Solitaire is a popular card game that has been made popular by Microsoft by including it and its variants in its Windows PC. Though there are many variants of Solitaire card games, few of the variants are quite popular. Here is a list of the five most popular variants of Solitaire with information about the rules to play the game.
1. Classic Solitaire
This is the most popular variant of the Solitaire game which is actually popularly known as Solitaire. The game requires a mixture of strategy and skills to win the game and relaxes and forces the mind to focus at the same time. In Classic Solitaire, the foundation piles of each suit need to be arranged with cards in sequence from Ace to King. The cards which are present on the table can be moved in such a way that only the cards which are one higher to the below card and belong to the opposite colour can be placed. Movement of multiple cards is allowed only when the group of cards that needs to be moved are arranged in descending order and are of alternate colours. The empty columns of the table can only either be filled with kinds or a sequential group with a king at the top.
2. Klondike Solitaire
52 playing cards are involved in this game where 28 cards are shuffled to be placed on the table. In Klondike Solitaire, each foundation pile comes with its very own suit where the cards are to be arranged from ace to king. Moving cards in the game is only possible when it is one higher than the card and belongs to the opposite colour. Multiple cards can be moved in the game only when cards are of alternating colour and are arranged in descending order. The game allows the users to either choose one draw or three draws depending upon the number of cards that they want to deal with.
3. Freecell Solitaire
Freecell Solitaire is said to be a unique variation of the solitaire game as all the cards which are involved in the game are dealt face-up. Also, most of the deals of this game can be won which is rare in the game of Solitaire. In FreeCell Solitaire, all the cards present in the table need to be moved to the foundation pile to win the game. Cards of the foundation piles need to be started with aces of each suit and then the cards need to be arranged in sequential order. Cards can only be moved from one column to another column only when it is of one higher-order and belongs to an alternate colour.
4. Spider Solitaire
Before starting the game of Spider Solitaire, the player has to first choose the difficulty level. In the game, all the cards which are present on the table need to be sorted into eight foundation piles which are placed at the top of the screen. The player then has to start placing the card in the foundation pile in descending order. All the cards which are arranged in descending order should belong to the same suit. The rules vary slightly for the one suit solitaire, two suit solitaire and four suits solitaire but the basic rules for all the variations of Spider Solitaire remain the same.
5. Crescent Solitaire
This solitaire game earned its name Crescent Solitaire because the outer piles are arranged in the form of a crescent. The top four piles of the game start at kings and the cards involved need to be arranged in descending order from the king to ace. However, the bottom four piles need to be arranged from aces to kings. Cards that belong to the same suit can be moved between different foundation piles both in ascending and descending order. The game is chaotic and requires a proper strategy to arrange all the cards in suitable order.
In addition to these five solitaire games, other solitaire games which are popular are Addiction Solitaire, Forty Thieves solitaire, Canfield Solitaire, Pyramid Solid, Golf solitaire and Tripeaks solitaire. Based on the liking, a player can try their hands on any of this solitaire. It is recommended to start from an easy level and then gradually increase the difficulty level of the card games.
