Solitaire Set Up Made Easy: Tips for Beginners

Have a deck of cards, but no one to play with? Fear not — there’s a whole ocean of one-player card games that you can play to pass the time.

Solitaire is often referred to as a card game, but it’s actually a genre of card games. There are many different versions, including Freecell, the version that you’ll find on this page. There’s also a standard version, which is what people mean when they say they’re playing solitaire. You’ll find that version of the game at 247solitaire.com.

As with all games, you’ll need to know a thing or two to succeed at solitaire. But don’t worry — part of the popularity of solitaire lies in its relative simplicity. It’s a game that you can teach yourself in under half an hour. In fact, it’s a game that you could probably learn by doing if the game has already been set up for you. If you trust your powers of deduction, then head to 247solitaire.com, click play, pick your variant, and dive in. We think you’ll pick it up in no time!

Looking for more detailed instructions? We’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about solitaire, including how to set up the game, the basic rules, how to play, and some handy tips for increasing your chances of success. Remember: while there’s an element of luck involved in solitaire (the outcome is decided, in part, by the randomized order of the cards), you can also use strategy to maximize your odds.

OK, with that in mind, let’s dive in.

Setting Up Your Solitaire Game

Setting up a solitaire game is easy if you know how! For a simple illustration of what your game setup should look like, we’d recommend starting a game at 247freecell.com. Your real-world game should look similar; the only difference will be the cards that have been dealt.

But we’ll also explain it in writing so you have a document to refer to.

First of all, it’s handy to know some key solitaire terminology. You’ll find references to the following terms any time you read about solitaire, including on this page, so do your best to commit them to memory.

Tableau

Tableau is French for table; if you didn’t know solitaire’s origins are French, well, you do now! The tableau is the main playing area of solitaire, and you’ll find it in all variants. The tableau starts with seven cards laid out across the top. You’ll add more during setup (explained later). Throughout the game, you’ll work your way down until, hopefully, the table is complete.

Stockpile

The cards that aren’t placed during the setup of the game are called the ‘stockpile.’ This pile is kept face down. You’ll draw from it during the game.

Talon Pile

If you can’t play a card that you’ve picked up from the stockpile, then you’ll put it face up in the talon pile, which is sometimes called the waste pile. You can play the card that’s on the top of this pile when there’s a possibility to do so.

Foundational Piles

Your foundational piles are columns of the four suits. To win the game, you’ll need to complete all of them from top to bottom, from Ace to two. You can dedicate space above your tableau to your foundational piles, even if there are no cards in them at the beginning of the game. For instance, at 247solitaire.com, your foundational piles would go in the four blank spaces at the top right of this image.

OK, that’s the key terminology that you need to know. Other versions of solitaire may have their own terms, but the above covers you for classic solitaire.

So how do you set up a game? Follow these steps:

• Shuffle your 52-card deck of playing cards.
• Place seven cards in a horizontal row.
• Turn the far-left card face up.
• Deal six cards horizontally, starting from the second card.
• Turn the second card to the left face up.
• Deal five cards horizontally, starting from the third card.
• Turn the third card to the left face up.
• Deal four cards horizontally, starting from the fourth card.
• Turn the fourth card to the left face up.
• Deal three cards horizontally, starting from the fifth card.
• Turn the fifth card to the left face up.
• Deal two cards horizontally, starting from the sixth card.
• Turn the sixth card to the left face up.
• Deal one card to the seventh card, and turn it face up.
• Place the remaining cards face down to the left of the pile.

It should look something like this:

And that’s it! You’ll begin the game by moving any playable cards or picking up a card from the stockpile. If you can play it, then great — if not, it’ll be added to the waste pile, and you’ll have to pick again from the stockpile.

Basic Rules of Solitaire

The only rule of solitaire is….there are no rules. OK, that’s not strictly true — in fact, it’s not true at all. There are a bunch of rules in solitaire, and that’s exactly as it should be. It wouldn’t be much of a game if all you had to do was move cards from one place to the next.

We’ll guide you through the basic rules of standard solitaire, but keep in mind that different versions may have slightly different rules. At 247solitaire.com, you can choose from a number of different solitaire variants to play, so if you’re curious about how types of solitaire work, then give them a go. All of the rules are built in, so you won’t be able to make a move unless it’s allowed!

OK, with that said, let’s take a look at some of the essential rules you’ll need to follow. Note that this isn’t an entirely exhaustive list, but it’ll get you moving in the right direction.

