Solitaire is a single-player card game where your goal is to organize cards based on certain rules and place
them in foundation piles by suit in ascending order from Ace to King. Classic Solitairealso called Klondike or
Patienceis the most played solitaire gamebut other popular variations include
FreeCell and
Spider Solitaire.
On Solitaire Blissyou can play all these card games — and many more — as much as you wantcompletely free.
Solitaire Objective
The goal of Classic Solitaire is to move all the cards to the four foundation piles by suit ascending in order
from ace to king. You do this by sequencing cards in the tableau. Learn how to play by
watching our video tutorialor read
below.
Solitaire Setup
Before you begin the gameit’s important to understand basic
Solitaire terminology and
setup. You use four key areas during
gameplaycreated from a standard 52-card deck.
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Tableau: The tableau is where you sequence face-up cards and uncover facedown cards. It consists of
28 cards spread across seven columns. Each column has the same number of cards as its column number (for
examplethe third column has three cards) with the last card in each column flipped face up.
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Stockpile: The stockpile sits to the upper left of the tableau and houses the remaining 24 cards. You
flip cards from the stockpile to the waste pile to draw a new card when you don’t have any moves in the
tableau. In Turn 1 Solitaireone card is flipped from the stock at a timewhile in
Turn 3three cards are flipped at a time.
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Waste pile: Face-up waste pile cards can be moved to the tableau or foundation piles to further
gameplay.
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Foundation piles: You use four foundation piles — one for each suit. Start the foundation piles by
moving aces there and continue building them up ascending from ace to king.
How to Play Solitaire
Solitaire rules are simplebut it takes
strategy to win the game. Start by mastering the basics before you level up to more complex
Solitaire variations.
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Only move face-up cards: At the start of the gameyou can move cards from the bottom of the tableau
columns. As you playcards from the waste pile will become available for use. When you uncover facedown
cards in the tableauturn them face up and use them in play.
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Sequence cards in descending orderalternating color. For examplea nine of spades can be placed on
a ten of diamonds.
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Move a sequence of cards in descending order and alternating color as a group. For exampleif you
have a sequence containing the five of spadesfour of heartsand three of spadesyou can move it on top
of the six of diamonds.
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Draw from the stockpile when stuck. If you can’t make any more moves in the tableauflip a card from
the stockpile to the waste pile. This face-up card can be used if moves are available. Once the stockpile
has run outflip the waste pile cards back into the stockpile to run through it again. You can run through
it as many times as you want.
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Fill empty columns with kings. When you empty a columnyou can fill it with a king or sequence that
starts with a king. No other cards can start empty columns.
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Build foundation piles. Foundation piles are divided by suit. Start each foundation pile with an ace
and continue building in ascending order (A2345678910JQK) until each foundation pile
is complete and you’ve cleared the tableau.
Solitaire Strategies
Now that you’ve mastered how to playit’s time to increase your win rate by using
Solitaire strategies.
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Prioritize moves in the tableau. Before using cards in the waste pilemake as many moves in the
tableau as possible. This helps you uncover facedown cards and clear columnsinstead of prematurely adding
cards in the tableau that could limit your options and block future moves.
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Prioritize moves that free face-down cards. Uncovering facedown cards allows them to be flipped face
upincreasing possible moves.
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Focus on uncovering cards in long tableau columns. These columns contain more hidden cardswhich are
essential to reveal to progress through the game.
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Build foundation piles evenly. If one foundation pile is built up significantly more than the others,
it can make sequencing cards in the tableau difficult. You can always move cards from the foundation pile
back to the tableaubut this costs you additional moves.
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Create sequences using the same pairs of suits when possible. If you can build sequences using
diamonds and spadesfor exampleit’s easier to move them into foundation piles evenly.
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Look ahead at gaps in sequences. It’s best to move waste pile cards to the tableau only when they can
further gameplay. To help decidelook for gaps in sequences. For exampleif there is a king of spades and
queen of hearts in one column and a ten of diamonds and nine of spades in another columnmoving the jack of
clubs from the waste pile to the tableau is beneficial because it will help you build a more complete
sequence.
Playing on Solitaire Bliss
We provide many options to customize your Solitaire card gamefrom changing the back of your playing cards to
updating display settings. Click on the gear icon to access all the customization options. Some of the most
popular include:
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Changing the card size: In the bottom toolbarclick and drag the number slider to make cards larger
or smaller.
- Saving your game: Click the floppy disk icon to save your current game or reload an old game.
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Changing the game background: Change the color or pattern of the background behind the tableau cards.
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Enabling the click-to-move cards: When you allow this featureyou can click a card to move it to an
available foundation or tableau pile. Howeverthis may not always be the best move. You can also drag cards
to move them.
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Playing winnable games only: Not all games of Solitaire are winnable. Howeveryou can opt to play
games that can be won. Rememberjust because a game has a solutiondoesn’t mean that you’ll find it on
your first try.
Now that you know how to play classic Klondike Solitairepractice for free on Solitaire Bliss and enjoy many
other card games.