Card Games for One Player: 15 Best Solo Card Games

Card Games for One Player: 15 Best Solo Card Games

Sometimes you want to play a card game but don’t have (or don’t want) a partner. Good news: single-player card games — collectively known as Solitaire or Patience — are some of the most satisfying games ever created.

Here are the 15 best card games you can play alone, from all-time classics to hidden gems.

The Classics (Available on Solitaire Wave)

1. Klondike Solitaire

The one everyone knows.

Klondike is the most popular Solitaire game in the world — the one that came with Windows and the one most people picture when they hear “Solitaire.” Deal 7 columns, build down in alternating colors, and move cards to four foundation piles from Ace to King.

Why play it: Familiar, satisfying, great for short breaks.

2. FreeCell

The skill-based Solitaire.

FreeCell deals all 52 cards face-up — no hidden information, no luck. Four free cells provide temporary storage. Nearly every deal (99.999%) is solvable, making it the purest test of Solitaire skill.

Why play it: If you want to win through strategy alone with no luck involved.

3. Spider Solitaire

The deep-strategy challenging one.

Spider uses two decks across 10 columns. Build complete King-to-Ace suited sequences to remove them. Three difficulty levels (1, 2, or 4 suits) make it endlessly scalable.

Why play it: The deepest strategic Solitaire experience available with adjustable difficulty.

4. Pyramid Solitaire

The pairing puzzle.

Pyramid arranges 28 cards in a triangular formation. Remove cards in pairs that add up to 13 (e.g., 6+7, 10+3). Kings (value 13) are removed solo.

Why play it: Quick, puzzle-like, and completely different from other Solitaire games.

5. TriPeaks

The chain-building casual game.

TriPeaks arranges cards in three overlapping peaks. Clear them by selecting cards that are one rank higher or lower than the current card. Build long chains for bonus points.

Why play it: Relaxing, fast-paced, and highly satisfying chain combos.

6. Yukon Solitaire

The flexible strategist’s game.

Yukon is like Klondike without a stock pile — all cards are dealt to the tableau. The twist: you can move any face-up card along with everything on top of it, regardless of sequence.

Why play it: Maximum strategic flexibility with a punishing difficulty curve.

Beyond the Basics (Other Great Solo Card Games)

7. Canfield

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Hard | Win rate | ~5-15% |

Canfield is one of the hardest classic Solitaire variants. Only 4 tableau columns with a 13-card reserve pile. The foundation starting rank is random (not always Ace). Originally a casino game — Richard Canfield charged players $52 to play and paid $5 per foundation card.

How to play: Deal 13 cards to a reserve pile, 4 cards to tableau columns, and 1 card to start the first foundation. Build tableau columns down in alternating colors. The catch: the foundation starting rank wraps around (e.g., if 7 starts the foundation, build 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

8. Golf Solitaire

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Moderate | Win rate | ~5-15% |

Golf deals 7 columns of 5 overlapping cards. Remove cards by playing them to a single discard pile — the card played must be one rank higher or lower than the top discard. Clear all 35 tableau cards to win. Some versions allow wrapping (Ace can play on 2 or King).

How to play: The goal is to clear the tableau. Draw from the stock when stuck. Your “score” is the number of cards remaining in the tableau — lower is better, like actual golf.

9. Accordion

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Very Hard | Win rate | ~1-2% |

Accordion is brutally simple in rules and brutally hard to win. Deal cards one at a time into a row. A card can be stacked on the card to its left or three positions to its left if it matches suit or rank. The goal is to compress all 52 cards into a single pile.

How to play: Deal all 52 cards in a row. Move cards left based on matching suit or rank (1 or 3 positions). Compress the entire deck into one pile to win.

10. Clock (Grandfather’s Clock)

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Almost Entirely Luck | Win rate | ~1% |

Clock arranges 48 cards in 12 piles of 4 (like a clock face) with 4 cards in the center. Flip cards from the center pile and sort them to their clock position by rank. If the last King is placed, and you still have center cards, you lose.

How to play: All cards are face-down. Flip from center, place on the matching hour position (Ace=1 o’clock, 2=2 o’clock… Queen=12 o’clock, King=center). Pure luck — no decisions to make.

11. Scorpion

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Hard | Win rate | ~10-20% |

Scorpion is similar to Spider but uses only one deck and has all tableau cards visible. Build down by suit in the tableau. The kicker: you can move any face-up card plus everything below it, regardless of order — similar to Yukon.

How to play: 7 columns with 3 reserve cards dealt later. Build suited sequences from King to Ace to remove them.

12. Baker’s Dozen

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Moderate | Win rate | ~65-80% |

Thirteen columns of 4 cards each (52 cards, no stock). Kings are moved to the bottom of their columns during setup. Build down regardless of suit in the tableau; build up by suit on foundations.

How to play: Nice balance of strategy and accessibility. High win rate makes it satisfying without being trivial.

13. Forty Thieves (Napoleon at St. Helena)

| Decks | 2 | Difficulty | Very Hard | Win rate | ~5-10% |

A two-deck game with 10 tableau columns of 4 cards each (40 visible cards). Build down by suit only — much more restrictive than most games. The remaining 64 cards form the stock.

How to play: Strict suit-matching in the tableau makes this incredibly challenging. Named after Napoleon’s exile, suggesting he may have played it.

14. Calculation

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Moderate-Hard | Win rate | ~25-40% |

One of the most unique Solitaire variants. Four foundations start with A, 2, 3, and 4 — and each builds up by different increments (1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s wrapping around). A pure strategy game with no hidden cards.

How to play: Foundation 1: A, 2, 3, 4… Foundation 2: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Q… Foundation 3: 3, 6, 9, Q… Foundation 4: 4, 8, Q… Each wraps around past King.

15. Russian Solitaire

| Decks | 1 | Difficulty | Very Hard | Win rate | ~5-15% |

Russian Solitaire is Yukon’s harder sibling. Same layout and movement rules as Yukon, but you must build by suit instead of alternating colors. This dramatically reduces available moves.

How to play: Same as Yukon but with suit-matching builds.

Quick Reference: All 15 Games Ranked

Note: Clock and Accordion excluded from ranking as they’re more curiosities than strategy games.

Ready to play? Start with 6 of the best Solitaire games online — free, no download, playable on any device.