Rainbow Solitaire

Rainbow Solitaire is a colourful Canfield variant that relaxes tableau building rules, allowing any-suit stacking instead of the usual alternating-color requirement. This significantly increases available moves and makes the game more accessible while keeping the 13-card reserve challenge and random foundation base. An excellent stepping stone between easier solitaire games and full Canfield difficulty.

How to Play Rainbow Solitaire

What’s Different from Classic Canfield?

Tableau building allows any suit (not just alternating colors). More moves available, making it easier than classic Canfield.

Layout

A stock pile and waste pile on the left. One card is dealt face-up to start the first foundation — its rank becomes the base for all four foundations. 13 cards are dealt to a reserve pile (only the top card face-up). 4 tableau columns of 1 card each.

Objective

Move all cards to the four foundation piles, building up by suit and wrapping from King back to Ace.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Note the foundation starter card — all four foundations must start with this same rank (e.g. if a 7 is dealt, all foundations start from 7).
Build foundations up by suit, wrapping around: e.g. if starting at 7, build 7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A-2-3-4-5-6.
Build tableau columns in descending order with alternating colors (e.g. red 9 on black 10). Tableau also wraps (Ace goes on 2, King goes on Ace).
Click the stock pile to draw cards (1 or 3 depending on variant) to the waste pile. Play the top waste card.
Play the top card of the reserve pile whenever possible — clearing the reserve is crucial.
When a tableau column is empty, the top reserve card automatically fills it. If the reserve is empty, any card can fill the space.
Win when all four foundations are filled (13 cards each).

Other Canfield Variations

Or go back to Canfield Solitaire.

Classic Canfieldhard

Canfield Solitaire was originally a casino game devised by Richard Canfield in the 1890s. A 13-card reserve pile dominates the layout, with four tableau columns and foundations tha...

Turn 1 Canfieldmedium

Canfield Turn 1 draws one card at a time from the stock, giving you access to every card in the deck across cycles. This is the most accessible Canfield variant — you can see and p...

Turn 2 Canfieldhard

Canfield Turn 2 draws two cards from the stock at a time, placing it between the accessibility of Turn 1 and the restriction of Turn 3. You see every other stock card per cycle, re...

Turn 3 Canfieldhard

Canfield Turn 3 is the traditional casino version: three-card stock draws combined with the 13-card reserve, random foundation base, and wrapping sequences. This is the hardest sta...

Storehouse Canfieldmedium

Storehouse (also called Thirteen Up) is a Canfield variant where all four 2s start on the foundations instead of a random base card. This fixed starting point makes the game more p...

Fascination

Play Fascination Solitaire online for free — a Canfield variant.

Why Play Rainbow Solitaire Online?

Originally a casino betting game, Canfield challenges you to beat the house. With a 13-card reserve pile and a rotating foundation base, no two games start the same way. Its casino heritage means the scoring is built around risk versus reward.

Game Features

Casino Heritage — Originally a real casino betting game with Vegas scoring
Random Foundation Base — Every game starts from a different rank
13-Card Reserve — Clear the reserve pile for maximum flexibility
Unlimited Undo — Master the wrapping sequences at your own pace
Smart Hints — Navigate the complex reserve-to-foundation strategy
Mobile Friendly — Compact layout works beautifully on small screens

Rainbow Tips and Strategies

The any-suit building rule gives you much more flexibility — exploit it to create empty columns quickly and drain the reserve. Don't get complacent though; the reserve pile is still your primary challenge. The random foundation base still requires adapting your strategy each game.

Rainbow Solitaire Rules

A Canfield variant where building on the tableau ignores suit and color — any card one rank lower can be placed on any card. Foundation base rank is set by the first card dealt. Build foundations up by suit with wrapping. 13-card reserve auto-fills empty columns. The relaxed tableau building makes this more accessible than standard Canfield.

Scoring System

In Canfield, originally a casino game, each card placed on a foundation earns 10 points. Moving a card from waste to tableau earns 5 points, and revealing a face-down card earns 5 points. Moving a card back from the foundation costs 15 points.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Canfield players often forget to use the reserve pile strategically. Play from the reserve whenever possible, as clearing it opens up many more moves. Don't rush cards to the foundation if they're needed for building tableau sequences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Rainbow Solitaire.

What is Rainbow Solitaire?

Rainbow Solitaire is a classic card game you can play for free online at Solitaire.fyi. No downloads or registration required — play instantly in your browser on any device.

Why is it called Rainbow?

The "Rainbow" name reflects the relaxed suit rules — you can build with any colour or suit on the tableau, creating colourful mixed sequences. This is in contrast to standard Canfield's strict alternating-colour requirement.

Is Rainbow Solitaire free to play?

Yes — 100% free at Solitaire.fyi with no hidden costs, no sign-up, and no ads that interrupt gameplay. Play unlimited games on desktop, tablet, or mobile.

What is a good win rate for Rainbow Solitaire?

Win rates vary by variant and skill level. Experienced players typically win 30-60% of games depending on the variant. Using undo and hints can help you improve.

History of Rainbow Solitaire

Canfield is named after Richard A. Canfield, a famous 19th-century American gambler who operated casinos in New York and Saratoga Springs. In his casino, players paid $52 for a deck and earned $5 for each card placed on foundations. The house edge was substantial — average payouts were around $25, netting Canfield a steady profit. Today, the original casino rules are known as the "Vegas" scoring variant.

Cognitive Benefits of Rainbow

Canfield exercises adaptive planning — the random foundation base means you must recalculate your strategy every game. Managing the 13-card reserve while tracking wrapping sequences builds working memory capacity. The game's casino origins also train intuitive probability assessment.

Play Rainbow Solitaire Free Online