Solitaire and Card Games: Klondike, Spider and Memory

Solitaire is a card game for one person. Nobody sits opposite you, there is only the deal and the job of putting it in order. You arrange cards by rank and colour, and every card you turn face up unpicks a little more of the table. Because nothing is timed, a hand fits a coffee break as easily as a long evening. The rules take minutes to learn and years to master, which is why a first-time player and someone who has dealt the same game for twenty years both end up here.

For the familiar deals, begin here. Solitaire Treasures sets up single-draw Klondike and presents itself as built on solvable deals, so a dead end usually comes down to your ordering. Spider Solitaire Pro uses two decks and builds runs down the table rather than up to the corners. Solitaire 15in1 Collection gathers fifteen variants, Klondike and Freecell among them, behind one menu. Solitaire Quest sets no tempo whatsoever, and Dungeon Solitaire drops the laying-out rules entirely for a room-by-room crawl.

If you would rather exercise your memory, the pairs boards sit in the same family. Mischievous Pairs flips cards two at a time and has a mode for two people taking turns on one device. Crow Memory reshuffles sixteen cards every round, so a memorised layout is worthless. PlayPair puts sports gear under the cards and runs a clock. Important Math Cards pairs a multiplication with its answer, and Math Squares brings a number together with its square.

Quiet games played with tiles rather than cards belong to the same evening. Mahjong Solitaire Crush asks you to pair open tiles in pyramid and turtle layouts. Mahjong Quest moves faster and rewards it with medals. Domino Legend offers the block and draw variants of dominoes for two. Mahjong Tiles keeps the traditional bamboo and flower designs on a plain board.

Everything listed here runs inside the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, with no installation and no sign-up. Open the page, press Play and the cards are dealt. Similar tables live under Board and Card, Brain and Learning and Puzzle.

How do these games play?

Klondike is the deal most people picture. Seven columns go down on the table, and you stack cards in descending order with alternating colours, a red nine onto a black ten. The aim is four piles running ace to king in one suit. Priority belongs to the columns that still hold face-down cards, because a hidden card is what jams a hand. When the table offers nothing, you draw from the stock.

Spider solitaire comes from the same family but deals two decks. Rather than carrying cards to the corners, you build descending runs on the table itself, and a run completed in one suit leaves for good. With no moves left you click the deck and a fresh card lands on every pile, which crowds the table, so every sensible move belongs before the deal. An empty column is the most valuable thing you can win, since only a king may start it off again.

Memory boards drop the ordering rules. You turn two face-down cards, keep the matches and try to hold the positions of everything else in your head. Sweeping left to right on the first pass beats picking at random, because an orderly pass maps the board for you. Important Math Cards and Math Squares graft arithmetic onto that: one card shows a sum or a number, the other shows the answer or its square, and you bring the two together.

The table below says how many players each game takes and what it asks of you. Most are for one person. Mischievous Pairs has a two-player mode where you alternate turns on the same screen, and Domino Legend is played against an opponent.

Which one should I pick?

Left column is the game, the two right columns say whether it runs on a phone and how many people can play.

• Solitaire Treasures - Free Klondike Card Game: Single-card draw; the deals are presented as solvable, so ordering decides.
• Spider Solitaire Pro — Free Card Game Online: Two decks; runs are built down the table and leave when a suit completes.
• Solitaire 15in1 Collection - Free Card Games: Fifteen games behind one menu, Klondike and Freecell included.
• Solitaire Quest - Free Calm Card Game: No counter at all; the hand ends when all four suits are gathered home.
• Dungeon Solitaire - Free Card Crawl Game: No stacking rule: you choose three of the four cards a room deals you.
• Mischievous Pairs - 2 Player Memory Card Game: Turns alternate; a match scores and buys the finder another go.
• Crow Memory - Free Memory Card Game: Sixteen cards, eight crows, reshuffled each round so memorising fails.
• PlayPair - Free Sports Memory Card Game: Balls, rackets and helmets hide under the cards; clear before time ends.
• Important Math Cards - Free Times Table Memory: One card carries a sum such as 6x7, the other carries the answer 42.
• Math Squares - Free Number Matching Game: Bring the 7 card to the 49 card; hard boards print the factors instead.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

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