Solitaire uses a lot of familiar card-game terms, but words like tableau, foundation, stock, waste, cascade and run can mean different things depending on the game. This glossary explains the most useful Solitaire terms in plain English.
Solitaire Terms Explained
Solitaire has its own vocabulary.
Some of it is simple once you have seen the board a few times.
Other terms can be confusing because the same word appears across several games but does not always work in exactly the same way.
The tableau is the main playing area.
The stock holds cards waiting to come into play.
The waste receives cards drawn from that stock.
Foundations are usually where completed cards are built toward a win.
Then you move into games like FreeCell, Spider, Tri Peaks and Pyramid and start hearing about cascades, free cells, runs, exposed cards and redeals.
None of these terms are particularly complicated.
They are just easier to understand when you see how they fit into actual games.
If you are learning classic Klondike first, the How to Play Solitaire guide shows most of the basic terms in context.
Tableau
The tableau is the main area where most of the game takes place.
In Klondike Solitaire, the tableau is made up of seven columns.
Those columns contain both face-up and face-down cards, and you build downward in alternating colours.
In FreeCell, the tableau is also the main group of card columns, although every card begins face up.
Spider uses a larger tableau because it is played with two decks.
The exact rules change from game to game, but the basic idea remains the same.
The tableau is the working area.
It is where cards are moved, uncovered, organised and eventually cleared.
If somebody says a card is “in the tableau,” they simply mean it is sitting in the main layout rather than the stock, waste, foundation or another special area.
Foundation
A foundation is a pile where cards are normally built toward completing the game.
In Klondike, there are four foundations.
Each one begins with an Ace and builds upward in the same suit:
Ace, 2, 3, 4 and so on until King.
FreeCell uses the same general foundation system.
Once all four suits have been built from Ace to King, the game is complete.
Foundations are important because cards moved there are usually leaving the main puzzle behind.
But that does not mean you should always move a card to the foundation as soon as possible.
In some positions, keeping a card in the tableau gives you more flexibility.
That distinction between a legal foundation move and a useful foundation move is part of Klondike Strategy Basics.
Not every Solitaire game uses foundations.
Spider, Tri Peaks and Pyramid all clear cards in different ways.
Stock
The stock is the pile of undealt or unused cards waiting to enter the game.
In Klondike, the stock sits outside the tableau and supplies new cards when no useful move is available on the board.
Depending on the rules, you may draw one card at a time or three.
In Tri Peaks, the stock gives you a new waste card whenever your current run stops.
In Pyramid, stock cards can provide matching partners for exposed pyramid cards.
Spider uses its stock differently again.
Instead of drawing one card into a waste pile, a stock deal places a new card onto each tableau column.
The same word therefore describes a similar idea—cards waiting outside the active layout—but the way those cards enter play depends on the game.
Waste
The waste is where cards drawn from the stock are placed.
The waste card is the current playable card on top of that pile. Because only the top card is available, drawing again changes which waste card you can use.
In Klondike, the top waste card can move onto the tableau or a foundation if the move is legal.
In Tri Peaks, the waste card becomes the centre of the game because exposed tableau cards must be one rank higher or lower than it.
In Pyramid, the current waste card can pair with an exposed pyramid card if the two values add up to 13.
The waste is sometimes called a discard pile, although “waste” is the more common Solitaire term.
It is not just somewhere cards go. Its top card is often an active part of the puzzle, which is why stock timing matters in several Solitaire games.
Draw 1
Draw 1 is a common Klondike stock rule.
Each time you use the stock, one card is turned onto the waste.
That makes stock access relatively straightforward because every card becomes available individually.
Draw 1 is generally easier to manage than Draw 3 because you have more direct access to the cards.
It is still possible to make poor stock decisions, but the order is easier to follow.
You can play Klondike Solitaire using the available game modes and see how different stock rules change the rhythm of the game.
Draw 3
Draw 3 means three cards are turned from the stock at a time.
