Are All Solitaire Games Winnable?

No, not all games of Solitaire are winnable in Klondike (classic) Solitaire. Around 20% of games won’t be winnable because there is no path to victory with that particular card distribution.

Solitaire is one of the easiest ways to pass the time, especially because all you need is a deck of cards. It has remained a popular and engaging game for a reason: not all solitaire games are winnable.

Just like Hearts games online are now easily accessible, players with a computer or smartphone can play solitaire anywhere in the world. Read on to learn how to increase your chances of winning.

How to Play

Dealing

Unlike many games, which have one or two piles of cards, Solitaire has four. The tableau is the seven piles that comprise the main area of play.

The foundations are the four piles onto which sequences are built. Most often, the bottom of each foundation must be an Ace of each suit. Finally, there is a draw and discard pile.

To form the tableau, deal cards from left to right, creating seven piles. Deal one card face-up in the first pile, then six cards face-down in the remaining piles, one in each pile. Next, deal one card face-up in the second pile, on top of the single face-down card, then one face-down card on each of the other stacks. Continue this pattern until the seventh pile has one card facing up on top of six face-down cards. The remaining cards form the draw pile.

Playing

Players may move face-up cards from one pile to another on the tableau in order to form sequences. Sequences must be in decreasing order and of alternating suits. For example, if two of the face-up cards showing in the tableau are a black nine and a red eight, the eight may be moved onto the red nine so both are showing. The player then flips over the face-down card under the eight.

Once a player can make no more transfers, they can flip over the top card of the draw pile. They can add that to any sequence in which it fits on the tableau, then continue transferring available cards. There is also a version of Solitaire in which the player flips over the top three cards and may use the uppermost card. If they are able to do so, they may then play the cards underneath it. If one of the seven piles is emptied, it may only be filled with a King.

The top four foundations are for players to sort the entire deck into its suits, starting with the Ace. When an Ace is revealed, players may put it into one of the four foundations and build the suit up in order. However, doing so too quickly can risk closing off the player to possible transfers necessary to win.

Winning

A player wins Solitaire when they successfully sort the entire deck into four stacks of the suits, with the Ace on the bottom, increasing sequentially to the King at the top. How many cards are in a suit? There are thirteen cards in each suit, so each of the four foundations should have thirteen cards.

How to Win at Solitaire

While it is a very calming pastime, it is still possible for a player to lose at solitaire. Here are some tips on how to win:

Always exhaust all your options in transferring before flipping over a card from the draw pile. Put Aces and twos in their foundation piles right away, but never any more. Because these two cards can’t help with other transfers, there’s no danger in getting them out of the tableaus.

Create tableau sequences using the same suits, for example, a sequence of Clubs and Hearts. This can help you build foundations with fewer issues.

Try and keep your tableau even. Break down larger piles and build onto smaller ones in order to free up cards more easily.

Of course, even with all the advice in this post, you’re sure to lose Solitaire games every once in a while. There’s a strong element of chance to every game, so no matter what you do, you can’t win them all.

If you want more advice on winning card games, check out our post on what cards to pass in Hearts!