Solitaire: Encyclopedia - Solitaire

Solitaire

Solitaire or patience is any of a family of single-player card games of a generally similar character, but varying greatly in detail. The games are more commonly known as "Patience" in British English whilst "solitaire" is the American English term.

These games typically involve dealing cards from a shuffled deck into a prescribed arrangement on a tabletop, from which the player attempts to reorder the deck by suit and rank through a series of moves transferring cards from one place to another under prescribed restrictions. Some games allow for the reshuffling of the deck(s), and/or the placement of cards into new or 'empty' locations.

Solitaire has its own terminology; see solitaire terminology.

There are many different solitaire games, but the term "solitaire" is often used to refer specifically to the most well-known form, called "Klondike". Klondike and some other solitaire games have been adapted into two-player competitive games.

There are a vast array of variations on the solitaire/patience theme, using either one or more decks of cards, with rules of varying complexity and skill levels. Many of these have been converted to electronic form and are available as computer games. Basic forms of Klondike solitaire and FreeCell come with every current installation of Microsoft Windows, for example, and Windows XP also includes a version of Spider. 123 Free Solitaire and PySol are two examples of solitaire collections that can be downloaded from the internet at no charge.

The term 'solitaire' is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout of tiles, pegs or stones rather than cards. These games include:

• Peg solitaire
• Shanghai solitaire (computerised mahjong)

Solitaire - Examples of solitaire card games

Solitaire - A

• Above and Below
• Accordion
• Aces Square
• Aces Up
• Ace-To-King
• Acme
• Adela Patience
• Agnes I (Sorel)
• Agnes II (Bernauer)
• Algerian Patience
• Alhambra
• All Fours
• All In A Row
• Alternate Patience
• Alternation
• Amazons
• Ant
• American Toad
• Aremis
• Argos
• Auld Lang Syne
• Aunt Mary

Solitaire - B

• Babette
• Baccarat Solitaire
• Backbone
• Baker's Dozen
• Baker's Dozen Two Decks
• Baker's Game
• Baroness*
• Batsford
• Beleaguered Castle
• Betsy Ross
• Bisley
• Black Hole
• Blind Alleys
• Block Fourteen
• Blockade
• Blondes and Brunettes
• Board Patience
• Box Kite
• Bridesmaids
• Brigade
• Bristol
• British Blockade
• British Constitution
• British Square
• Buffalo Bill
• Busy Aces
• But The Same

Solitaire - C

• Caesar
• Calculation
• Calculation by Threes
• Canadian Patience
• Canfield
• Canfield Three Decks
• Canister
• Capricieuse
• Captive Queens
• Carlton
• Carpet
• Carre Napoleon
• Casket
• Castles in Spain
• Chameleon
• Chess Solitaire
• Chessboard
• Chinese Patience
• Cicely
• Citadel
• Class Day
• Climb The Hill
• Clock
• Clock Patience/Clock Solitaire*
• Coleopter
• Colonel
• Colorado
• Colours
• Concentration
• Cone
• Congress
• Connections
• Contradance
• Corners
• Corona
• Counting
• Courtyard
• Cover Up
• Crescent
• Crescent Four Decks
• Cribbage Solitaire
• Cribbage Square Solitaire
• Crazy Quilt*
• Cruel
• Curds and Whey*
• Czarina

Solitaire - D

• Decade
• Deuces
• Diamond
• Diplomat
• Double Canfield
• Double Dot
• Double Golf
• Double Klondike
• Double Line
• Double or Quits
• Double Rail
• Doublets
• Duchess
• Duchess de Luynes
• Duke

Solitaire - E

• Eagle Wing
• Easthaven
• Egyptian Pyramid
• Eight Off
• Eighteens
• Eleanor's Solitaire
• Elevens
• Elizabeth
• Emperor
• Engineer
• Everest
• Exchange