Usually only the top card of that group is immediately playable.
That makes stock order much more important.
A useful card can sit underneath another card and remain inaccessible until the cards above it have been used or the stock cycles around again.
The rules of Klondike stay mostly the same.
The way you manage the stock changes considerably.
That is why Draw 1 vs Draw 3 Solitaire can feel like a comparison between two versions of the same game rather than a tiny rule change.
Redeal
A redeal happens when you reach the end of the stock and are allowed to use those cards again.
The exact method depends on the Solitaire variant.
Some games allow unlimited redeals.
Others allow a fixed number.
Some allow none at all.
In Solitaire Arcade's Medium Pyramid mode, for example, the stock can be traversed three times.
Redeals can have a major effect on difficulty because they give you another chance to reach a card that appeared at the wrong time on an earlier pass.
Whenever you see a rule such as “three passes through the stock,” that is essentially describing how many times the stock can be redealt or traversed.
Tableau Column
A tableau column is one vertical group of cards inside the tableau.
Klondike has seven.
FreeCell has eight.
Spider has ten.
Columns matter because the position of a card inside one determines how easy it is to reach.
A useful Ace near the bottom of a short column may become available quickly.
The same Ace buried beneath ten other cards is a much larger problem.
Empty columns can also become strategically important.
In FreeCell and Spider especially, an empty column is not just empty space.
It is room to reorganise the board.
Cascade
A cascade is the FreeCell term commonly used for one of the eight tableau columns.
If somebody talks about moving a card from one cascade to another, they are talking about moving it between tableau columns.
The term helps distinguish those columns from the four free cells and four foundations.
FreeCell terminology can sound more complicated than the game itself.
In practical terms:
Cascades are the main card columns.
Free cells are temporary storage.
Foundations are where cards eventually go.
The How to Play FreeCell guide shows how those three areas work together.
Free Cell
A free cell is one of the four temporary storage spaces in FreeCell.
Each free cell can hold one card.
That sounds modest, but those spaces are central to the game.
Moving a card into a free cell can uncover something useful in the tableau.
It can help rearrange a sequence.
It can also reduce your ability to move groups of cards if you fill the cells too early.
A free cell is therefore not simply somewhere to park an awkward card.
It is a resource.
That is why FreeCell Free Cells vs Empty Columns treats space management as one of the game's key strategic ideas.
Empty Column
An empty column is a tableau column with no cards in it.
In many Solitaire games, this is extremely valuable.
Klondike allows Kings, or sequences beginning with a King, to move into empty tableau columns.
FreeCell can use an empty cascade as temporary working space.
Spider can use an empty column to reorganise cards and move sequences around the board.
An empty column often gives you more freedom than a single empty cell because it can hold more than one card or sequence, depending on the rules.
Creating empty space is therefore often a strategic goal rather than just a side effect of moving cards.
Exposed Card
An exposed card is a card that is currently available to play.
The exact meaning depends on the layout.
In Klondike, this usually means the face-up card at the bottom of a tableau column.
In Tri Peaks, a card becomes exposed once the cards overlapping it have been removed.
Pyramid works in the same general way.
A card may be visible in the pyramid but still not be exposed because other cards are covering part of it.
That difference matters.
Visible means you can see it.
Exposed means you can use it.
This is particularly important in Pyramid Solitaire, where much of the strategy comes from deciding which cards to remove so new ones become exposed.
Face-Up Card
A face-up card is simply a card whose rank and suit can be seen.
That does not always mean the card can be moved.
A face-up card may still have other cards sitting on top of it.
This is common in Spider, where long sections of the tableau may be face up but only the lower portion of a sequence is movable.
The term describes information.
Not necessarily availability.
Face-Down Card
A face-down card is hidden from the player.
Klondike begins with face-down cards buried in most tableau columns.
Spider does the same.
Uncovering those cards is usually a major source of progress because it gives you new information and new possible moves.
