The 10 Best Solo Card Games (Solitaire and Beyond)

You only need yourself and a deck of cards for a good game. These ten solitaire and patience games range from the Klondike everyone knows to lesser-known challenges like Forty Thieves and Scorpion. Most can be played on a table, a plane tray, or even on your lap in bed.

01/10 1 players

♠ Klondike

★ Editors' top pick

Klondike

1 players Medium Difficulty Medium Age 8+

The game most people mean when they say 'Solitaire.' Seven cascading columns, four foundation piles, and a deck full of attempts.

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02/10 1 players

♥ FreeCell

FreeCell

1 players Medium Difficulty Medium Age 8+

Nearly every deal is solvable, which makes every loss feel personal. The thinking-player's solitaire.

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03/10 1 players

♣ Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire

1 players Long Difficulty Hard Age 10+

Two decks, ten columns, and eight sequences to build. Longer, harder, and the solitaire variant that wins your whole afternoon.

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04/10 1 players

♦ Pyramid Solitaire

Pyramid Solitaire

1 players Short Difficulty Easy Age 6+

Clear a pyramid of cards by pairing ranks that sum to thirteen. Short, strictly mathematical, and brutally unforgiving.

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05/10 1 players

♠ TriPeaks

TriPeaks

1 players Short Difficulty Easy Age 6+

Three overlapping peaks of cards; remove them in runs. Closer to a puzzle than classic patience, with a cleaner rhythm.

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♣ ♥ ♠ ♦

06/10 1 players

♥ Yukon Solitaire

Yukon Solitaire

1 players Medium Difficulty Medium Age 8+

Like Klondike but every face-up card is movable and you get no stock pile. Harder because nothing is hidden.

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07/10 1 players

♣ Golf Solitaire

Golf Solitaire

1 players Short Difficulty Easy Age 6+

Empty a seven-column tableau by running sequences into a waste pile. Short, addictive, and scored like a round of golf.

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08/10 1 players

♦ Canfield Solitaire

Canfield Solitaire

1 players Short Difficulty Medium Age 8+

The game that killed a whole generation of 1890s resort tourists. Harder than Klondike with a tighter stock mechanic.

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09/10 1 players

♠ Forty Thieves

Forty Thieves

1 players Long Difficulty Hard Age 10+

Two decks, ten columns, every card face up. Infamously hard; winning feels like cracking a safe.

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10/10 1 players

♥ Accordion Solitaire

Accordion Solitaire

1 players Short Difficulty Hard Age 10+

A single row where you collapse cards into stacks based on suit or rank. The whole game fits on a train-seat tray.

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