Solitaire FRVR

What is Solitaire?

Solitaire, known as "Patience" in some countries, is a single-player card game dating back to the late 1700s. It's likely of French origin, and involves the player moving all the cards into foundation piles, arranged by suit and in ascending order from Ace to King. It's actually the opposite of the also very popular Spider Solitaire, which sees you remove cards from the table in descending order.

Commonly known as 'Klondike Solitaire', this traditional version rose in popularity in the 1990s as it's been bundled with Microsoft Windows software since Windows 3.0. Why was it included, I hear you ask? Well, the Klondike version was used as a means to teach users how to use their mouse's drag-and-drop functionality.

Solitaire Variants - Draw 1 vs Draw 3

In this FRVR version of Solitaire, we give you two options, Draw 1 and Draw 3 Solitaire. The former is easier and involves you drawing one card at a time. The latter, as you probably guess, involves you taking three cards from the stock pile. The objective remains the same – build up foundational piles of card 'families'. If you're new to Solitaire, we'd recommend starting off with Draw 1. If you're a seasoned Klondike expert, head straight into Draw 3.

How to Play Solitaire

Solitaire Draw 1 Tutorial

The aim of Draw 1 Klondike Solitaire is simple – you need to arrange all of the cards into the four empty foundational piles, or 'goals'. These can be found on the left-hand side. Simply click and drag the card across, then place it on the pile. These need to be arranged by suit and put in ascending order - if you try to drag an incompatible card, it'll automatically ping back to its origin position.

Each goal can only hold one suit, and you must put the cards in the following order: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Jack, Queen, and King. If you're after more specific tips on how to play Klondike Solitare, well, then make sure you check out our dedicated guide. You can also watch our detailed Solitaire guide video, below, that gives you everything you need to know.

Solitaire Draw 1 video tutorial

Should you want to restart your game at any time, click the icon and navigate to 'Restart Game'.

Solitaire Draw 3 Tutorial

The rules of the game remain the same, however, you'll need to draw three cards. Once you have exhausted your moves on the tableau, clicking the stock pile will reveal three cards. You'll only be able to move the top-most card in the preview.

Solitaire Draw 3 video tutorial

Solitaire Setup

As we've discussed, there are four basic elements in the game. Let's go through each one:

• Foundation piles: These are at the core of the game. Remember, to win you'll need to fill up each of these, which correspond to one of the four suits (hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds). You'll start a foundational pile with an ace, then begin adding cards in ascending order with the aim of creating a 'family'. By the end, you want four foundation piles, one per suit, that each has the cards arranged in ascending order.
• Tableau: Means "table," in French, and simply refers to the playing area. Making up a large part of the playing area are the seven columns that run across the top of the screen
• Stock pile: Once the cards have been dealt in the playing area, there is a stack of those remaining that are called the stockpile. You'll draw from these as you play the game.
• Talon pile: This is the waste pile, and is used when a card pulled from the stockpile cannot be used.

Solitaire Rules

Sound easy? It's not. In fact, there are a number of parameters to adhere to when you're playing Klondike Solitaire. Let's take a quick look through them.

Tableau Rules:

• The cards in the tableau need to be arranged in alternating colours and descending order, e.g. red 8 on black 9.
• Only Kings can be placed in the empty spaces on the tableau.
• You can freely move cards between columns, as long as they match the above parameters. This can help you 'uncover' a specific symbol, for example.

Stock Pile:

• You'll need to draw cards from the stock pile to help you create 'families' in the foundation piles.
• Once the stock pile is exhausted, you can turn it over to reuse the cards

Foundation Piles:

• Start with an Ace and build up in ascending order by suit - so in this case, you'll need an Ace on the bottom of the foundation piles.

Solitaire alternatives

If you're enjoying Solitaire and fancy another challenge, you may want to give FRVR Spider a whirl - and equally tough, single-player FRVR card games.

Learn More About Klondike Solitaire on FRVR

We have more guides to help you become the best Klondike Solitaire player you can be. Click the links below to learn more about Solitaire:

• How to Set Up Klondike Solitaire – a Step by Step Guide
• 15 Strategies on How to Win Klondike Solitaire
• Solitaire FAQ: All Your Questions Answered
• The Ultimate Guide to Solitaire Variants
• Best Traditional Solo Card Games – Solitaire Alternatives