FreeCell stands apart because all cards begin face up.
That is one reason FreeCell vs Solitaire feels like a comparison between visible planning and hidden discovery.
Run
A run is a sequence of cards that follows the game's required rank pattern.
The meaning changes slightly between variants.
In Spider, a descending sequence such as 9-8-7-6 can be described as a run.
A complete same-suit King-to-Ace run can eventually be removed from the tableau.
In Tri Peaks, “run” often describes a chain of consecutive removals.
For example, you might play 7-8-9-8-7-6 without drawing from the stock.
The cards are not being stacked together.
They are forming a run of legal plays.
So when you see the term, the game matters.
Spider runs are built.
Tri Peaks runs are played.
Sequence
A sequence is a group of cards arranged in a particular order.
In Klondike, a descending alternating-colour group such as black 9, red 8, black 7 is a sequence.
In Spider, descending cards form sequences too, but same-suit sequences are especially important because they are easier to move and are needed to complete the game.
“Sequence” and “run” are sometimes used almost interchangeably.
The useful distinction is usually contextual.
A sequence describes the cards being in order.
A run often describes that ordered group as something being built, moved or played.
The How to Build Same-Suit Runs in Spider Solitaire shows why that difference matters in practice.
Same-Suit Run
A same-suit run is a descending sequence where every card belongs to the same suit.
For example:
9♠, 8♠, 7♠, 6♠.
This is especially important in Spider Solitaire.
You can often temporarily build descending cards across different suits, depending on the mode, but only same-suit sequences give you the clean organisation needed to complete a full King-to-Ace run.
In harder Spider games, much of the challenge comes from turning mixed-suit stacks into same-suit runs.
A legal sequence is useful.
A clean same-suit sequence is usually much more useful.
Complete Run
In Spider, a complete run is a same-suit sequence from King all the way down to Ace.
King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace.
Once that complete run is formed, it is removed from the tableau.
Spider is won when all eight complete runs have been cleared.
This effectively takes the place of traditional foundations.
The cards do not get built upward into four piles as they do in Klondike.
They are organised into full descending suit sequences and removed.
Build, Build Up and Build Down
To build means to place cards into an ordered sequence according to the rules of the game.
Build down means arranging cards from higher rank to lower rank—for example 10, 9, 8, 7. Klondike builds down in alternating colours in the tableau. Spider builds down by rank, while suit affects how useful or movable the resulting sequence is.
Build up means arranging cards from lower rank to higher rank. Foundations in Klondike and FreeCell build up by suit from Ace to King: Ace, 2, 3, 4 and onward. A 4 of Hearts must go onto the 3 of Hearts, not just any 3.
FreeCell uses similar building rules in its cascades and foundations. When a guide says “build on the 9,” it means place an allowed 8 onto that 9. The game rules determine which 8 is legal.
Alternating Colours
Alternating colours means switching between red and black cards as you build.
In Klondike, a black 8 can be placed on a red 9.
A red 7 can then be placed on that black 8.
The suit itself does not need to alternate in a specific way.
Only the colour matters.
Hearts and Diamonds are red.
Clubs and Spades are black.
This rule is one of the defining mechanics of Klondike-style tableau building.
By Suit
By suit means cards must belong to the same suit.
If you are building a Hearts foundation, every card in that pile must be a Heart.
Spider uses suit in another way.
Descending mixed-suit sequences may sometimes be legal, but complete runs need to be organised within the same suit.
Whenever “by suit” appears in a rule, colour alone is not enough.
The actual suit symbol matters.
Rank
A card's rank is its value or position.
Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on through Jack, Queen and King.
Rank is different from suit.
The 8 of Hearts and 8 of Spades have different suits but the same rank.
That distinction matters particularly in Tri Peaks and Pyramid, where suits do not control legal matches.
Those games mostly care about rank.
Suit
A card's suit is Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs or Spades.
