Solitaire

Tips for Solitaire

Solitaire is Klondike: you build the seven columns down in alternating colours and send each suit to the foundations from ace to king. Moves that turn a face-down card over are worth five points, and each card sent to a foundation is worth ten, so look for both before you reach for the stock. You can turn the stock as often as you like, so there is no need to play a card from it just because it is showing.

If you are new, start with draw one, then switch to draw three when you want a tougher deal. Tapping a card sends it to the best legal home, foundation first, which is quick but not always the move you want, so drag the card yourself when you have a plan. Undo goes back as many steps as you need, so you can try an idea and take it back, and Hint points at a move when the table goes quiet. Once every card is face up, Auto-finish sweeps the rest home, and a quick finish adds a bonus.

How to play Solitaire

The goal in Solitaire is to move all fifty-two cards to the four foundations, one pile per suit, built up from ace to king. The game is Klondike. The cards are dealt into seven columns, with the top card of each column face up and the rest face down, and the remaining cards wait in the stock.

On the table you build each column downwards in alternating colours, so a red six can go on a black seven. You can move a single card or a whole face-up run from one column to another, and when a face-down card is left on top of a column it is turned over. Only a king can go into an empty column. When you run out of moves, click or tap the stock to turn cards onto the waste and play the top one if it fits. With draw one you turn a card at a time; with draw three you turn three and can only play the top one. The stock can be turned as often as you like.

Aces go to the foundations as soon as they appear, followed by the two, the three and so on in the same suit. On a computer you drag cards with the mouse, and on a phone you drag with your finger or tap a card to send it to the best legal spot. A sends every card home when the board allows it, M mutes and N restarts.

About Solitaire

Solitaire is the name most people use for Klondike, the best-known patience game, played alone with a single pack of cards. In Britain the game is often simply called patience, and it became familiar to many people through the version that came with Windows computers for many years. Kiloo's Solitaire plays standard Klondike with a choice of draw one or draw three.

It suits anyone who wants a calm game with a clear goal, whether you have a few minutes or longer. Draw one makes for a gentle deal and draw three for a tougher one, and the classic scoring, the timer and the move counter give you something to improve on, with your best score kept in your browser. This version keeps the table clean and quick: unlimited undo, a hint when you are stuck, a tap-to-move shortcut that works well on a phone, and Auto-finish to sweep the cards home at the end.

Frequently asked questions