Solitaire Games

Play the most popular and addicting solitaire games for free

Solitaire games are often thought of as referring to the card game known as Patience, but solitaire actually refers to a whole series of single-player puzzle games. These game might feature cards, but can also require pegs, stones, or special tiles. Solitaire puzzles are a great way to relax, and shuffling the deck or changing the layout makes every game different from the last. Usually, the objective is to sort or match the right symbols and suits. When it comes to solitaire with cards, there are lots of different variations to play, such as freecell solitaire and solitaire variations with multiple decks. Check out this fun page and see if you can solve them all! Want to try even more card games? You can find our complete overview of games with cards here!

How to play online solitaire games with cards

Solitaire card games like Patience first appeared in game manuals and compendiums in the late 1700s. The rules and decks have changed over time, and there are lots of ways to play this game. The most common version starts with a number of cards laid out on the table face down in descending rows, with only the last card turned face up. At the top, you’ll see four empty slots and a stack with the remaining cards from the deck (the stock). You can use the empty slots to stack up the cards in ascending order from the aces to the kings, sorting the cards by suit. You can stack the cards on top of the last card in each row, too. However, this has to be done in descending order, and you have to alternate between the red suits and the black suits. Whenever you can’t move any of the cards, you can draw a from the stock. If you can’t use this card, it goes on the discard pile and you can draw a new one. The one-card draw version of the game - in which you draw single card from the stock per turn - is the easiest version. If you want to make the game more difficult, select three-card draw. You can only pick up the top card on the discard pile, so playing three-card draw means you won’t always be able to access all of the cards in your stock.

Fun variations of solitaire card games to try

Try Pyramid Solitaire, in which you have to match up sets of cards to make 13. Can you clear away all the cards, or will your stock run out too soon? In Crescent Solitaire, you have to rearrange the cards in the semi-circle until you can move them all to the 8 foundations in the middle. Or how about Freecell Solitaire? You can store any cards you don’t have a use for in the free cells at the top, but the more cards you store, the fewer cards you can pick up and move. Can you work out the right balance? If you’re looking for even more variation, you can also find some addicting single-player tile sorting games like Mahjong Solitaire on our mahjong games page!