Popular Solitaire Variants: Complete Guide

Classic Variants

These timeless games have been played for decades and remain favorites among solitaire enthusiasts.

Yukon Solitaire

What makes it unique: Similar to Klondike, but you can move groups of cards even if they're not in sequence, as long as the top card follows solitaire building rules. This creates much more strategic depth.

Setup:

• Seven tableau piles: pile 1 has 1 face-up card
• Piles 2-7 have 1 to 6 face-down cards under 5 face-up cards
• That makes 21 face-down and 31 face-up cards
• No stock pile - all 52 cards are dealt to the tableau
• Four foundation piles (Ace to King, by suit)

Rules:

• Build tableau down in alternating colors (red Queen on black King)
• Move any face-up card along with all cards on top of it, regardless of sequence
• Empty columns can only be filled with Kings
• Build foundations up by suit (Ace to King)

Canfield Solitaire

What makes it unique: Notorious for being difficult to win, Canfield was a popular gambling game where casinos would sell the deck for $50 and pay $5 for each card placed on the foundations.

Setup:

• Reserve pile of 13 cards (face-up, only top card playable)
• Four tableau piles with one face-up card each
• Stock pile with remaining cards (draw 3, play 1)
• First foundation card is randomly determined by the setup

Rules:

• Build tableau down in alternating colors
• Foundations start with whatever rank is dealt (not always Aces!)
• Foundations build up by suit, wrapping from King to Ace if needed
• Empty tableau spaces filled automatically from reserve
• Draw 3 cards from stock, play the top card

Forty Thieves (Napoleon at St. Helena)

What makes it unique: Uses two full decks (104 cards) and requires building by suit rather than alternating colors, making it significantly more challenging.

Setup:

• Two standard 52-card decks shuffled together
• Ten tableau piles with four cards each (all face-up)
• Eight foundation piles (one for each suit in each deck)
• Remaining 64 cards form the stock

Rules:

• Build tableau down by suit (8♠ on 9♠, not just any black 9)
• Only one card can be moved at a time
• Empty columns can be filled with any card
• Draw one card at a time from stock (no redeal)
• Build foundations up by suit (Ace to King)

Skill-Based Variants

These games minimize luck and reward careful planning and strategy.

Baker's Game

What makes it unique: Essentially FreeCell but with same-suit building in the tableau instead of alternating colors. Created as the "original" version before FreeCell became popular.

Rules: Identical to FreeCell except tableau building is by suit instead of alternating colors. This one change makes it significantly harder, as you have fewer building options.

Eight Off

What makes it unique: Eight free cells (instead of FreeCell's four) but reserves start pre-filled with cards. Tableau building is by suit, and only a King can fill an empty column.

Setup:

• Eight tableau piles with six cards each
• Eight reserve cells, four start with one card each
• Four empty reserve cells

Rules: Similar to FreeCell but with eight reserves. Build tableau down by suit. Can move sequences if you have enough free reserves using the supermove rule.

Building and Packing Variants

Scorpion Solitaire

What makes it unique: You build complete sequences (King down to Ace) by suit in the tableau. Each complete sequence moves automatically to one of the four foundations.

Setup:

• Seven tableau piles with seven cards each
• First four piles: first 3 cards face-down, last 4 face-up
• Last three piles: all cards face-up
• Three reserve cards set aside

Rules:

• Build down by suit in tableau (9♥ on 10♥)
• Move any face-up card along with all cards on top of it (like Yukon)
• Empty columns can only be filled with Kings
• Three reserve cards can be dealt (one to each of first three piles) when stuck
• Goal: Build four complete K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A sequences by suit

Wasp Solitaire

What makes it unique: A Scorpion variant where any card, not just a King, can fill an empty column. That extra freedom makes it more forgiving than Scorpion.

Rules: Deal 49 cards into seven columns of seven. In columns 1-4, 3 cards are face-down under 4 face-up cards; columns 5-7 are all face-up. The last 3 cards form a reserve, dealt once onto the first three columns. Build down in suit, move any face-up card with the cards on top of it, and fill an empty column with any card.

Russian Solitaire

What makes it unique: Similar to Yukon but builds by suit in the tableau instead of alternating colors, requiring more careful planning.

Rules: Same as Yukon but build tableau down by suit. This restriction makes it considerably harder while maintaining Yukon's interesting "move any face-up card" mechanic.

Adding and Pairing Variants

Pyramid Solitaire

See our complete Pyramid Solitaire guide for full rules and strategies.

Quick overview: Remove pairs of cards that add up to 13. Kings are removed alone. The challenge is in the order you remove cards, as some cards block multiple others.

Pyramid Variations

Relaxed Pyramid: Same as Pyramid, but you win as soon as the pyramid itself is clear — cards left in the stock and waste do not count. The stock can be dealt through three times (two redeals). This makes it much more approachable for casual players.

Giza: Pyramid with no stock. The other 24 cards are dealt face up in eight reserve piles of three, so every card is visible from the first move. Remove pairs totaling 13 (Kings alone) from the pyramid and the reserve tops; you win when every card is gone.

Tri-Peaks:

See our complete TriPeaks guide for full rules.

