Gambling terms, explained straight

In Britain, solitaire can also refer to the board game peg solitaire, but in card games it is synonymous with patience.6

Card Games

Solitaire

Solitaire is a single-player card game in which the player arranges cards into ordered sequences or clears piles, usually by building up from Ace to King in suit.

Also called
Patience, card solitaire2
Typical goal
Build sequences from Ace to King in suit, or clear the tableau3
Common variant
Klondike is the best-known solitaire game4
Genre
Solitaire is a genre of card games, not a single set of rules2

Key points

  • Cards are dealt into a tableau and the player moves them to form ordered sequences or clear piles.1
  • The most famous variant is Klondike, which was popularised by Microsoft Solitaire.47
  • Unlike peg solitaire, card solitaire is a patience game with no board or pegs.6
  • Some solitaire games allow two or more players, though the term primarily describes single-player play.2

How to play a typical solitaire game

  1. Cards are dealt into a tableau, often in seven columns with the top card face up.1
  2. Move cards between columns to build descending sequences of alternating colours.
  3. When a complete sequence from King to Ace in one suit is formed, remove it from the tableau.
  4. The game ends when all cards are cleared or no further moves are possible.

Common questions

What is a solitaire ring?

A solitaire ring is a piece of jewellery featuring a single gemstone, usually a diamond, set alone. It is unrelated to the card game solitaire.

What is a diamond solitaire?

A diamond solitaire is a diamond set alone in a ring or other jewellery. The term is unrelated to the card game solitaire.

What is spider solitaire game?

Spider solitaire is a solitaire variant played with two decks of cards. The goal is to build sequences from King to Ace in the same suit, using eight tableau columns.5

Where this term is used

Card games Spades A trick-taking game for four players in fixed partnerships. Card games Bridge A trick-taking game for four players with bidding and a dummy hand. Card games Gin rummy A two-player matching game where players form melds of three or more cards. Card games Hearts card game A trick-avoidance game where players try not to win hearts or the queen of spades. Card games Ace of spades The highest-ranking card in many games, often used as a wild card or special card. Card games Whist A classic trick-taking game for four players, the forerunner of bridge.

Sources

  1. Solitaire bicyclecards.com Provides the rules for typical solitaire play, including tableau setup and card movement.
  2. Solitaire en.wikipedia.org Defines solitaire as a single-player card game and notes its synonymy with patience.
  3. Card game en.wikipedia.org Describes the typical goal of building sequences from Ace to King in suit.
  4. Klondike (solitaire) en.wikipedia.org Identifies Klondike as the best-known solitaire variant.
  5. Spider (solitaire) en.wikipedia.org Explains the rules of spider solitaire, a common variant.
  6. Peg solitaire - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Distinguishes card solitaire from peg solitaire, a board game.
  7. Microsoft Solitaire - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Notes that Microsoft Solitaire popularised the Klondike variant.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.