4 Things You Should Know About Playing Solitaire Online

4 Things You Should Know About Playing Solitaire Online

Solitaire is both a card game and a mental leisure activity. It has been around for several years, but what many people may not know is that it’s also available online. Solitaire games can be relatively time-consuming, especially if you’re playing several games in succession or simultaneously, but it can also be a stress reliever. Here are four things that you should know before starting to play.

Solitaire Is Not Just One Game

Solitaire is the name of a very popular card game, but it can also describe several other games. Here are some that you may come across when playing online:

Spider Solitaire – Like Klondike solitaire, the goal here is to remove all cards from the table. The difference is in how you get rid of them. In this case, cards must be removed in descending order and alternating colors (i.e., black then red). The number of “spiders” or piles varies with each level.

FreeCell – This version features an open tableau with 52-card decks where you need to move all cards onto four foundation piles sorted by suit and rank. You cannot build on another pile until the one above it has been cleared.

Cell – Also known as Baker’s Game, this version is played with a standard 52-card deck and 10 tableau piles that build down by suit. The cells or foundation piles are located at the upper right of the screen and must be filled from Ace to King regardless of suit.

Pyramid – Players remove cards from pyramid piles in descending order and building up regardless of suit (i.e., red then black). One can move multiple cards if they fit without going over a card with a value below it. Each level starts with one face-up card on each pile, except for the bottom row which contains two cards.

The Rules To All Traditional Solitaire Games

There are tips for winning. Take it from the folks at Mobility Ware, the original app developers of Solitaire, every traditional Solitaire game (no custom rules like changing suit order or the number of cards dealt) follows these same rules.

All cards are dealt into 7 piles, face down except for the top card in each pile. The first pile has 1 card, the second pile has 2 cards, etc. until you reach the seventh pile which has seven cards.

The remaining undealt/unplayed cards make up the stockpile. The top card is turned over from the stock to start the waste or discard pile (the place where all played or discarded cards go). To begin a game of solitaire follows these steps:

  • Deal one card at a time face-up onto one of four waste piles (four piles that form a neat stack that takes up most of the play area) with only one card per wastepile.
  • Once a card has been placed on a waste pile it cannot be moved, so choose carefully where each card is placed.
  • The suits are never relevant in traditional solitaire, so place all cards face-up and ignore the suits.
  • Build downward in alternating colors (if the top card of a waste pile is red, build the next pile’s foundation with black cards). The only time you can move more than one card at a time when playing solitaire online or offline is when moving cards that are in descending sequence. For example, if you have 7 of hearts then 8 of diamonds on one pile which you want to move, try to also move 6 of diamonds and 5 of diamonds. This will make it easier to move the entire pile because you will have a space to place all cards without disrupting other piles.

Remember that the object of solitaire is to get rid of all cards in each row and column by finding matching sets of cards and removing them from play (discard them).

Not all Solitaire Games Have A Timer

This is an important point that most people seem to forget about when playing solitaire online. Some games do not have a time limit at all. This means you can take as long as you want or need in order to make your moves; there are no penalties for taking longer than others.

The opposite of this happens too, where some games will cut you off, penalize you with extra moves or undo’s if you take too long (i.e., Klondike/FreeCell). If you don’t know how much time is allotted in the game that you’re in then just ask in chat – most players will be happy to help.

You Can Customize Your Game

While it’s true that many Solitaire games are included in the game listings, not all of them are available to play right off the bat. If you really like a particular Solitaire variant and cannot find it in the list then just go into settings and enable variants and modes (make sure they’re selected by default). Go back into any active game and select your favourite variant from the list before clicking start.  After that, you can choose whatever rules you want or need for this particular game! Keep in mind though, if there is another player waiting to join the table/room when customizing rulesets they will also have to customize their mode/variant choices too otherwise they will have to wait until it is restored back to the original rule settings.

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Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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