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Solitaire

Solitaire is one of the most recognizable card games around since arriving on the scene in the late 1700s. In Klondike Solitaire, the player is tasked with moving cards from the playing area - known as the tableau, to foundation piles.

These foundational piles are to be arranged by suit and in ascending order, starting from Ace and making their way up to King. In Spider Solitaire, which is played with two decks of cards, you’re looking to create columns of cards in descending order that are then transferred over to foundation piles.

While you can play Klondike Solitaire here on FRVR, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a screen break. Below, we’ll take you through everything you need to know to set up Klondike Solitaire. Before diving in, we recommend reading our how to play Solitaire guide, which details the rules and terminology.

Klondike Solitaire set up

There are four basic elements that you’ll need to set up, which are the same for both Draw 1 and Draw 3 Klondike Solitaire. These are:

  • Foundation: Where you start placing the cards in ascending order
  • Tableau: The Playing area
  • Stock pile: You’ll draw from this pile as you play the game.
  • Talon pile: Otherwise known as the waste pile

Now, let’s set up your table. There’s no shuffling or anything like that needed, but you’ll need a full deck of 52 cards to play. If you have lost any, then why not dive into Solitaire FRVR?

  • The tableau: You’ll need to line up your cards into seven columns, with a total of 28 cards laid out. Starting from the left, place one card in the first column. Then, in the second, place two cards down. By the time you reach the final column, you’ll have seven cards - giving you the correct total. Remember, only the top card is to be face up - the rest are face down (So the column on the left with one card will be face up). The foundation piles: Once you’ve sorted the tableau, you’ll need to create space for four piles of cards to house each suit. So, that’s one for Aces, Spades, Diamonds and Hearts. To start a foundation pile you’ll need an Ace in each one.
  • The stock pile: What’s left of the deck needs to be place face-down away from the columns - becoming the stock pile. This is where you’ll draw cards from - one card if you’re playing Draw 1 Solitaire, and three cards if you’re playing the more difficult Draw 3 variant
  • The talon pile (or waste pile): Once you flip a card from the stock pile, it’ll make it’s way over to waste pile or ‘talon’. This is clearly separate from the stock pile, usually above it. These cards can be used to achieve your objective.

Spider Solitaire set up

Spider Solitaire shares a lot in common with Klondike Solitaire but is played with two decks of cards - 104 in total. Here, you’ll have 10 columns with the aim of creating eight foundation piles. To set it up, place six cards in the first four columns, and five in the remaining six, with the top card facing up. Each of the cards behind the face card becomes the stockpile. The aim of the game is to arrange the cards in descending order - from King to Ace (so the reverse of Klondike Solitaire) - before transferring them over to one of the foundation piles.

Solitaire alternatives

We’ve got a handful of incredible card games on FRVR - why not check out Mahjong FRVR or try FRVR Spider.