Solitaire - F

• Faerie Queen
• Falling Star
• Fan
• Fanny
• Fascination Fan
• Fifteens
• Fifteen to Win
• Figures
• Finesse
• Five Companions
• Florentine Patience
• Flower Garden
• Flower Garden Two Decks
• Fly
• Following
• Following Two Decks
• Forget-Me-Not
• Fortress
• Fortune's Favor
• Forty and Eight
• Forty Thieves
• Forty Thieves Four Decks
• Forty Thieves Three Decks
• Forty-Nine
• Four By Four
• Four Pegs
• Four Seasons
• Four Seasons Two Decks
• Four Sums
• Fourteen Out
• Frame
• FreeCell
• FreeCell Four Decks
• FreeCell Reversed
• FreeCell Thirteens
• FreeCell Three Decks
• FreeCell Two Decks
• French Patience
• French Solitaire
• Frog

Solitaire - G

• Gaps
• Gargantua
• Gate
• General's Patience
• German Patience
• Giant
• Glencoe
• Goldfield
• Golf
• Golf A-K
• Golf A-K Two Decks
• Golf Pyramids
• Good Measure
• Good Measure Two Decks
• Grandfather
• Grandfather's Clock
• Grandmamma's Patience
• Grant's Reinforcement
• Great Wheel
• Griffon
• Gay Gordons*

Solitaire - H

• Haden
• Half And Half
• Harp
• Heads And Tails
• Hemispheres
• Hit or Miss
• Horloge
• House in the Wood
• House of Commons
• House of Lords
• House on the Hill

Solitaire - I

• Icarus
• Idle Aces
• Imaginary Thirteen
• Imperial
• Indian
• Intelligence
• Interregnum
• Intrigue

Solitaire - J

• Jacqueline
• Japanese Solitaire
• Joker Forty Thieves
• Joker FreeCell
• Joker Golf A-K
• Joker Klondike
• Joker Pyramid
• Jubilee
• Juvenile

Solitaire - K

• Khedive
• King Albert
• King Edward
• King of Scotland
• Kingdom
• Kings
• King's Audience
• King's Cross
• Klondike
• Klondike by Threes
• Klondike Four Decks
• Klondike Reversed
• Klondike Three Decks
• Knaves
• Knaves' Dial
• Knight Catch All
• Knights Errant

Solitaire - L

• La Belle Lucie
• La Belle Lucie Player's Choice
• La Belle Lucie with a Draw
• Labyrinth
• Lady Betty
• Lady of the Manor
• Lady Palk
• Laggard Lady
• Lagoon
• Lanes
• Le Croix d'Honneur
• Legion
• Letter A
• Letter X
• Leoni's Own
• Les Quatre Coins
• Limited
• Line Up
• Little Billee
• Little Spider
• Little Windmill
• Louis
• Louisa
• Lucas

Solitaire - M

• Mantis
• Maria
• Marshal
• Martha
• Matrimony*
• Maze
• Memory-Up (6x4 grid)
• Memory-Up (8x5 grid)
• Midshipman
• Milky Way
• Milligan Harp
• Minerve
• Mirror
• Miss Milligan
• Mississippi
• Monte Carlo
• Monte Carlo Thirteens
• Mount Olympus
• Move for the Goal
• Mrs. Mop
• Museum

Solitaire - N

• Napoleon
• Napoleon's Exile
• Napoleon's Square
• Nationale
• Nestor
• Nestor Two Decks
• New York
• New Zealand Patience
• Nines
• Ninety-One
• Nivernaise
• Number Fourteen
• Number Ten

Solitaire - O

• Octagon
• Octave
• Odd and Even
• Only-One-Left (4x4 square) Puzzle
• Only-One-Left (5x5 square) Puzzle
• Open Crescent
• Open Start
• Opus
• Osmosis

Solitaire - P

• Pairs
• Palace
• Parallels
• Passengers
• Patriarchs
• Peek
• Peg Star Solitaire
• Penguin
• Peony
• Perpetual Motion
• Perseverance
• Persian Patience
• Picture Patience
• Poker Solitaire
• Portuguese Solitaire*
• Precedence
• Princess Patience
• Prisoners
• Privileged Four
• Pulsar
• Push Pin
• Push in the Corner
• Put-Them-In-Order (3x3 square) Puzzle
• Put-Them-In-Order (4x4 square) Puzzle
• Put-Them-In-Order (5x5 square) Puzzle
• Pyramid
• Pyramid (Easy Couple)
• Pyramid by Seven
• Pyramid Two Decks
• Pyramid's Stories

