How to Play Solitaire: Rules, Setup & Strategy

Number of cards: 52 · Tableau piles: 7 · Foundation piles: 4 · Objective: Build each foundation from Ace to King by suit · Win rate (estimated): About 1 in 12 games

Six key facts about the game, one pattern: the numbers are fixed but the rules come with a few optional twists.

How to play solitaire step by step?

Dealing the cards

1. Shuffle a standard 52-card deck (no jokers) (Bedtime Math (educational foundation)).
2. Deal 28 cards into 7 piles: first pile gets 1 card face up, then six piles get 1 face-down card each. Repeat this pattern for the second round, adding one card face up to the second pile, and so on. By the end, the leftmost pile has 1 face-up card; the rightmost has 6 face-down cards topped by 1 face-up card (Bicycle Cards (official rules publisher)).
3. Place the remaining 24 cards face down as the stock pile. The waste pile starts empty (wikiHow (how-to resource)).

Moving cards on the tableau

• Only the top card of each tableau pile is face up and playable (Bicycle Cards).
• Move cards in descending order, alternating colors (red on black or black on red) (Bicycle Cards).
• You can move an entire face-up sequence if the bottom card of the stack matches the receiving pile’s top card by descending rank and opposite color (YouTube tutorial (card game instructor)).
• An empty tableau column can only accept a King (Bicycle Cards).

Building the foundations

• Start each foundation with an Ace of the same suit (Bicycle Cards).
• Build upward in the same suit: Ace, 2, 3 … King (Bicycle Cards).
• Once a card is placed on a foundation, it cannot be moved back to the tableau in standard rules.

This structured approach converts the setup from a chore into a repeatable ritual, freeing attention for strategy.

How do you set up cards in solitaire?

Tableau layout

• Seven tableau columns from left to right. Column 1 gets 1 card (face up); column 2 gets 2 cards (1 face down + 1 face up); column 3 gets 3 cards (2 face down + 1 face up); and so on through column 7 (6 face down + 1 face up) (wikiHow (how-to resource)).
• Total cards in tableau: 28. The remaining 24 form the stock (Bedtime Math).

Stock and waste

• Place the stock pile face down to the upper left of the tableau.
• During the game, draw cards from the stock either one at a time or three at a time, depending on the variant (TheSolitaire.com (strategy resource)).
• Cards drawn but not used go face up onto the waste pile.
• If the stock is exhausted, you may redeal from the waste once — some house rules allow unlimited passes (Wikipedia (encyclopedic reference)).

Mastering the layout means you can begin playing within seconds of shuffling, a small efficiency that adds up over thousands of games.

What are the solitaire rules?

Tableau rules

• Cards must be placed in descending order and alternating colors (Bicycle Cards (official rules publisher)).
• Only the top card of each pile is playable in the tableau.
• You may move an entire sequence of face-up cards as a unit if the bottom card of that sequence is one rank lower and the opposite color of the destination card (YouTube tutorial (card game instructor)).
• Empty tableau slots can only be filled by a King (or a King-led sequence) (Bicycle Cards).

Foundation rules

• Each foundation pile must be built in the same suit, starting with Ace and ending with King (Bicycle Cards).
• You cannot place a card on a foundation unless it matches that pile’s suit and is exactly one rank higher than the top card.
• Once placed on a foundation, a card is locked and cannot return to the tableau.

Winning condition

• The game ends when all 52 cards are moved to the four foundation piles (YouTube tutorial (card game instructor)).
• If no moves remain and the stock is exhausted (or you choose not to redeal), the game is lost.

“Starting from left to right, place the first card face up to make the first pile, deal one card face down for the next six piles.” — Bicycle Cards (official rules publisher)

“The game ends when all 52 cards are moved to the four foundation piles.” — YouTube tutorial (card game instructor)

The three rule clusters—tableau, foundation, win condition—form a closed system; internalizing them eliminates the need to look up rules mid-game.

How to play solitaire on phone?

Tap and drag mechanics

• Most digital solitaire apps use tap-to-select and tap-to-place, sometimes with drag-and-drop for sequences (Solitaire Palace (gaming blog)).
• Popular apps include Microsoft Solitaire Collection, Solitaire by MobilityWare, and various free online versions.
• Touch controls allow easy reordering of cards, auto-flip of face-down cards when uncovered.

Undo and hints

• Digital versions typically offer unlimited undo, a hint button, and an auto-finish feature that completes the game for you when only foundation moves remain (Solitaire Palace (gaming blog)).
• These aids are great for learning, but can build bad habits if overused.
• Online versions (e.g., Solitaire.org, Google Search player) run in a browser with no download needed (TheSolitaire.com (strategy resource)).

Digital versions trade the tactile satisfaction of physical cards for convenience and speed, a compromise most players accept for on-the-go play.

How to play solitaire for beginners?

Basic strategy

• Prioritise flipping face-down cards in the tableau over immediately building foundations (TheSolitaire.com (strategy resource)).
• Try to keep the foundations balanced — don’t rush one suit while ignoring others, because that can block moves in the tableau.
• Use empty tableau columns only for Kings, never for lower cards.
• Draw from the stock strategically: if playing the three-card draw variant, plan which cards to expose by cycling through the stock multiple times.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Moving a card to a foundation too early — it may block a sequence you need later.
• Filling an empty tableau column with a non-King card.
• Using the stock without a plan — flipping through cards aimlessly wastes opportunities.
• Forgetting that once a stock pass is complete, you can redeal from the waste (if allowed) — don’t give up too soon.

Beginners who internalize these patterns will find their win rate rising steadily, turning solitaire from a game of luck into a game of skill.

For players picking up the physical version, the differences between the mobile app and a real deck matter more than most guides admit. The same rules apply, but digital aids like undo and hints aren’t available — so beginners should practice on a real deck first to build intuition.

For a detailed walkthrough of the classic game, you can consult this guide covering complete solitaire rules and setup for beginners.

Frequently asked questions