Solitaire Strategy: Tips to Win More Games

Classic Solitaire combines luck of the deal with a lot of decision making. Not every deal can be won, but most losses come from avoidable mistakes. Whether you play Draw 1 or Draw 3, the same principles help: free hidden cards, keep options open and avoid moves that lock cards away. Here is how experienced players approach every game.

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Uncover hidden cards first

Face-down cards in the columns are the biggest obstacle in the game. When you have a choice, make the move that turns over a hidden card, and favour the column with the most hidden cards. Flipping a card also earns 5 points. Moving a card from the stock to the columns is useful, but freeing buried cards usually matters more.

Do not rush to the foundations

Sending Aces and Twos to the foundations is always safe. Higher cards can be more useful in the columns, where they give you places to put lower cards of the opposite colour. Before moving a mid-ranked card up, check whether you still need it to hold other cards. You can bring a card back from a foundation, but it costs 15 points.

Use empty columns for Kings

Only a King, or a run starting with a King, can fill an empty column. Clearing a column is only worth it when a King is ready to move in, ideally one that uncovers hidden cards. An empty column with no King to use is wasted space, so think twice before emptying one early.

Play the stock carefully

In Draw 3 only the top card of each group of three can be played, so the order matters. Going through the stock in this mode changes which cards you see on the next pass, so take any useful card when it shows. In Draw 1 you can see every card, so plan around which cards are still to come. You can recycle the deck as often as you like.

Use the tools

The Hint button shows a possible move when you are stuck, and Undo lets you test a line and take it back. When the game becomes a simple matter of moving cards up, the Auto button finishes for you. Winning quickly also adds a time bonus, up to 1500 points minus a little for every second played.

Questions

How is the score calculated?

You earn 10 points for each card sent to a foundation, 5 for each card moved from the stock to a column and 5 for each card turned face up. Winning adds a time bonus.

How many times can I go through the deck?

As many times as you like, in both Draw 1 and Draw 3.

What does the Auto button do?

When all remaining moves are simple, Auto sends the cards to the foundations for you and finishes the game.

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