Three pyramids instead of one. Build up or down regardless of suit. Fast-paced and forgiving, perfect for casual play.

Race Against the Clock Variants

Golf Solitaire

See our complete Golf guide for strategies.

Clear seven columns by building up or down on a waste pile. Simple rules but requires planning to avoid dead ends.

Clock Solitaire (Watch)

What makes it unique: Pure luck game played more for entertainment than skill. Fast to play (2-3 minutes).

Setup:

• 13 piles of 4 cards each, arranged like clock face (12 numbers + center)
• All cards face-down

Rules:

• Start by flipping the top card of the center pile
• Place it face-up under its corresponding pile (Aces at 1 o'clock, Queens at 12, Kings in center)
• Flip the top card of that pile and continue
• Win if all piles are face-up before the fourth King is revealed

Strategic Reserve Variants

Gaps (Montana)

What makes it unique: No stacking or building - just arranging cards into four sorted rows by suit. Pure spatial reasoning puzzle.

Setup:

• Deal all 52 cards into 4 rows of 13 cards, all face-up
• Remove all four Aces, creating four gaps

Rules:

• Move any card into a gap if it's the same suit and one rank higher than the card to the left of the gap
• Example: 5♥ can move into a gap if 4♥ is immediately to the left
• Gaps to the left of a 2 cannot be filled
• Goal: Arrange all four suits in order (2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K) in the four rows
• When no more moves possible, gather unmoved cards, shuffle, and redeal (2 redeals allowed)

Accordion

What makes it unique: One of the hardest solitaire variants. Goal is to compress the entire deck into a single pile. Extremely difficult but quick to play.

Setup: Deal cards one at a time from the deck into a row, left to right.

Rules:

• After dealing each card, check if it matches the card 1 position to the left OR 3 positions to the left in either rank or suit
• If it matches, place it on top of the matching card
• Example: If cards are [5♥] [J♣] [7♥] [2♠] [5♠], the 5♠ can go on the 2♠ (one to left, matches suit) or the 5♥ (three to left, matches rank)
• Continue until entire deck is dealt
• Win if you compress everything into a single pile

Multi-Deck Variants

Spider Solitaire

See our complete Spider guide for full rules and strategies.

The most popular multi-deck variant. Uses two decks, builds down in tableau, and requires completing full K-A sequences by suit.

Mrs. Mop

What makes it unique: Uses two decks like Spider but with interesting twists involving reserve piles and different building rules.

Setup:

• Thirteen tableau piles
• Deal cards until 12 cards remain
• These 12 cards form a reserve

Rules:

• Build down in alternating colors in tableau
• Sequences of the same suit can be moved as a unit
• Empty columns filled from reserve pile only
• Eight foundations build up from Ace to King by suit

Quick Comparison Table

Winnable deals: the share of deals a program can win when it sees every card, not a human win rate. Canfield: Blake & Gent (2026). Baker's Game: Freecell Solver (Shlomi Fish). Eight Off: Mark Masten. Golf, TriPeaks and Pyramid: our own exhaustive solver under the rules played here. Clock is pure luck: exactly 1 deal in 13 comes out, a result proved by Jenkyns and Muller (1981). A dash means we found no citable figure.

Which Variant Should You Try?

If You Like Klondike, Try:

• Yukon: Similar layout but more strategic depth
• Canfield: More challenging version with unique reserve pile
• Russian Solitaire: Yukon's suit-restricted cousin

If You Like FreeCell, Try:

• Baker's Game: FreeCell with suit building
• Eight Off: Eight reserves, King-only empty columns
• Wasp: Scorpion variant where any card can fill an empty column

If You Like Spider, Try:

• Scorpion: Similar same-suit building with Yukon-style movement
• Forty Thieves: Two-deck challenge with strict building rules
• Mrs. Mop: Spider meets reserve management

If You Want Quick Games, Try:

• Golf: Fast-paced, 3-5 minutes
• TriPeaks: Quick and satisfying
• Clock: 2-minute luck-based fun

If You Want Pure Strategy Puzzles, Try:

• Wasp: Most cards face-up from the start; any card fills an empty column
• Gaps: Spatial reasoning challenge
• Baker's Game: Minimal luck, maximum planning

If You Want Extremely Difficult Games, Try:

• Forty Thieves: Long, complex, requires patience
• Canfield: Notoriously difficult casino game
• Accordion: Nearly impossible but quick to try

Learning New Variants

Tips for Mastering New Games

• Read rules twice: Make sure you understand before starting
• Play several games: Don't judge after just one attempt
• Use undo liberally: Learn the mechanics without pressure
• Find patterns: Most variants reward similar strategic thinking
• Join communities: Discuss strategies with other players

Building Your Solitaire Repertoire

Rather than learning all variants at once:

1. Master one game in each category (building, pairing, strategy, luck)
2. Learn variations of your favorites (e.g., Spider 1-suit → 2-suit → 4-suit)
3. Challenge yourself progressively with harder variants
4. Return to easier games when you want relaxation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Variant Should You Play Next?

Klondike is one game out of hundreds. Each variant above changes a different rule, so pick one by the mechanic you want to practise: stock management, suit sequencing, or open-tableau planning.