Learn Solitaire Setup: Basic Rules and Card Placement

Solitaire is a classic card game that's extremely popular worldwide. You can play the game alone, both online and with a real deck of cards. It’s fun, relaxing, and a great way to unwind. But to get the most out of the game, a proper solitaire set-up is essential. Once you know the rules and how to set them up correctly, you are ready to play. 

How to Set Up Solitaire

Here's how to set up the solitaire cards in a few simple steps. All you need to get started is a standard deck of playing cards.

Dealing The Cards

To set up the Solitaire game, start by shuffling a standard 52-card deck. Then, begin dealing cards into the tableau. The tableau consists of seven columns. Start by placing one face-up card in the first column. Next, you will place six cards face down and one face up. Each row adds one more face-down card before ending with a face-up card on top. These seven cards make up the starting point of your columns and are key to how the game begins.

Second Column

When it comes to solitaire setup, the next step is to start the second column. This is the next part of the tableau. Deal one card face up onto the second column. Then, deal one card face down onto each of the remaining five columns to the right. This continues the pattern of increasing the number of face-down cards in each new column. The goal is to create a layout where each column ends with one face-up card on top of a stack of hidden cards.

Third Pile

In this step, skip the first and second columns because they have already been done. Start with the third column and place one face-up card on it. Then, place one face-down card on each of the next four columns. This means you will deal with face-down cards on the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh columns. After you finish this round, the first three columns will have face-up cards on top. The last four columns will still have face-down cards. 

Fourth Column

Now, move to the fourth column. Place one face-up card on the fourth column. Then, place one face-down card on each of the last three columns, which are the fifth, sixth, and seventh. This step continues the solitaire set-up. After doing this, you will have four columns on the left that each have a face-up card on top. The remaining three columns on the right will have face-down cards.

Fifth Column

Start with the fifth column in this step. Place one face-up card on the fifth column. Then, place one face-down card on the sixth and seventh columns. This keeps the pattern going, where each new column has fewer face-down cards. After this round, you will have five columns on the left with face-up cards on top. The last two columns on the right will still have face-down cards. This setup gives you more visible cards to play solitaire with while keeping some cards hidden.

Sixth Column

In this step, begin with the sixth column. Place one face-up card on the sixth column. Then, place one face-down card on the seventh column. You are almost done setting up the tableau. After this round, you will have six columns with face-up cards on top and only one column, which is the seventh, with a face-down card. 

Final Card

To complete the solitaire set-up, place the final card face-up on the seventh column. Now, all seven columns in your tableau are ready. Each column should have one face-up card on top, and the number of cards in each column increases from left to right. The first column has one card, the second has two, the third has three, and so on until the seventh column, which has seven cards.

Creating The Stockpile

After the solitaire set-up of the table, you will have 24 cards left in the deck. These remaining cards are called the stockpile. When you start playing the game, the waste pile is formed right next to the stockpile. Place them face down in a neat pile above or beside the tableau. You will use the stockpile during the game to draw new cards when no moves are available on the tableau. It gives you more chances to find useful cards and helps keep the game going.

Build Foundation Piles

The foundation piles are four empty spaces where you build each suit from Ace to King. Place them above the tableau. As you play and uncover Aces, you move them to these foundation spots. There are four foundation piles, where one pile is for hearts, one for diamonds, one for clubs, and one for spades. The game is won when all foundation piles are complete. Now, the solitaire set-up is complete.

Start Playing

Once the Solitaire setup is complete, you can start playing classic or Klondike Solitaire according to the gameplay.

Objective Of The Game

The main objective of Solitaire is to move all 52 cards to the four foundation piles. Each foundation pile must be built in order, starting with an Ace and ending with a King, and all cards in a pile must be of the same suit.

Exhaust The Tableau Before You Proceed

Before touching the stockpile, focus on the visible cards already dealt in the tableau. These are the face-up cards at the bottom of each column. Check if any face-up cards can be moved onto another column. You can place a lower card on a higher one, but only if they are in descending order and opposite colors. For example, you can move a red 6 onto a black 7.

Draw and Place The Cards

Once the tableau is exhausted, draw cards from the stockpile one at a time. Check if the card can be played on the tableau by placing it on a card of the opposite color and one number higher. If it fits, move it to the correct spot. If it can’t be used right away, place it in the waste pile for later. This step helps you find new cards that might open up more moves.

