Solitaire Games

Solitaire games are card puzzles (and mahjong tile puzzles) you play alone, with no rush and no opponent. There are about 160, and nearly all are variations on a few ideas: sorting cards into columns, pairing them up or clearing them off the table.

The variants you'll find

Klondike is the classic most people just call solitaire: a 52-card deck, seven columns and four piles where you build each suit from low to high, ace to king. On this list it shows up under names like Classic Solitaire, Original Classic Solitaire, Best Classic Solitaire or Daily Solitaire.

Spider (Solitario Spider, Spider Solitaire Classic, Spider Solitaire 2 Suits) uses two decks and is trickier. You have to build full sequences from king to ace to clear them from the table, and the version with fewer suits is easier than the four-suit one. Pyramid Solitaire Ancient Egypt is about removing pairs of cards that add up to 13. TriPeaks (Solitaire Story Tripeaks 2, Tripeaks Solitaire Holiday) is about chaining cards one value higher or lower. Gaps Solitaire is a different kind, with gaps you fill in.

And mahjong solitaire (Mahjong Solitaire, Looney Mahjong, Birds Mahjong Deluxe, Mahjongg Alchemy or Solitario Mahjong) doesn't use cards at all: you remove pairs of matching tiles that are free.

Where to start

If it's your first time, play Klondike. It has few rules, it's quick to understand and it's easy to find a winnable game. When you want more tension, move to one-suit Spider and then step up to two suits. Pyramid and TriPeaks are lighter: the games are short and suit a moment when you don't have much time. With the tile games, like Mahjong Solitaire, the key is to study the board before you remove anything.

A few tips

• In Klondike, try to uncover the columns with the most face-down cards first.
• Before moving a card, check whether you'd block another one you need.
• In Spider, don't fill every column: an empty one gives you a lot of room to work.

Nearly all are played by dragging with the mouse or a finger. Not every deal can be won, though most of the ones these games offer can.