In this instance, you can flip over the next stock pile card to create a new waste pile card. You may get stuck with a waste pile card that you can’t pair with a card on the tableau. The tableau card you pair then becomes the top card of the waste pile. For example, if a Jack of Clubs is the top card of the waste pile, you can pair it with either a 10 of any suit or a Quen of any suit in the tableau.

You can only pair the top waste pile card with tableau cards that are one rank higher or lower.

Additionally, when you pair a card from the tableau with the top card in the waste pile, the tableau cards become the new top card of the waste pile, the one that needs to be paired next.

Waste pile: Cards flipped up from the stock pile become the top card in the waste pile.

The first card of the stock pile is flipped up to begin a waste pile, leaving you with only 16 stock pile cards.

Stock pile: The remaining cards are placed face-down and spread out horizontally at the bottom of the tableau.

Each column has 5 cards, and all cards are face-up and overlapping slightly so you can see the ranks of all the cards in the tableau.

Tableau: You need to clear all of the cards in the 7 column tableau.

Golf Solitaire has three basic piles that you use to play the game: ObjectiveĬlear the tableau of cards in the fewest moves possible by pairing the top card from the waste pile with one from the tableau that is one rank higher or lower. You use one deck of cards in this game, and you only have to remove the cards in the 7 column tableau to win. First, the Aces can always go to the foundation, and then the two or deuces will likely follow shortly after.Golf Solitaire has you move all the cards from the tableau to the waste pile to win the game, unlike the traditional Klondike Solitaire where you arrange cards into the foundation piles. It’s considered one of the best moves in the game. Whenever you reveal an Ace or Two from the stockpile, play them, instead of drawing more cards from the stockpile. Generally speaking, you should only ever move cards when there’s a clear benefit or to reveal a hidden card. It’s always tempting to shuffle cards from pile to pile and slowly build them up, but locking valuable cards of varying colors behind lower cards is often a recipe for locking yourself out of victory.

This is especially prevalent in the late game. Always think carefully before building your Ace stacks, as cards that you move into those stacks cannot always be recovered and might lock you into a lose condition if you aren’t careful. This might seem counterintuitive, but moving cards to the upper Ace foundations or stacks above the main tableau can actually cause you problems if you need those cards to maneuver your piles below. More options are always better in Solitaire. In fact, you should always reveal this card as your first move, since it gives you an extra set of options both for building foundation decks (the four slots at the top of the tableau) or for building piles below. This seems simple, but many players make the mistake of beginning to build their piles and move cards around on the tableau before flipping over the first hidden card in the upper deck. Carefully consider what Queen and Jack cards you have available to ensure easy stacking going forward. It dictates the color order for that pile for the rest of the game. Always Keep Color in Mind when Filling a SpaceĬhoosing a red or black King to fill an empty spot is a big decision. This basically blocks off an entire column of play until you get lucky enough to reveal a King from your other cards. But if you don’t have a King to put into that spot, the space will simply remain empty, as only kings can fill those spaces. Many players will make the rookie mistake of emptying tableau spots or piles just to remove all the cards from that slot.

Whittling down these columns of hidden cards as soon as possible always has a better chance of revealing useful cards you can use to build piles of revealed cards. When you’re targeting hidden cards to expose, it’s always recommended that you choose columns with huge stacks behind their current face cards.

Even with the best strategies, there’s always an element of luck in any game, which is part of what makes it so engaging! These tips will maximize your chances of winning the game. But despite its simplicity on its face, there’s a surprising amount of depth in strategy required to consistently win games. Solitaire (also known as Klondike Solitaire) is both one of the oldest and simplest card games in the world.

Play free klondike solitaire aarp