Are all games on CardGamesHub solvable?

Yes. Every numbered game (Game #1 through Game #10,000) has been pre-verified as solvable by our solver before it appears in the catalog. You will never be given an impossible game.

What does 'Best: X moves' mean?

The 'Best' figure shows the lowest move count our solver found for that specific game. It is not guaranteed to be the theoretical global minimum — it is the best solution our solver found within its search time. Beating it means you found a more efficient path than our algorithm did.

What do Easy, Medium, and Hard mean?

The difficulty rating reflects the length of the shortest solution our solver found. Easy games can be solved in 90 moves or fewer. Medium games require 91 to 160 moves. Hard games need more than 160 moves. Longer solutions generally mean more decisions and fewer obvious moves.

What is the best first move in Solitaire?

There is no single best first move, but a strong opener is to look for tableau moves that flip a face-down card. If none are available, draw one card from the stock and see if it creates a new option.

Should I always move an Ace to the foundation immediately?

Yes. Aces can never be used to build tableau sequences, so there is no reason to delay. Move any Ace or Two to the foundation as soon as it appears.

What is the difference between Draw 1 and Draw 3?

In Draw 1, one card is turned from the stock at a time, making every card immediately accessible. In Draw 3, three cards are turned at once but only the top card is playable, which makes the game significantly harder. CardGamesHub uses Draw 1.

When should I use the undo button?

Use undo sparingly to correct accidental clicks rather than to reverse planned moves that did not work out. Relying on undo to back out of poor decisions builds bad habits and does not improve your understanding of the game.

Solitaire

About Solitaire

Solitaire is a classic single-player card game, also known as Klondike, where the goal is to build four foundation piles from Ace to King, one per suit. Cards are dealt across seven tableau columns and you work to uncover them in the right sequence before the deck runs out.

On CardGamesHub.io, Solitaire is free to play and runs in your browser. It sits alongside Cribbage and other classics on the platform, a clean and satisfying game for a quick break or a longer session.

Looking for more? Cribbage and Sudoku are also available on CardGamesHub.io, each offering a different kind of challenge.

Solitaire Rules: How to Play

Objective

The goal of Solitaire is to move all 52 cards to four foundation piles, one per suit, built in ascending order from Ace to King.

Setup

1 standard 52-card deck, no jokers
7 tableau columns: column 1 has 1 card, column 2 has 2, up to column 7 which has 7 cards
Only the top card of each tableau column starts face-up; all others are face-down
The remaining 24 cards form the stock pile, placed face-down
4 empty foundation slots, one per suit
1 empty waste pile, placed next to the stock

The Layout

The board has four distinct areas. Understanding each one before you play helps you see all your options clearly.

Tableau: The seven columns in the lower half of the board. Most card movement happens here.
Foundations: Four slots in the upper right, one per suit. Your goal is to fill them from Ace to King.
Stock: The face-down draw pile in the upper left. Click it to turn a card over to the waste.
Waste: Cards turned over from the stock. Only the top card is available to play.

Moving Cards

Every move in Solitaire follows strict placement rules. Tableau columns build downward in alternating colour; foundations build upward by suit.

Move	Rule
Tableau to Tableau	Descending rank, alternating colour (red on black, black on red)
Stack to Tableau	A face-up sequence moves as a unit if the bottom card follows the tableau rule
Tableau to Foundation	Same suit, ascending from Ace to King
Waste to Tableau or Foundation	Standard tableau or foundation rules apply
Empty Tableau Column	Only a King, or a sequence led by a King, can fill an empty column

How to Play Step by Step

Deal the tableau: seven columns, with only the top card of each column face-up.
Move any Ace directly to a foundation slot.
Look for face-up tableau cards that can stack onto another column using the alternating-colour, descending-rank rule.
When a face-down card becomes the top card of a column, flip it face-up.
Draw from the stock when no useful tableau moves are available.
Play the top waste card to a tableau column or foundation if it fits the rules.
When the stock is empty, flip the waste pile face-down to restart the stock.
Repeat until all four foundations reach King, or no legal moves remain.

Draw 1 vs Draw 3

Solitaire is commonly played in two drawing styles. The version on CardGamesHub.io uses Draw 1.

Feature	Draw 1	Draw 3
Cards turned from stock	1 at a time	3 at a time; only the top card is playable
Difficulty	Easier	Harder
Waste recycles	Unlimited	Unlimited
Available on CardGamesHub	Yes	No

Winning and Losing

You win when all 52 cards are placed on the four foundations, each built by suit from Ace to King.

The game is lost when no legal moves remain and both the stock and waste are empty.

Common Edge Cases

Empty column: Only a King or a face-up sequence led by a King can fill it. No other rank can start a new column.
Stock exhausted: Flip the entire waste pile face-down to form a new stock. There is no limit on recycles.
No legal moves: The game is over. Standard rules do not allow a forced draw or undo once all options are exhausted.

Useful Links

If you prefer reading, these guides cover Solitaire rules in detail:

Or, if you prefer to learn by watching:

Check out this YouTube guide covering Solitaire rules.

