Free solitaire games

What makes a solitaire game

A solitaire game is one you play on your own against a layout of cards or tiles. There is no opponent and no hurry unless you want one: the whole puzzle sits in front of you, and the job is to take it apart in the right order. Each game has one rule that decides which moves are legal, such as building down in alternating colours, pairing cards that add up to thirteen or lifting matching tiles that are free on both sides.

People look for solitaire because it is calm, familiar and easy to stop and start. The games on this page are five card games and one tile game, all played on a single screen in your browser. They share the things that make a long session pleasant: unlimited undo, a hint when you are stuck, a timer or score if you care about it, and your best result kept in the browser you play in.

Solitaire games to start with

Solitaire is the Klondike most people know. You turn the stock, build the columns down in alternating colours and send every suit home from ace to king, with draw one or draw three. Spider Solitaire deals two packs across ten columns, and you build complete king-to-ace runs to clear them away; choose one, two or four suits before the deal, so it can be gentle or hard.

FreeCell shows every card face up from the start. You untangle eight columns with the help of four free cells, and the deals are numbered, so you can type one in and replay it. Pyramid Solitaire has one rule: lift away any two uncovered cards that make thirteen, and a king on his own. It has a winnable-only mode, a daily table and a gentler variant called Tut's Tomb.

Tri Peaks is quicker. You play any card one rank above or below the card on the waste, and long runs score more with every card, so it rewards keeping a streak going. Mahjong Garden swaps cards for tiles: lift matching pairs of free tiles until the table is empty, across eight hand-made layouts, with a Relaxed mode that has no clock. Every deal there is built so that it can always be cleared.

Playing solitaire with a mouse, keys or touch

On a computer you drag cards with the mouse and click the stock to draw. Most of the card games also let you click or tap a card to send it to the best legal spot, which saves a lot of dragging. Useful keys differ a little between games: H gives a hint and U undoes in Spider Solitaire, FreeCell and Pyramid Solitaire, A sends every card home in Solitaire when the board allows it, and P pauses and M mutes almost everywhere. Tri Peaks can be played entirely from the keyboard with the arrow keys and Enter.

Every solitaire game here also works on a phone or tablet. You drag with a finger or tap a card to move it, and Mahjong Garden has a magnifier that zooms in on small screens. If you want a fair test, use the winnable-only switches in Pyramid Solitaire and Tri Peaks, or a numbered deal in FreeCell, so you know a solution exists.

Frequently asked questions