3 Solitaire Variants to Play for Free on Mobile Devices

Solitaire is undoubtedly one of the oldest card games we know of and, being a timeless classic, has conquered entire generations of players over the years. With the arrival of the internet and modern digital infrastructures, it has found new life, revealing itself as a perfect pastime for those who want to enjoy a moment of relaxation or for those who want to challenge their skills.

In fact, Solitaire had an incredible diffusion in the 90s thanks to to Windows operating systemsthe development of smartphones, tablets and other intuitive mobile devices helps to keep this traditional game on the crest of the wave. But we are not talking only about the classic Klondike, in fact, the internet now allows you to play the most disparate variations.

But what are, in fact, the 3 most popular variants of solitaire that you can play for free on your mobile device?

Klondike Solitaire

Among the countless variations of the solitary that can be played online, Klondike is certainly the most popular and well-known in the world. This version, probably born in the 18th century, has seen an incredible diffusion in the early 90s thanks to its introduction in Windows operating systems. Klondike, in fact, proved to be an ideal minigame to educate the first users of the PC to use the mouse and keyboard.

It generally involves the use of a deck of 52 French cards without Jokers, although it is often played with the Italian playing cards. The tableau consists of 7 columns of horizontal cards: the first column has a single face-up card; the second column has a face-down card and a face-up card on top; the third column has two face-down cards and one face-up card on top, and so on up to the seventh column.

On the left of the table is placed the draw pile (or well), consisting of the remaining cards, while at the top right are placed the four foundation bases (or piles). The aim of the game is to fill the four piles with ladders of cards in ascending order, from Ace to King. To do this, therefore, you must first free up all the cards inside of the tableau creating sequences that respect the alternation of the red-black colours.

Freecell Solitaire

FreeCell is also one of the most popular solitaire variants ever, slightly more simplified than the classic Klondike solitaire. The main difference between FreeCell and the tableau is in this case eight columns of open cards. For the formation of the tableaufurthermore, all the cards in the deck are used, which means that there is no provision for using a well to draw additional cards.

The ability to see all the cards on the table from the beginning of each game, in fact, makes FreeCell much more predictable and characterized by the highest probability of winning. In addition to this, there are the four free cells that the name of the game refers to. These, located at the top left of the tableau, can be used to temporarily place cards, in order to clear the table more quickly and create combinations in an easy way.

As in Klondike, on the right are placed the four piles in which the player must insert their runs in ascending order and respecting the suit of each card. Although the player can see the value of all the cards on the table, he can only move those placed on top of each column. If there are partial runs inside the columns, however, it is possible to move these runs as a group and move them inside another column.

Spider Solitaire

While Freecell is the simplest and most predictable version of solitaire, the Spider variant is appreciated above all for its complexity. It generally involves the use of two decks of 52 cards, and in fact the foundation piles in this case are eight (just like the legs of a spider). You can choose to start a game of Spider by selecting three progressive levels of difficulty: one suit, two suits or four suits.

The tableau consists of ten columns, the first four of which consist of 6 cards and the remaining six columns of 5 cards each. As in Klondike Solitaire, Spider also requires that only the top cards of each column are uncovered. To help clear the table, the player has a deck to draw additional cards and a section dedicated to discards. One of the most interesting aspects of Spider is that, in this variant, the runs must be made in decreasing order, that is, from King to Ace.

As mentioned, players can select three difficulty levels. In the one-suit version, the simplest, you just need to create the card runs without making distinctions between different suits and colors. In the two-suit version, you just need to clear the table considering the alternation of red and black colors. Finally, in the four-suit version, you will need to consider not only the alternation of colors, but also the presence of all four suits, which makes it much more difficult to fill the foundation bases.

Why play solitaire online?

These were just three of the countless variations of solitaire that can be played comfortably online through your mobile devices. Choosing to start a solitaire game online has many advantages, among which is the convenience of having a tableau already formed and ready to be manipulated.

Modern online gaming portals also offer the possibility of playing this traditional pastime completely free of charge, a possibility that should not be taken for granted. Among the features available to new-generation players, there is also the one that allows you to undo the last move made, as well as the possibility of obtaining suggestions and guides that allow you to finish your game more quickly.

We must say, in short, that thanks to technology, this ancient card game has found new life and is still proposed today as a very entertaining pastime for new generation users. Although playing cards have an incredible aggregating power, it is certainly worth trying the games offered by modern online gaming portals, even just to dedicate a moment of relaxation or to test your brain.