Solitaire rules: quick reference

The short version of every game on this site. If you're brand new, the step-by-step how to play guide is a gentler start. This page is for looking things up.

Klondike at a glance

How the other games differ

FreeCell

• All 52 cards dealt face up in eight columns. No stock.
• Four free cells, each holding one card.
• Columns build down in alternating colours. Any card can fill an empty column.
• Run size is limited by free space: (empty free cells + 1) × 2 for each empty column.

Spider (1 suit, 2 suits, 4 suits)

• Two decks, 104 cards, ten columns.
• Any card goes on one rank higher. Only same-suit runs move together.
• A complete King to Ace run in one suit clears itself. Clear eight to win.
• Five deals from the stock, each only when no column is empty.

Pyramid

• 28 cards in a pyramid. Remove free pairs that add up to 13.
• Ace 1, Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13. Kings go alone.
• The top waste card can pair with a pyramid card. Unlimited passes here.

Golf

• Seven columns of five, all face up.
• Play a column's bottom card if it is one rank above or below the waste card. Suit doesn't matter.
• No wrap between King and Ace. The stock goes through once.

Forty Thieves

• Two decks. Ten columns of four, eight foundations.
• Build down in the same suit, one card at a time.
• Any card can fill an empty column. The stock goes through once.

The terms

Tableau

The columns where you build and move cards.

Foundation

A pile built up by suit from Ace to King. Filling them all wins the game.

Stock

The face-down pile you turn new cards from.

Waste

Where turned cards land, face up.

Free cell

In FreeCell, a spot that holds one card for a while.

Run

An ordered sequence of cards that can move together.