Stock:
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Solitaire is the most popular one-person card game in the World.
Originating in Europe, it is a classic card game that has been played for more than 200 years, becoming much more popular after 1990, when Microsoft included it in the release of their Windows operating system.
The game begins beings with a deck of shuffled cards, and the goal is to move all cards into individual, ordered piles (separated by suit) called the Foundations.
Our site has many Solitaire articles including the game's rules, history, playing tips and more.
Solitaire is played with a single deck of 52 cards. The deck is made up of 4 sets of 13 cards, each Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades.
Card value begins with the Ace (1 - lowest) end ends with the King (13 - highest):
Ace-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-King
After shuffling the cards, the player creates 7 piles, called the Tableau. The Tableau piles are placed side by side and only the top card in each pile is turned face up.
To setup the Tableau piles:
The remainder of the cards are placed face down in the top-left corner, and are called the Stock. These cards are flipped during the game to form a new pile called the Waste (also known as the Talon or Discard pile).
The goal of the game is to move all cards from the Stock and Tableau to the Foundations. At the end of a successful game, each Foundation will include all 13 cards of a particular suit in order from the Ace (value 1) on the bottom to the King on top.
Waste->Stock (and back to Waste once it's empty)Stock->TableauStock->FoundationsTableau->FoundationsTableau->TableauCards may be moved from the Waste to a Tableau pile or between the Tableau piles subject to the following rules:
Tableau pile must be placed in ascending order (with the lowest card on top) and in alternating suit color (i.e. red, black, red, ... etc.).Tableau pile must be a King.Cards may be moved from the Waste or Tableau pile to the Foundations subject to the following rules:
Foundation pile must only contain cards of a single suit.Foundation pile must be placed in ascending order, beginning with the Ace (value 1) and ending with the King.The game is won when all of the cards have been moved to the Foundations.
It is estimated that about 80% of Solitaire games are winnable, although the difficulty of winning varies greatly.
Solitaire was not traditionally scored, but the rise of computer Solitaire led to the emergence of various scoring systems. The most popular is that used in Microsoft Windows Solitaire, which is also the system we use here are SolitaireCat.com.
It is a relatively simple system, and incorporates a time element. The scoring works as follows:
Waste to TableauWaste or Tableau to FoundationsFoundations back to TableauTableau cardWaste back to the Stock:The maximum score under this system is 24,078:
Assumptions 52 cards in a deck 24 cards in the Stock (=52-28) 28 cards in the Tableau (=7+6+5+4+3+2+1) 21 unflipped cards in the Tableau (=28-7) Points 120 : 24 cards from Stock -> Tableau (= 24*5) 520 : 52 cards from Tableau -> Foundation (= 52*10) 105 : 21 cards flipped in the Tableau (= 21*5) 23,333 : Maximum time bonus = (= 700,000 / 30 seconds) ------ 24,078 ------
There are sites all over the Internet that claim that the maximum possible score for Microsoft Windows Soliatire is 24,113. The claim is based upon Microsoft's own Knowledge Base Article KB101766/Q101766, which states that scoring is accomplished as follows:
Under such a system, the highest score would indeed be 24,113, but suprisingly, this is not how Microsoft Windows Solitaire is actually scored.
During the initial deal, 28 cards are moved from the stock to setup the initial Tableau columns. Instead of receiving 140 points for this as implied by the stated rules, 0 points are awarded, and instead, 5 points are given for each of those Tableau cards when they are subsequently flipped. This would seem to produce the same outcome, but the problem is that no points are ever awarded for the initial 7 cards that are already flipped during that initial setup. As such, the actual maximum possible score is 35 points lower than that asserted my Microsoft.
During timed games, 2 points are also deduced every 10 seconds, further reducing the possible maximum score by an additional 6 points.
See our Solitaire scoring article for more information.
Solitaire can be played alone with a single pack of cards, or on a computer or phone using a Solitaire app, program, or website.
Of course you can play Solitaire right here at Solitaire Cat! Just scroll back up to the top of this page.
Not all Solitaire games are winnable. Whether a given game is winnable or not depends on the distribution of the cards. Although it is not possible to know with mathmatical certainty, it is estimated that approximately 80% of Solitaire games are winnable, although the difficulty of winning will vary
Check out our article on the winnability of Solitaire for more details.
The probability of winning a Solitaire card game depends on whether the game is winnable, and the skill of the player. As mentioned above, approximately 80% of games are winnable at setup time, but just because a game is technically "winnable", this does not mean that every player will be able to win. Some games are more difficult than others, and will require a skilled player to win.
Follow the strategy tips below, and practice, practice, practice.
You can also refer to our How to get better at Solitaire article.
Flip the stock first.
The stock cards will need to be flipped eventually. Revealing them at the beginning of the game will give you additional information and options that would otherwise remain hidden.
Flip the face-down cards in Tableau columns.
Flipping these cards give you access to new options and should always be done in preference to flipping stock cards (after the first).
Prefer revealing cards in Tableau columns with more face-down cards.
Keeping the columns even will provide more optionality.
If you reveal an Ace (or a Two), move it to the Foundations.
Nothing can be put on top of an Ace in the Tableau, but nothing can be placed in the Foundations until the Ace is there, so move it immediately. The same generally applies to twos, but not higher cards. Only move higher cards automatically once the Foundations are fully populated with the next lowest cards.
Keep the Foundations as even as possible.
Keeping the Foundations populated with the same values makes the choice of moving the next value cards up much simpler. When all the twos are in the Foundations for example, then there is nothing that can be placed on a three in the Tableau, and so it is always the right move to move it up to the Foundation.
Keep the Tableau full.
Don’t remove the last card from a Tableau column without having a King to take its place. An empty column is one less option, and in Solitaire, options matter. Taking one column out of service increases your chances of getting stuck with no moves.
Choose the King color if you can.
When you have the opportunity to empty a column and place a new King, consider the King suit color. If you have multiple options available to you, try to use the color that will give you the most freedom to build upon, considering the visble cards in other Tabelau columns..
Have a plan.
Don’t move cards just because you can. Doing so is a surefire way to get your game stuck. Instead, move cards because you can see that it will open more options, or further your game.
There's no substitute for practice and experience, but you can consider the strategy tips given above.
Our Solitaire blog has articles on history, strategy, and rules. Check it out here.