Reveal Hidden Cards Whenever Possible

When you move a face-up card and leave a face-down one behind, flip the hidden card face up. You can reveal only the top card at a time. This gives you more playable cards and helps unlock the column and reveal the remaining cards.

Create Empty Columns

If you clear a whole column with no cards left, you can only place a King or the King with cards stacked under it in that empty space. This creates room to rearrange cards and reach face-down ones.

Begin Transferring Cards To The Foundation Piles

As you uncover Aces, start moving them to the foundation piles. Each foundation pile must be built in order by suit, from Ace to King. For example, after placing the Ace of Hearts, you will add the 2 of Hearts, then the 3 of Hearts, and so on. Keep an eye out for cards that belong in the foundation. Moving them out of the tableau not only brings you closer to winning but also clears space to rearrange other cards.

Winning

You win the classic or the Klondike Solitaire when all 52 cards are successfully moved to the four foundation piles. Each pile must be built in order, starting from Ace and ending with King, all in the same suit. 

Key Solitaire Terms

Tableau: This is the main area where you set up the game with seven piles of cards. You move cards around here to create sequences in descending order and alternating colors.

Stockpile: These are the 24 leftover cards after setting up the tableau. You draw cards from the stockpile during the game when you run out of moves.

Waste pile: When you draw a card from the stockpile but can't play it right away, it goes into the waste pile. You can still use the top card of the waste pile if a good move comes up later.

Foundation Piles: There are 4 foundation piles, one for each suit: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. You win the game by building each pile in order from Ace to King, using the same suit for each pile.

Set up for popular Solitaire versions

Here's how to set up solitaire for other variants.

Spider Solitaire

Unlike classic solitaire, spider Solitaire is played with two decks of cards, which makes a total of 104 cards. For the spider solitaire set up, you must deal 10 columns. The first four columns each get 6 cards, and the remaining six columns get 5 cards each, and they form the cards in the tableau.

Only the top card in each column is placed face-up, and the rest stay face-down.

The leftover cards form the stockpile, which is used to deal extra rows as you play. There are no foundation piles at the start. Instead, you aim to build complete sequences of the same suit, from King down to Ace. Completed sequences are removed from the game.

FreeCell Solitaire

FreeCell uses a 52-card deck, which is different because all the cards are dealt face-up at the start. Deal the cards into 8 columns to begin the solitaire set-up. Here, the first four columns get 7 cards each, and the last four get 6 cards each.

You also need to leave space for 4 free cells, which act as temporary holding spots for single cards, and 4 foundation piles where you will build up each suit from Ace to King. There’s no stockpile in this version.

Pyramid Solitaire

Pyramid Solitaire has a unique setup. Use a standard 52-card deck of cards and deal the cards in a pyramid shape. So, how to set up solitaire cards? Start with 1 card on top, then 2 in the next row, 3 in the next, and continue until you have 7 rows with a total of 28 cards.

All cards are dealt face-up, but only cards that aren’t covered can be played. The remaining 24 cards form the stockpile. The goal is to remove pairs of cards that add up to 13. Kings can be removed by themselves. The game ends when the pyramid is cleared or no more moves remain.

Golf Solitaire

Golf Solitaire uses a standard 52-card deck. Deal 7 columns with 5 cards each, all face-up so you can see every card from the start. The remaining 17 cards become the stockpile, placed face-down.

Next to it, leave space for one foundation pile. The game starts by moving one stockpile card to the foundation to begin play. Your goal is to move cards from the tableau to the foundation pile in ascending or descending order, regardless of suit.

Yukon Solitaire

Yukon Solitaire uses a 52-card deck, like Klondike, but with a twist. Deal 7 columns from left to right. The first column has 1 face-up card, the second has 6 cards with 5 face-down and 1 face-up, and the third has 7 cards with 5 face-down, 2 up, and so on.

Each new column adds one face-up card on top. All 52 cards are used in the tableau, and there’s no stockpile in Yukon. You can move any face-up card or group of cards, even if the group is not in perfect order, as long as the top card fits the destination column. The goal is still to build foundation piles from Ace to King.