Types of Solitaire — A Complete Guide to Every Variant
Solitaire isn't one game — it's a family of hundreds of card games designed for a single player. From the classic Klondike that everyone knows to obscure variants like Accordion and Osmosis, each type offers a different balance of strategy, luck, and complexity. This guide covers every major solitaire family and helps you find your next favourite variant.
The Major Solitaire Families
Klondike — The Classic
Klondike is the game most people picture when they hear "solitaire." Deal 28 cards across 7 columns in a cascading pattern, with only the top card face-up. Draw from a stock pile and build four foundation piles up by suit from Ace to King. Tableau columns build down with alternating colors.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Klondike Turn 1 | Draw 1 card at a time from stock | Easier |
| Klondike Turn 3 | Draw 3 cards, play only the top one | Harder |
| Vegas Solitaire | Casino scoring with limited passes | Hard |
| Klondike No Redeal | Single pass through the stock | Very hard |
| Double Klondike | Two decks, 9 columns | Medium |
| Thoughtful Solitaire | All cards face-up (perfect info) | Medium |
Spider — Two-Deck Same-Suit Building
Spider Solitaire uses two decks across 10 columns. Build descending same-suit sequences in the tableau — when a complete King-to-Ace run of one suit is assembled, it's removed. No foundation piles; the goal is to clear all cards from the tableau. A stock pile deals 10 new cards when you're stuck.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Spider 1 Suit | All cards are the same suit | Easy (~90% win) |
| Spider 2 Suits | Two suits (red/black) | Medium (~30% win) |
| Spider 4 Suits | All four suits | Very hard (~10% win) |
| Scorpion | No stock, 7 columns, group moves | Very hard |
| Spiderette | Spider with one deck, 7 columns | Hard |
FreeCell — Pure Strategy
FreeCell deals all 52 cards face-up across 8 columns. Four free cells provide temporary storage for individual cards. Build tableau columns down by alternating colors, foundations up by suit. With all cards visible and a 99.99% solvability rate, FreeCell is the purest strategy solitaire — almost every deal is winnable with the right moves.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| FreeCell (Classic) | 4 free cells, alternating-color building | Easy (~99.99% win) |
| Baker's Game | Same-suit building instead of alternating | Hard (~75% win) |
| Eight Off | 8 free cells, Kings-only empty columns | Hard (~75% win) |
| Seahaven Towers | 10 columns, Kings-only empty columns | Hard |
| Double FreeCell | Two decks, more columns and cells | Medium |
Pyramid — Pair Matching
Pyramid Solitaire is completely different from other types. Cards are dealt in a pyramid shape, and you remove pairs that add up to 13 (e.g. Queen + Ace, 10 + 3). Kings equal 13 alone and are removed individually. The goal is to clear the entire pyramid.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Pyramid (Classic) | 7-row pyramid, limited redeals | Medium |
| Pyramid Relaxed | Unlimited redeals | Easy |
| Giza | 3 extra reserve columns | Medium |
| King Tut | Unlimited redeals, looser rules | Easy |
Yukon — Group Moves, No Stock
Yukon Solitaire is Klondike without a stock pile — all 52 cards are dealt to the tableau from the start. The key twist: you can move any face-up card and everything on top of it as a group, even if the group isn't in sequence. This creates rich strategic possibilities not found in Klondike.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Yukon | Alternating-color building, group moves | Medium (~30% win) |
| Russian | Same-suit building only | Very hard (~5–15% win) |
| Alaska | Build up or down by same suit | Hard |
Forty Thieves — Two-Deck Challenge
Forty Thieves uses two decks dealt into 10 columns of 4 cards each, all face-up. Build tableau columns down by same suit. Draw one card at a time from the stock. With a ~10% win rate, it's one of the most challenging popular solitaire games.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Forty Thieves (Classic) | 10 columns of 4, same-suit building | Very hard (~10% win) |
| Josephine | Group moves allowed | Hard |
| Limited | 12 columns of 3 cards | Hard |
| Napoleon | 4 cells for temporary storage | Medium |
Canfield — Fast-Paced Foundation Building
Canfield deals 13 cards to a reserve pile (only top card visible) and one card to start a foundation. All foundations build up from that starting rank, wrapping from King to Ace if needed. Originally a casino game where you'd pay for the deck and earn money for each card placed on a foundation.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Canfield (Draw 3) | Draw 3 from stock, 13-card reserve | Hard |
| Canfield Turn 1 | Draw 1 from stock | Medium |
| Demon | UK name for Canfield | Hard |
Golf & TriPeaks — Quick Sequence Games
These fast-paced games focus on building sequences from a waste pile. Golf deals 35 cards in 7 columns and a stock pile — play cards one rank higher or lower than the waste pile's top card. TriPeaks arranges cards in three overlapping peaks for a more visual layout.
| Variant | Key Difference | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Golf | 7 columns, build up or down on waste | Medium |
| TriPeaks | Three peak layout, up or down | Easy–Medium |
| Par Golf | Golf with a par scoring system | Medium |
Other Notable Types
| Game | What Makes It Unique | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Accordion | Single row, compress matching cards left | Very hard (<5% win) |
| Calculation | Math-based: foundations count by 1, 2, 3, 4 | Hard |
| Clock | Cards dealt in a clock face pattern | Pure luck |
| Osmosis | Build foundations by matching cards in the row above | Medium |
| La Belle Lucie | 18 fans of 3, two redeals | Hard |
| Monte Carlo | 5×5 grid, remove adjacent pairs of same rank | Medium |
| Baker's Dozen | 13 columns, Kings moved to bottom | Medium |
| Castle | Compact layout, build by alternating color | Medium |
| Gaps | Remove Aces, slide cards into gaps | Hard |
| Crescent | Two decks, bidirectional foundations, 3 shuffles | Medium–Hard |
| Shamrocks | 17 fans of 3, max 3 per pile, no suit rule | Medium |
Solitaire Difficulty Comparison
Here's how the most popular types rank by win rate and difficulty:
| Game | Decks | Win Rate | Luck vs Skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreeCell | 1 | ~99.99% | Almost pure skill |
| Spider 1 Suit | 2 | ~90% | Mostly skill |
| Klondike Turn 1 | 1 | ~80% | Balanced |
| Baker's Game | 1 | ~75% | Almost pure skill |
| Eight Off | 1 | ~75% | Almost pure skill |
| Yukon | 1 | ~30–40% | Balanced |
| Spider 2 Suits | 2 | ~30% | Mostly skill |
| Klondike Turn 3 | 1 | ~20% | More luck |
| Crescent | 2 | ~20–40% | Balanced |
| Canfield | 1 | ~15% | More luck |
| Forty Thieves | 2 | ~10% | Mostly skill |
| Spider 4 Suits | 2 | ~10% | Mostly skill |
| Russian | 1 | ~5–15% | Almost pure skill |
| Scorpion | 1 | ~5–10% | Balanced |
| Accordion | 1 | <5% | Mostly luck |
How to Choose the Right Solitaire Game
- New to solitaire? Start with Klondike Turn 1 or FreeCell.
- Want a quick game? Try TriPeaks or Golf — games last 2–5 minutes.
- Prefer pure strategy? FreeCell, Baker's Game, or Eight Off have all cards visible.
- Looking for a challenge? Forty Thieves, Scorpion, or Spider 4 Suits.
- Something different? Pyramid (pair matching) or Calculation (math-based) break the mold entirely.
- Like two-deck games? Spider, Forty Thieves, or Crescent.
Ready to explore? Browse all 100+ solitaire variants → You can also check out our beginner's guide to solitaire if you're just getting started.