Solitaire Tips and Strategies

Winning at Solitaire takes more than luck. Whether you are just starting out or looking to sharpen your game, these strategies will help you uncover more cards, use your moves wisely, and reach the foundations more often.

Beginner Tips

Reveal Hidden Cards First

Face-down cards are your biggest unknown. Every move that flips a new card open increases your options.

Prioritize tableau moves that expose a face-down card over moves that do not
Focus on columns with the most hidden cards first
Avoid moving cards away from columns that still have face-down cards underneath

Move Aces and Twos to the Foundation Immediately

Aces and Twos are never useful in the tableau. Send them to the foundation as soon as they appear.

An Ace in the tableau blocks a foundation slot and wastes space
A Two on the foundation is safe because it cannot be used to build a tableau sequence
Check for Aces and Twos after every draw from the stock

Never Empty a Column Without a King Ready

An empty tableau column can only be filled by a King or a King-led sequence. Clearing a column without one wastes a valuable slot.

Check your tableau and waste pile for an available King before you clear a column
A King with a long sequence attached is more valuable than a lone King
If no King is in sight, avoid emptying columns

Intermediate Strategies

Balance Your Foundation Piles

Keeping all four foundation piles within one or two ranks of each other prevents you from locking useful cards in the tableau.

A card on the foundation cannot be moved back to the tableau in standard rules
If one suit races far ahead, mid-rank cards of other suits get stranded
Hold back a card from the foundation if it is still needed in the tableau to build sequences

Treat the Stockpile as a Last Resort

Drawing from the stock before exploring all tableau moves wastes potential and cycles the deck faster.

Scan every column for valid tableau-to-tableau moves before clicking the stock
Drawing early can bury a card you need under new stock cards
Track how many cycles through the stock remain; in Draw 1, cycles are unlimited but time is finite

Think Two or Three Moves Ahead

Each card you move opens or closes future options. Before committing, trace what the next move will look like.

Ask whether moving a card will free a useful face-down card or just shuffle face-up cards around
Avoid moves that feel productive but only rearrange cards without uncovering new ones
If two moves are equally valid, pick the one that creates more follow-on options

Advanced Tactics

Time When You Send Cards to the Foundation

Mid-rank cards (5 through 9) are most useful for building tableau sequences. Sending them to the foundation too early removes critical stepping stones.

Keep a 7 in the tableau if it enables a 6-5 sequence to form; send it later once the path is clear
Aces and Twos are always safe to send; everything else deserves a second look
If a card has no tableau role left, move it to the foundation

Use Empty Columns as Temporary Storage

An empty column is not just for Kings. Use it as a staging area to reorganize sequences and unlock hidden cards.

Temporarily park a blocking sequence in the empty column while you rearrange beneath it
Fill it with a King and its sequence as soon as one becomes available to reclaim the slot
Never use an empty column to store a single low-rank card with no follow-on plan

Count Your Stock Cycles

Knowing how many times you have cycled through the stock helps you judge whether a winning path still exists.

In Draw 1, unlimited recycles mean the game is rarely blocked by the stock alone
If the same unhelpful cards keep appearing, look for a tableau move you may have missed
When the stock yields nothing new across multiple cycles, the game is likely stuck

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most lost games trace back to a handful of repeated errors. Recognizing them is the fastest way to improve.

Mistake	Why It Hurts	What to Do Instead
Rushing cards to the foundation	Removes mid-rank cards needed for tableau sequences	Wait until a card has no more tableau role before sending it up
Drawing from the stock too early	Buries useful cards and wastes deck cycles	Always check every column for tableau moves first
Clearing a column without a King	Wastes the only slot that can hold any card	Confirm a King is available before emptying a column
Ignoring face-down cards	Leaves your most important unknowns hidden for too long	Prioritize moves that flip face-down cards with every turn
Building foundation piles unevenly	Traps cards of lagging suits in the tableau	Keep all four piles within one or two ranks of each other

Quick Do's and Don'ts

Prioritize moves that flip hidden cards
Move Aces and Twos to the foundation right away
Keep all four foundation piles balanced
Use empty columns as temporary staging areas
Think ahead before committing to a move

Don't

Draw from the stock before checking the tableau
Clear a column without a King ready to fill it
Rush mid-rank cards to the foundation
Make moves that only rearrange face-up cards
Ignore how many stock cycles have passed

More on CardGamesHub

New to the game? Read the Solitaire rules for a full breakdown of setup, card movement, and Draw 1 vs Draw 3.

Looking for another challenge? Try Cribbage or Sudoku for a different kind of puzzle.

Useful Links

For more strategy reading, these guides are worth your time:

Prefer to learn by watching:

This YouTube playlist on Solitaire strategy covers the essentials in a visual format.

History of Solitaire

Solitaire is one of the most-played card games in the world, yet its origins are older and more varied than most players realize. From 18th-century European parlors to the Klondike gold fields and the first Windows PC, the game has traveled a remarkable path to reach your screen.

