It is often mistaken that a solitaire is a single form of the card game, but this is not true. There are several versions of the Solitaire card game. We often mistake the most popular and standard version of Solitaire, Klondike Solitaire, as the only Solitaire game. Here’s a list of the 5 most popular types of solitaire games to try your hands on if you are a card game lover.
1. Klondike Solitaire
It is the classic version of the solitaire game, which is played with 52 playing cards. In this version, the cards are shuffled, and then 28 cards are piled in seven columns. The number of cards in each column is not the same. The arrangement is that the leftmost deck has a single card, and the rightmost deck has seven cards. The number of cards in each column increases by one as the player moves from left to right. To win a game of Klondike Solitaire, the player has to arrange all the suits (diamonds, clubs, hearts, spades) in ascending order (from ace to king). You can check Solitaire (PFA) now.
2. FreeCell Solitaire
Did you know that FreeCell solitaire is not an exclusive card game but is a version of Solitaire? In FreeCell solitaire, there are three different types of card piles: Free Cells (piles present at the upper left corner), Foundation (placed at the upper right corner) and Tableau (placed at the main arena). The FreeCell and the Foundation section of the game are empty at the start of the game, and all the cards are placed in the main arena. To win Klondike Solitaire, the player has to move all the cards into the Foundation Pile, and the cards have to be arranged in the order from Ace to King.
3. Spider Solitaire
Spider Solitaire is a type of two-deck solitaire where the player needs to place a total of 104 cards into eight foundation piles. This further explains the name of this solitaire game too. Spider has eight legs and the Spider word in Spider Solitaire is a reference to it. In Spider Solitaire, the player needs to arrange the cards from king to ace, which means all the cards must be arranged in descending order. The cards can only be moved in this game if they are placed in descending order and belong to the same suit.
4. Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire brings the best of two worlds by combining both the Mahjong and the Solitaire game. The objective of Mahjong Solitaire is pretty easy. The player needs to remove the tiles present in the game screen by matching two tiles. Only the free tiles can be matched. The free tiles are the ones whose sides are uncovered. The observation skill of the player really comes into play in Mahjong Solitaire.
5. Pyramid Solitaire
It is one of the most loved variants of the Solitaire game. The uniqueness of Pyramid Solitaire is that it allows the player to remove open cards from anywhere on the board without caring about the order of the cards. Pyramid Solitaire acts like a number game as the player has to create card pairs that sum up to 13. Are you wondering how the numbers are added? The cards with the numbers represent that number itself. Aces represent one; Jack is worth 11; similarly, the value of Queen and King is 12 and 13, respectively.
6. Canfield Solitaire
Canfield Solitaire is one of the most challenging variations of the solitaire game. In Canfield Solitaire, the player has to move all the 52 cards in the foundation pile. The cards in a pile need to be arranged in ascending order. The cards are placed in descending order in the tableau pile, and the rest of the piles are cyclic. Canfield Solitaire is a solitaire variation that requires the most patience.
You might have tried a few of the variations of Solitaire named here and you should give a try to the new versions of the game too. Solitaire is a game of patience that tests the strategic and logical skills of the player. It is a wonderful form of mental workout which serves a dual purpose, both as entertainment and mental exercise.