Free card games

What makes a good card game

Card games come in two families. In patience games, also called solitaire, you play alone against the deal: the cards are laid out in a set pattern and you sort them back into order, one legal move at a time. In table games you sit down with rivals, take turns and try to empty your hand, collect sets or avoid the cards that cost points. Both reward the same habit, which is looking a few moves ahead.

The card games on Kiloo follow the classic rules and take care of the fiddly parts for you. In most of them you can drag a card or simply tap it and let it find a legal spot, undo a move that went wrong and ask for a hint when you are stuck. The opponents in the table games are computer rivals at Easy, Normal or Sharp, and two of the games let friends pass one device around.

Card games to start with

Solitaire is the place to start if you know Klondike: seven columns, build down in alternating colours and send each suit home from ace to king. Draw one card at a time for an easier deal or three for a harder one. FreeCell deals every card face up, so nothing is hidden and the game is pure planning, with four free cells to park cards in. Spider Solitaire deals two packs into ten columns; choose one, two or four suits before the deal and build complete king-to-ace runs to clear the table.

For shorter games, Pyramid Solitaire has a single rule: remove two uncovered cards that add up to thirteen, or a king on its own. Tri Peaks asks you to play any card one rank above or below the card on the waste, and long runs score the most points. Both have a daily deal and a switch that only deals layouts you can clear.

If you want company at the table, Crazy Eights seats you with an owl, a fox and a frog: match the top card by suit or number, keep your wild eights for when you are stuck and be the first to empty your hand. Hearts is a four-player trick game where you pass three cards and then try not to take hearts or the queen of spades. Rummy is gin rummy for two, with a live deadwood count that shows how close you are to knocking. Go Fish and Pair Up are the gentlest of the set: ask for sea creatures to collect sets of four, or turn two cards at a time to find matching pairs.

Controls, hints and playing on a phone

On a computer you mostly play with the mouse: drag cards to move them in the patience games, click the stock to draw and click a card to play it in Hearts. Many games add keyboard shortcuts. In Solitaire A sends every card home when the board allows it, in FreeCell and Spider Solitaire H gives a hint and U undoes a move, and M mutes the sound across the set. Crazy Eights, Hearts and Pair Up can be played from the keyboard alone, with number keys or arrow keys picking a card.

On a phone or tablet you drag cards with your finger or tap a card to send it to the best legal spot, and you tap the stock or the deck to draw. When a patience deal goes quiet, use undo rather than starting again. In Solitaire you can switch to draw one, and in Spider Solitaire one suit is the gentle setting. For younger players, Go Fish has a memory helper that shows what each player recently asked for, and Pair Up uses hand-drawn animals, fruit, space pictures and shapes instead of numbers.

Frequently asked questions