What Is Classic Solitaire?
Classic Solitaire is a game focused on sorting cards. The aim is to move all cards from the tableau to the foundation piles. Players move cards between columns to sort them into four stacks of cards separated by a suit. You can play Classic Solitaire online for free online as a single player or compete with your friends. It’s one of the most common forms of Solitaire out there.
How To Play Classic Solitaire
The game begins with 28 cards dealt into seven rows and four columns; this arrangement is called the tableau. Seven cards are placed in a row, one facing up and the six others facing down to the right.
The aim is to move cards from the tableau to the foundation pile, starting with an Ace and ending with a King. There’s a stockpile containing cards yet to be transferred to the tableau or foundation and a discard pile, or talon, containing cards that aren’t yet playable.
The player aims to move cards from the tableau to the foundation, starting with an Ace and ending with a King. Hence, moving an Ace or a King is advisable as soon as you get the opportunity. You must start with the cards facing up on the tableau. Every time you move a card facing up, you turn up the card beneath it. Repeat until you get the desired winning arrangement.
Tips For Playing Classic Solitaire
- Move quickly if your Solitaire version has a timer.
- Handle the cards facing down first.
- Don’t empty a spot without a king.
- Flip the top stock card first.
- Play Aces and Kings as soon as you get the opportunity.
- Move cards from the columns with the most face-down cards first.
Where to Play Classic Solitaire Online for Free?
Classic Solitaire (officially named Klondike) is a very popular card game. The first and the most apparent option for the question above would be to use physical card decks. However, not all people want to deal with physical cards for one reason or another. As such, many examples of online Classic Solitaire games can be found throughout the Internet. You can find a number of different examples below.
Solitaire Social lets you play Classic Solitaire for free on your desktop or mobile. The rules are simple: you will be matched with another player with the same card deck, and your goal is to finish sorting the deck before him. Each player has 2 minutes to finish the game, and a timer starts counting if an opponent finishes first. Players score more points as they sort the deck; once the timer runs out, the player with more points wins.
Solitaire Social is a PvP (player versus player) version of Classic Solitaire, so you’ll hardly get bored. You can join tournaments to win prizes.
Solitaire Social also lets you grow a virtual garden while playing Classic Solitaire. The more you play, the more beautiful your garden becomes. We provide a rich selection of garden decorations and upgrade features, so you’ll hardly get bored tending to your virtual space. You can compare your garden with that of your online friends.
Solitaire Bliss
Solitaire Bliss is one of the myriad examples of how to play Classic Solitaire with no download (even though there is a mobile app for Android and iOS devices, as well). The website’s main page starts with the game itself, and plenty of interesting information can be obtained by scrolling down.
Not only does Solitaire Bliss offer free Classic Solitaire, but there are also dozens of other games available on the same website – be it different card games such as FreeCell or Spider, or even Minesweeper or Mahjong Solitaire.
Solitaired
Solitaired is another aggregator of card games that can be played online, offering a number of options to choose from. The starting screen uses the Classic Solitaire version, but Solitaired also supports TriPeaks, Forty Thieves, Pyramid, Spider, FreeCell, Yukon, and even some word games like Phrazle or Clue Hurdle.
The game’s interface itself is relatively simple, and the customization options are somewhat limited. However, there are still some basic options that most Solitaire websites have, such as the Zoom setting, the Animation toggle, and the ability to modify card designs.
ClassicSolitaire.com
ClassicSolitaire.com as a whole can be considered relatively “bare-bones” when compared with the previous examples. It has a simple interface and several different customization options for card decks and the overall gameplay. This website can also provide a number of other card games – Baroness, Aces Up, Batsford, Bowling, and many others.
Similar to how many of these websites operate, scrolling down from the landing page reveals a relatively helpful explanation of how to play Classic Solitaire, including the game’s layout, the overall ruleset, and a short explanation of the game’s goal. The website also has a separate blog page that provides multiple articles on the topic of card games, from tips for specific card game variations to other interesting articles.
Play Solitaire
Another simple version of Classic Solitaire can be found on the Play Solitaire website. It can differentiate between 1-deck and 3-deck Solitaire variations and offers a number of other card games to play. The background and the card front can be customized to a certain degree, but the number of actual game settings is tiny.
Scrolling down on the main page reveals a basic ruleset for the Classic Solitaire, including all four of its different parts – the foundation, the waste, the stock, and the tableau. What is interesting here is the fact that a lot of explanations also come with screenshots for better understanding, which is not a particularly widespread idea in this market.
Online Solitaire
Online Solitaire uses an impressive minimalistic design to present its own take on a website with a free Classic Solitaire. It has a lot of different customization options to choose from, including animation speed, autoplay, sound, and language. There are multiple card designs to choose from, and the field background can also be modified to a certain degree.