Solitaire - Q

• Quadrangle
• Quadruplets
• Quartets
• Queen of Italy
• Queens and Knaves

Solitaire - R

• Rachel
• Railway
• Rainbow
• Rank and File*
• Rank by Rank
• Red and Black
• Regal Family
• Reversi
• Robert
• Rosette
• Rouge et Noir
• Rows of Four
• Royal Aids
• Royal Cotillion
• Royal Marriage
• Royal Parade
• Royal Ranks
• Royal Rendezvous
• Royal Square
• Rule of Seven
• Russian Solitaire

Solitaire - S

• S Patience
• Salic Law
• Scorpion
• Scarab
• Scotch Patience
• Senior Wrangler
• Sentinel
• Serpent Poker Solitaire
• Seven Sisters
• Seven Devils*
• Seven Up
• Shamrocks
• Shanghai
• Shifting
• Shuttle
• Simple Simon
• Simplex
• Simplicity
• Single Rail
• Sir Tommy
• Sir Tommy Two Decks
• Six By Six
• Sixes and Sevens
• Sly Fox
• Solid Square
• Solitaire Showdown*
• Somerset
• Spaces*
• Spanish Patience
• Spider
• Spider One Suit
• Spider Three Decks
• Spider Two Suits
• Spiderette
• Squadron
• Square
• St. Helena
• Stalactites
• Stalactites and Stalagmites
• Step by Step
• Steps
• Step-Up
• Stonewall
• Storehouse
• Strategy
• Streets
• Streets and Alleys
• Suit by Suit
• Sultan
• Sum of Five
• Super Flower Garden
• Superior Canfield
• Sydney Solitaire

Solitaire - T

• Tabby Cat*
• Tam O'Shanter
• Tantalus
• Tens
• The Dial
• The Dial II
• The Flea
• The Plot
• The Red and the Black
• The Spark
• Thirteen, Fifteen, Seventeen
• Thirteen Up
• Thirteens
• Thirty
• Thirty-Six
• Three Blind Mice*
• Three Hills
• Three Pyramids
• Three Shuffles and a Draw*
• Thumb and Pouch
• Tournament
• Tower of Hanoy
• Tower of Pisa
• Trafalgar Square
• Transformation
• Trapezoid
• Travellers
• Trefoil
• Triad
• Tri Peaks*
• Triple Alliance
• Triple Line
• Tristan and Isolde
• Twenty
• Twin Queens
• Two Rings

Solitaire - U-Z

• Uncle Sam
• Up or Down
• Variegated Canfield
• Vertical
• Virginia Reel
• Waning Moon
• Wasp*
• Waste the Same
• Westcliff
• Wheatsheaf
• Whitehead
• Will o' the Wisp
• Windmill
• Wish
• Xantia
• Yukon
• Yukon Three Decks
• Yukon Two Decks
• Zodiac

(Unless marked by an asterisk, all games are from the 447 games of Solsuite 2006.)

Solitaire - Reference Materials

• Lee, Sloane & Packard, Gabriel. 100 Best Solitaire Games: 100 Ways to Entertain Yourself with a Deck of Cards. ; New York, N. Y.: Cardoza Publishing, 2004. (ISBN 1-58042-115-6)
• Arnold, Peter. Card Games for One. London: Hamlyn, 2002 (ISBN 0-600-60727-5)
• Moorehead, Albert H. & Mott-Smith, Geoffrey. The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games. New York: Bantam Books, 1977 (ISBN 0553262408)
• Crépeau, Pierre. The Complete Book of Solitaire (a translation of Le Grand Livre des Patiences). Willowdale, Ontario: Firefly Books, 2001. (ISBN 1552095975)

See also

• Solitaire terminology
• Patience sorting

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Solitaire", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki