Solitaire Tips: 15 Ways to Win More Card Games

These solitaire tips are short, practical habits you can use on your very next deal. The first group works in almost every solitaire game; the rest are grouped by game, with a link to a longer article whenever a tip deserves one. Every rule mentioned here is exactly how the games on Card Lounge behave.

Solitaire tips for every game

1. Look before your first move

Spend ten seconds on the opening layout. Find the Aces, the face-down cards in the longest columns and the cards that can move straight away. Most lost games start with a quick first move that solved nothing.

2. Prefer the move that reveals a card

When you have a choice, play the move that turns over a face-down card. A hidden card might be the one you need, and you cannot plan around what you cannot see. If several moves reveal a card, start with the column that has the most face-down cards.

3. Think about empty columns before you make one

An empty column is the most valuable space on the table, but its value depends on the game. In Klondike and Yukon only a King can fill it; in Spider and FreeCell any card can. Make the space when you know what will use it.

4. Use Undo to learn, not to cheat yourself

Undo is unlimited on Card Lounge, so you can test a line of play and step back if it fails. The most useful habit is to undo to the point where the plan went wrong, then try something different on the same cards. Hint, Auto move and Undo explains how to learn from all three.

5. Replay a deal that beat you

Every deal shows its deal number. Taking a lost round back to the start and playing it again teaches far more than dealing a fresh one. What a FreeCell deal number means shows how numbers name a layout.

Klondike solitaire tips

6. Do not rush cards to the foundations

A card on a foundation is no longer there to hold cards in the tableau. Aces can always go up, and a Two is safe once its Ace is there. For anything higher, ask whether a card one rank lower and of the opposite colour still needs a home. When to play a card up and when to wait has worked examples.

7. Choose your King before you empty a column

Only a King, or a run headed by one, can fill an empty Klondike column. If two Kings are waiting, prefer the one that frees the most face-down cards when it moves.

8. Make every pass through the stock count

Recycles are unlimited here, but each pass is still a chance to plan. In Draw 3 only the top waste card is playable, so playing a card from the waste changes which cards come up on the next pass. Unlimited recycles in Klondike explains how to use this.

Spider solitaire tips

9. Build in suit whenever you can

Any card can go on the next rank up, but only a same-suit run moves as a group, and only a complete King-to-Ace run of one suit is removed. When there is a choice, put a card on one of its own suit. Why a legal build is not always a movable run shows the difference.

10. Fill every column before you deal

You cannot deal from the Spider stock while any column is empty, and each deal drops a card on every column. Use the space first, then deal when no useful move remains. When to deal the next ten cards goes further.

FreeCell tips

11. Keep free cells empty

The number of cards you can move at once is (empty free cells + 1) × 2 to the power of the number of empty columns, not counting a column you are moving into. Four empty cells move five cards; two empty cells and one empty column move six. Fill a cell only when it releases an Ace or empties a column. How many cards can you move at once has the full table.

12. Free the Aces and low cards first

All 52 cards are face up, so you can see where every Ace is buried. Plan the first few moves to release the Aces and Twos that sit closest to the top.

Pyramid, TriPeaks and Golf tips

13. In Pyramid, take the pair that frees the most cards

Two available cards that add up to 13 can be removed, and a King goes on its own. If one card could pair with two different partners, choose the partner that uncovers more of the pyramid. You have three passes through the stock in total, so plan each one. See which Pyramid pairs to take first.

14. In TriPeaks, follow the longest chain

Play any uncovered card one rank above or below the waste card, in any suit, and remember that King and Ace are neighbours. Before you play, trace the longest chain you can make. When two cards fit, favour the one that uncovers a face-down card. TriPeaks chains works through an example.

15. In Golf, save a King for the end of a chain

Golf has no wrap between King and Ace, and nothing can be played on a King, so a King on the waste means you must draw. With only 16 stock cards and no recycling, play a King last whenever you can. Making 16 stock cards last explains the budget.

Where to go next

The solitaire strategy guide explains the principles behind these tips in more depth, and Compare the games sets out the rules of all 13 modes side by side. If you are new, start with Klondike Draw 1 or Spider one suit, the gentlest modes.

Quick questions about solitaire tips

What is the most important solitaire tip?

Prefer moves that reveal face-down cards. In Klondike, Spider and Yukon, hidden cards are the main obstacle, and every card you turn over gives you more choices.

Is using Undo or Hint cheating?

Not on Card Lounge. Undo and Hint are part of every solitaire game here, and your statistics simply record whether you won. Using them to test ideas is one of the fastest ways to get better.

Which solitaire is easiest to win?

Klondike Draw 1 and Spider one suit are the gentlest solitaire modes here. Memory Pairs has no way to lose at all.

Why do I keep losing at Klondike?

The most common reasons are moving cards to the foundations too early, emptying a column with no King ready to fill it, and choosing moves that shuffle face-up cards instead of revealing new ones. Tips 2, 6 and 7 address all three.