Online Solitaire also offers many options that other sites are missing – such as daily challenges, leaderboards, achievements, and so on. The landing page offers answers to several questions about Solitaire as a whole, as well as a quick introduction to the website itself and a rule set for Classic Solitaire.
Classic-Solitaire
Classic Solitaire is one of many games hosted by zolitaire.com – a separate web page that aggregates multiple card games to be played online with no download necessary. Aside from the Classic Solitaire itself, over forty different card games can be chosen on the aforementioned website.
Returning to the Classic Solitaire website, it is relatively basic, with several customization options for spacing, decks, backgrounds, etc. Unfortunately, the menu style cannot be customized, and it stands out quite a lot. Other than that, the website offers practically everything you may find on a regular Classic Solitaire website – a ruleset, a collection of hints for the game, the ability to undo specific moves, etc.
Solitaire – Classic Card Games
Moving towards smartphone-oriented examples of Classic Solitaire, we have one such app from MobilityWare. It is an extremely popular Solitaire version with over 100 million downloads and more than 1.7 million positive reviews. It manages to combine the traditional game of Solitaire with a number of interesting features.
Solitaire by MobilityWare can offer many different card animations to choose from, as well as detailed backgrounds and card covers. It also has leaderboards and daily challenges to keep the game fresh and exciting for all users. The app can offer a choice between 1-card and 3-card Klondike Solitaire, and it also keeps detailed statistics for each user to look at whenever they want to do so.
Classic Solitaire – Card Games
That’s not to say that Solitaire games can be played on Android smartphones only – and the following example is direct proof of that fact. Classic Solitaire – Card Games is an iOS application created by Aged Studio Limited for iPad devices. It has over 40 thousand positive reviews and can be downloaded for free.
This app has many customization options, including support for multiple languages, the choice between 1-hand and 3-hand versions of Klondike solitaire, and different backgrounds and card covers. The game has all the features you’d expect from a free Classic Solitaire game, such as the Undo and Hint buttons.
Solitaire.com Classic Cards
Finishing up this list of card game examples is another Android application called Solitaire.com Classic Cards. It was created by Tripledot Studios in order to present a convenient way for many Android users to play Solitaire from their smartphones and tablets.
The game itself can offer your standard package of features – daily challenges, leaderboards, a convenient interface, and background/card customization. Several options are available to all users, such as Hint, Undo, New Game, and a Booster button – offering several new ways to solve an incomplete Solitaire setup.
Of course, this list is far from conclusive, and hundreds of other examples of Classic Solitaire can be found all over the Internet. Here is another excellent example of such a game – Solitaire Social.
What Is the Average Winning Rate For Classic Solitaire Games?
Not all Classic Solitaire games are winnable. A reasonable win rate for an average player should be between 40% and 60%, but yours may be lower if you’re playing a more challenging version.
You should accept that you can’t win every Classic Solitaire game, but you can put in the effort to make your win rate as high as possible.
How Many Levels Are In Classic Solitaire?
The number depends on the exact game and version you’re playing.
Solitaire Social has 13 levels:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Crystal
- VIP
- Star
- Mastermind
- Champion
- King
- Ace
- Legend
You’ll start at the Bronze level and must win several tournaments to advance to the next level. You get bonuses each time you level up.
Is Classic Solitaire Legit?
Yes, it is. It is a standard Solitaire version that you can play on a physical board or digitally. There are many free online platforms to play Classic Solitaire, including Solitaire Social, which makes the game exciting with interactive and competitive social features. You can play Solitaire Social for free on your PC.
Is Every Game Of Classic Solitaire Winnable?
No, every game is not winnable. Players must accept that they can not win all matches. However, they can hone their strategy to make their winning rate as high as possible. The winning rate for an average player is between 40% and 60%, and very competitive players can go as high as 90% or more. Yet, it’s impossible to win all the games that you play.
How many Different Variations of Solitaire exist?
The base game of Solitaire/Patience has a straightforward rule set, meaning that modifying existing rules to create new games is not that difficult. There are over 500 different versions of Solitaire that are officially recorded and many others that are not.
Is it Difficult to Play Classic Solitaire?
Card games vary a lot when it comes to difficulty. The Classic Solitaire is not the most accessible version of the game, but it is also far from the hardest one. As such, picking up a Solitaire game and learning the basics is simple. However, there are some nuances in this game that can also be challenging, such as developing a winning strategy for a more consistent Solitaire experience.
How is Classic Solitaire Scored?
The game starts at 0 points. Players get awarded for:
- Moving a card from the tableau or stockpile to the foundation
- Moving a card from the stockpile to the tableau
Players lose points for:
- Moving cards from the foundation
- Going through the stockpile for a second time, and more for each consecutive time