Making Moves

The objective of the game is to order cards in a row from the top down in ascending order. These rows must also alternate in color, red then black (or vice versa!).

Let’s look at an example. If you drew a red three from the stockpile, you could only play that card on a black four. All other spaces would be ineligible. It can sound a little complicated when reading it, but it’ll make a lot of sense when you’re playing!

In the illustration below, the six of diamonds from the stockpile could be played, but only via one move. Can you see what it is?

If you said ‘seven of spades,’ then yep, you’re correct. Bonus points if you also noted that the six of clubs could move over to the seven of hearts, and that the two of hearts could move to below the three of spades!

At some point, you’ll have a clear space (for example, five rows of cards instead of seven). You can only create new rows with King cards.

Drawing Cards

In the standard version of solitaire, draw cards are drawn three at a time. If you look again at the example image above, you’ll see three cards in the draw space. Once that six of diamonds has been played, you’d have to play the next card (in the example, two of clubs; not possible to play) or put the two remaining cards to the bottom of the pile and draw again.

The Foundation Piles

The foundation piles are where you’ll place your cards on your way towards victory. All foundation piles start with an Ace. You’ll place the ace of each suit in one of the four allocated spaces. From there, you work up in ascending order, from 2 through King. You can take cards off the foundation piles and put them back in the tableau if they’re needed, but the same rules — they must follow the alternating colors, descending order sequence — apply.

Winning the Game

There are two ways a game of solitaire ends: in victory, or in a defeat. You’ll have lost the game if there are no more moves you can make and the foundation piles are incomplete.

You’ll win the game once you’ve moved all cards to the foundation piles. Remember: cards must be placed in sequence in ascending order. It goes ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king. Complete that order for all four suits, and you’ve won!

How to Play Single Player Solitaire

Solitaire is a relatively straightforward game that you’ll pick up in no time. The best way to learn, in our humble opinion, is to get a game underway at 247solitaire.com. You’ll quickly learn what cards you can move and when.

Need a quick tutorial on gameplay? Then here you are:

• Cards played in the tableau are placed in descending order.
• Cards placed in the foundational piles are placed in ascending order.
• Cards in the tableau are played in alternating order.
• You’ll draw cards from the stockpile three at a time (or one at a time if playing 1 card solitaire).
• If you can’t make any more moves, and the foundation piles are not complete, then you’ve lost the game.
• The game is won if all cards have been correctly placed in the foundation piles.

Tips for Winning at Solitaire

Solitaire is a good game to play when you have a little bit of time to kill. But, as with all games, you’re not playing just to keep yourself occupied; you’re playing to win.

While there’s no way to guarantee success, there are certainly things you can do to increase your chances of success. Remember, solitaire is partly down to luck (it depends on the order of the shuffled cards), but the most influential factor will be your gameplay. By taking the right approach, you can turn an imperfect starting tableau into a winning game.

Here are some handy tips that’ll move you in the right direction:

Understand the Rules!

This might sound obvious, but you’ll be doing yourself a big favor by taking the time to really understand the rules. Newcomers to the game tend to get themselves into difficulty all because they’re continually reminding themselves of the rules instead of paying attention to what’s happening in front of them. You’d be amazed at how easy it is to miss a playable card!

So the real tip here is: pay attention. It’s much easier to succeed at solitaire when you can give the game your undivided attention.

Be Careful When Moving Kings

You can — and should — move your king cards into an empty space when it’s possible to do so. However, keep in mind that the color of the king you decide to move might impact the whole game, so make your decision wisely! For instance, it’ll be best to move a red king over a black king if you have a black queen in play since you’ll know that further moves will be possible.

Don’t Automatically Add Cards To Your Foundational Piles

Just because you can move that six of hearts to your foundational pile, that doesn’t mean you should. It’ll be sitting up there, ready to be played if you don’t then add the five of hearts to the pile, but if you do, then it’ll likely be much more difficult to bring the six of hearts back into play if it’s needed.

The bottom line? Move cards to the foundational piles at the right time.

Choose the Right Variant

As we mentioned above, there’s not just one game of solitaire you can play; there are many. At 247solitaire.com, you can choose from a staggering nine different versions of the game.

You can make success more likely by selecting the variant that’s right for you. For instance, if you’re a complete beginner, then you may wish to play 1 card solitaire, which is generally considered to be the easiest version of the game. It’s a good introduction to how solitaire games work — and you can always step things up later on once you’ve gotten the hang of things!

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