STEKIUS
Classic solitaire online at STEKIUS
Play nowSolitaire is the best-known card game for one player. You lay out seven columns, turn cards from the deck and try to move all the cards up onto the four foundations, from the Ace to the King. It is calm, relaxing and needs care with every move.
At STEKIUS you play classic solitaire online for free, with modern cards on a dark space table, from your computer or your phone. You choose whether you turn one or three cards at a time, and you have a few undos for the moves you regret. Below you will find all the rules.
The layout
Solitaire is played with a deck of 52 cards. The cards are dealt into seven columns, with one to seven cards each. In every column only the last card is face up, and the rest are face down underneath.
The cards left over are the deck, face down in the corner. Next to it is the discard pile, and above the columns are the four empty foundations.
The deck and the discard pile
You tap the deck to turn one card onto the discard pile, or three, if you chose that before the game. The top card of the discard pile can go to a column or to a foundation.
When the deck is empty, you tap it again to turn the discard pile back over and go through it from the start. The game with three cards is harder, because you cannot easily reach every card.
The columns
In the columns you build downwards in alternating colours: a red 6 goes on a black 7, a black 5 on a red 6, and so on. When you move a card and a face-down card underneath is uncovered, it turns face up.
A run of face-up cards moves together, as long as its first card fits where it is going. An empty column takes only a King, on its own or together with the run that follows it.
The foundations
You build the four foundations upwards by suit, from the Ace to the King: hearts with hearts, clubs with clubs, and so on. A card that fits a foundation goes up there with one tap. For any other move, you drag the card or tap it and then tap the place.
Winning, undo and the end
You win when all 52 cards have gone up onto the foundations. Undo takes back the last move, a few times in every game, so use it well.
The server notices by itself when there is no move left that changes anything, and then the game ends. That way you do not have to turn the deck over again and again for no reason.
Play whenever you like
Solitaire is played on your own, without waiting for anyone: you open a game whenever you have a few minutes, from your computer or your phone. On a phone you drag the cards with your finger or tap them, and on a computer everything is done with the mouse. Before you start you choose whether you turn one or three cards from the deck, depending on how hard you want it.
Chips
Every game needs a small stake in virtual chips. If you win, you get the win prize. If no move is left or you leave before the end, the stake is lost. Wins give chips up to a limit each day; after that you play without a stake and without a prize until the next day. The chips are shared by all the games of the site and have no money value.
Tips
- First open the face-down cards in the long columns; that is where most of them are hidden.
- Do not empty a column if you have no King to put there.
- Do not rush cards up to the foundations if you may need them in the columns.
- If you are just starting, play with one card at a time; it is easier.
Questions
What is the difference between one and three cards?
With one card you turn one card from the deck each time; with three you turn three and play only the top one. Three is harder.
What goes in an empty column?
Only a King, on its own or together with the run that follows it.
How many undos do I have?
A few in every game. Each undo takes back the last move.
What happens when I get stuck?
When there is no move left that changes anything, the game ends by itself.
