or Vegas scoring
The original Windows Solitaire points and time bonus, the Vegas money game with limited passes, or no score.
A deal a day
The daily deal is the same for everyone today — and any game can be shared by its number.
The bouncing cards
Win and the cards cascade off the foundations, just like the Windows classic.
The sequence
How to play solitaire
- 1
Aim for the foundations
Move all 52 cards to the four foundations at the top, one suit each, from ace up to king.
- 2
Build down in the columns
In the seven columns, put a card on one rank higher of the opposite colour — a red 6 on a black 7. You can move a whole run of cards together.
- 3
Turn up hidden cards
When you move the face-up cards off a column, the card below turns over. Only a king (or a run starting with one) can fill an empty column.
- 4
Draw from the stock
Tap the stock to turn one or three cards onto the waste. The top waste card can be played. When the stock runs out, tap again to turn the waste over.
- 5
Win
Once every card is face up, press Finish and the rest go up by themselves.
Worth knowing
- Solitaire on Toolspire: classic Klondike rules: build the seven columns down in alternating colours, and the four foundations up by suit from ace to king. Choose Draw 1 (easier) or Draw 3 (the classic challenge).
- Winnable deals only: before you see a deal, a built-in solver checks it can be won. Even knowing where every card is, only about 82% of draw-three deals can be won (Blake and Gent, 2019).
- Windows scoring (10 for a card on a foundation, 5 for turning a card, a time bonus of 700,000 ÷ seconds), Vegas scoring ($52 for the deck, $5 a card back), or no score at all.
- Tap a card to send it where it fits, or drag it. Safe cards go up to the foundations by themselves, and Finish plays out the rest once every card is face up.
- Unlimited undo, hints, a daily deal, deals you can share by number, and a Solve it for me button that plays out a winning line.
- Stats for every mode — win rate, streaks, fastest win and best score — and your game in progress are saved on this device. Free, no account.
Scoring
Standard scores never drop below zero. In Vegas scoring you get one pass through the stock when drawing one card and three passes when drawing three; your running Vegas total is kept with your stats.
| Move | Standard (Windows) | Vegas |
|---|---|---|
| Card from the waste to a column | +5 | — |
| Card to a foundation | +10 | +$5 |
| Turning over a column card | +5 | — |
| Card from a foundation back to a column | −15 | −$5 |
| Turning the waste over (draw 1) | −100 | Not allowed |
| Time | −2 every 10 seconds; win bonus 700,000 ÷ seconds (30 s or more) | — |
| Start | 0 | −$52 |
Solitaire tips
- Turn up hidden cards first. Moves that reveal a face-down card are almost always the best — especially in the columns with the most hidden cards.
- Don’t empty a column without a king to fill it. An empty column only takes a king, so clear one when a king is waiting.
- Think before playing from the waste. It’s often better to free cards in the columns first and use the stock later.
- Keep the colours balanced. If you build a long red-black run, make sure the other colour of the next card is still reachable.
- Don’t rush cards up. A card on a foundation can’t hold the next lower card; keep useful cards in play until they are safe to move up.
About Klondike
Klondike is the best-known patience game, so well known in the US and Canada that “solitaire” on its own usually means Klondike; in the UK it is often just called patience. Where its name comes from is unknown — the late-1890s Klondike Gold Rush is a popular guess, but nothing proves it.
Its fame today owes a lot to Microsoft, which included Solitaire with Windows 3.0 in 1990, partly to teach people to use a mouse by dragging cards. Whether a random deal can be won is still an open question in mathematics; with every card known, about 82% of draw-three deals can be won, but nobody has worked out the exact figure for the real game, where most cards are hidden.
FAQ
Questions about Solitaire
Where does Solitaire run?
Is every solitaire game winnable?
What is the difference between draw 1 and draw 3?
How does Vegas scoring work?
How is the score calculated?
Can I play the same deal again or share it?
Does it save my game?
Is it free?
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