Solitaire

Solitaire is the general name for any single-player card game that involves dealing cards from a shuffled deck into a proscribed arrangement. The player then attempts to reorder the deck by suit and rank through a series of moves, transferring cards from one place to another according to the stated rules.

Popular solitaire games include Klondike and Spider Solitaire. If you like solitaire, you may also enjoy Hot Streak Solitaire. All of these solitaire games can be played for free at Gamesville.com.

Some solitaire games have evolved into two-player competitive games. A prime example of this kind of game is Spite & Malice.

General Rules

Generally, solitaire games are played with one or more standard 52-card decks. Most of these games play as follows:

Some or all cards are placed face-up in an array called the tableau. The initial array may be changed by building or transferring cards among the face-up cards in the tableau. Certain cards of the tableau can be played at once, while others may not be played until certain blocking cards are removed.

The objective is usually to build up each foundation, in sequence and in suit, from the ace through the king. Generally, the four aces are the bottom cards of the foundations. To win, the player must build the whole pack onto the foundations. The rank of cards is: K (high), Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A.

If the entire deck is not laid out in a tableau at the beginning of a game, the remaining cards form the stock from which additional cards are brought into play. Cards from the stock that have no place in the tableau or on foundations are laid face up in a separate pile called the waste pile.

Fun Facts & Trivia

• The exact origins of solitaire are largely unknown.
• In England, solitaire is known as "patience".
• Napoleon was said to have "played patience" during his exile.
• Spider solitaire got its name because of the eight sequences corresponding to eight legs of a spider.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt liked spider solitaire so much he claimed it as his favorite solitaire game.
• Wes Cherry created Microsoft Solitaire in 1989 while working as an intern at Microsoft.
• Cherry received no compensation for his popular invention.
• Microsoft Solitaire has shipped with every version of Windows since Windows 3.0.

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