Origins in Northern Europe

The earliest written record of a solitaire-style card game appears in a 1783 German game anthology titled Das Neue Konigliche L'Hombre-Spiel. The game most likely developed independently across France, Germany, and Scandinavia during the late 1700s, as card-playing culture was expanding rapidly across Europe at the time. The word 'solitaire' comes from the French meaning alone or solitary, reflecting the game's defining feature: it is played without opponents.

Napoleon Bonaparte at Saint Helena, a 19th-century painting — Napoleon at Saint Helena. Popular legend links him to Patience card games, though historians attribute the pastime to his companion Las Cases.

The Patience Era

By the early 1800s, rule books for card patience games were being published in Russia and Sweden. In England, the game was called Patience, a name that persists in British English to this day. One of the earliest English-language collections, Patience Games by Lady Adelaide Cadogan, appeared around 1870 and documented dozens of variants. The word patience captured both the solitary nature of the game and the calm temperament it was thought to require.

Napoleon and the Patience Myth

A well-known legend holds that Napoleon Bonaparte passed the time playing Patience during his exile on Saint Helena after 1815. Historians who have examined primary sources closely attribute the card-playing to Emmanuel de Las Cases, who accompanied Napoleon into exile, rather than to Napoleon himself. Despite the misattribution, the Napoleon connection became so firmly embedded in popular culture that several solitaire variants still bear his name. The myth says something true about the game: it is a natural companion for long, solitary days.

Klondike and the Gold Rush Era

Gold was discovered near the Klondike River in the Yukon Territory of Canada in 1896, setting off one of the largest gold rushes in history. Tens of thousands of prospectors flooded into the region over the following two years, spending long stretches of time in camps with little to do during harsh winters. Card games traveled with them, and the Klondike variant of patience became a staple pastime of the camps. By the early 20th century, Klondike had become so dominant in North America that the word 'Solitaire' alone was taken to mean Klondike, a convention that holds to this day.

Prospectors in the Klondike during the 1898 gold rush — Klondike prospectors, c. 1898. Card games, including what became known as Klondike Solitaire, were a common pastime in the mining camps.

Microsoft Solitaire and the Digital Era

In the summer of 1988, Wes Cherry, a college student working as an intern at Microsoft, built a digital version of Klondike Solitaire for Windows. The card artwork was created by Susan Kare, who had previously designed the iconic interface elements of the original Macintosh. When Windows 3.0 shipped in May 1990, Solitaire shipped with it. Microsoft included the game with a deliberate purpose: to help new PC users practice mouse skills, specifically the drag-and-drop interaction that Windows depended on. The game served its purpose far beyond expectations. Wes Cherry never received royalties for the game despite it being played on billions of machines worldwide.

Hall of Fame and Modern Legacy

In 2019, Microsoft Solitaire was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, joining games such as Tetris, Super Mario Bros., and Minecraft. The induction recognized Solitaire as one of the most-played computer games ever made and acknowledged its role in shaping how hundreds of millions of people first learned to use a personal computer. Today, solitaire is played across every major platform and in dozens of regional variants, but the Klondike version remains the default when no other is specified.

Key Milestones in Solitaire History

Year	Milestone
1783	First known written reference to a solitaire-style game, in a German game anthology.
Early 1800s	Patience games codified in Russia and Sweden; the term 'Patience' enters English use.
c. 1870	Lady Adelaide Cadogan publishes one of the first English-language patience rule books.
1896-1898	Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon; the Klondike variant spreads among prospectors.
1988	Wes Cherry builds Windows Solitaire as a Microsoft intern; card art by Susan Kare.
1990	Microsoft Solitaire ships with Windows 3.0, reaching millions of new PC users.
2019	Microsoft Solitaire inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

Useful Links

For deeper reading on the history of solitaire and patience games:

Prefer a visual overview:

This YouTube search on the history of Solitaire surfaces several short documentary-style videos covering the origins and Microsoft era.

Solitaire FAQ

Common questions about Klondike Solitaire answered.

Credits & Acknowledgements

This Solitaire page brings together the playable game experience on CardGamesHub.io with editorial content covering rules, strategy, and history. We would like to acknowledge everyone whose work contributed to making this page possible.

Game Assets

Playing Cards: The card face designs used in this game are sourced from Adrian Kennard's playing card SVG collection. These carefully crafted SVG designs bring a clean, classic look to every deal.

Historical Images

Napoleon at Saint Helena: The illustration of Napoleon at Saint Helena is sourced from Far and Wild Travel. It is used here for historical illustration purposes in the History section.

Klondike Prospectors: The photograph of Klondike prospectors during the 1898 gold rush is sourced from Irish Independent. It is used here to illustrate the gold rush origins of Klondike Solitaire.

Platform and Engineering

This Solitaire experience is built and maintained by the CardGamesHub.io team. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the platform, the game experience, and the editorial content that supports it.

Explore More on CardGamesHub

Looking for more to play? Cribbage and Sudoku are also available on CardGamesHub.io.