Suit is crucial in some Solitaire games and almost irrelevant in others.
Klondike foundations must be built by suit.
Spider becomes much harder when several suits are in play.
FreeCell foundations also build by suit.
Tri Peaks does not care about suits when removing cards.
Pyramid does not care about suits when making pairs that add up to 13.
Understanding whether a game cares about rank, colour or suit can save a lot of confusion when moving between Solitaire variants.
Pair
A pair in Pyramid Solitaire means two available cards whose values add up to 13.
The valid pairs are:
Ace and Queen.
2 and Jack.
3 and 10.
4 and 9.
5 and 8.
6 and 7.
Kings are removed alone because a King already has a value of 13.
The full pairing system is covered in Pyramid Solitaire Pairs: What Cards Add Up to 13?.
The important terminology point is that a Pyramid “pair” is based entirely on value.
The suits do not need to match.
Stock Traversal
A stock traversal is one complete trip through the stock.
If a game allows three traversals, you can work through the stock three times.
The term is particularly useful in Pyramid because the same stock order can become more valuable once you have seen it.
A card that was useless on the first traversal may be exactly what you need on the second.
The Pyramid Solitaire strategy guide looks more closely at using those repeat passes deliberately.
Deal
The deal can mean either the act of dealing the cards or the particular arrangement of cards created by that deal.
When somebody says “this deal is difficult,” they mean the specific card layout they were given.
When somebody says “deal from the stock,” they mean placing new cards into play.
Context usually makes the meaning obvious.
A single deal can be easy, difficult or even impossible to solve depending on the game and its rules.
Deal From the Stock
To deal from the stock means introducing new stock cards into the active game.
In Spider, this phrase has a very specific meaning.
A stock deal places one new card onto each tableau column.
That can dramatically change the board.
It may give you useful cards.
It may also cover carefully organised sequences.
That is why When to Deal From the Stock in Spider Solitaire treats dealing as a strategic decision rather than something you automatically do whenever play slows down.
Legal Move
A legal move is any move allowed by the rules.
That does not mean it is a good move.
This is one of the most useful distinctions across Solitaire.
Moving a card may be legal but block a better sequence.
Sending a card to the foundation may be legal but remove something you still need in the tableau.
A Pyramid pair may be legal but expose nothing.
A Spider stock deal may be legal but make the board much harder.
Solitaire strategy begins when you stop asking only, “Can I make this move?”
The better question is, “What does this move improve?”
Available Move
An available move is a legal move you can make in the current position.
A move might exist in theory but still not be available because a card is covered, buried in the stock or blocked by another sequence.
This distinction is especially useful in Pyramid.
You may be able to see a 6 and 7 in the layout, but if one is still covered, the pair is not available.
The cards match.
The move does not exist yet.
Blocked Card
A blocked card is one you cannot currently reach or use because other cards are in the way.
Klondike cards can be blocked under tableau stacks.
Spider cards can be buried beneath sequences.
Pyramid cards are blocked by overlapping cards beneath them.
FreeCell cards can be effectively blocked because moving the cards above them would require more temporary space than you have.
A lot of Solitaire strategy comes down to deciding which blocked cards are worth working toward first.
Supermove
A supermove is a FreeCell term for moving a sequence of cards as though it were one move, provided the position contains enough free cells and empty columns to make the movement possible.
Behind the scenes, the sequence could theoretically be moved one card at a time using the available space.
The interface simply performs that legal series of moves for you.
The number of cards you can move depends on how much working space is available.
That is why empty free cells and empty cascades make larger moves possible.
Autoplay
Autoplay is a game feature that automatically moves obvious cards to their destination, usually foundations.
It is not really a Solitaire rule.
It is an interface convenience.
Autoplay can make games feel quicker because you do not need to manually move every safe Ace, 2 or 3.
But the exact behaviour depends on the version of the game you are playing.
Whenever strategy matters, it is still useful to understand what the automated move is doing.
Patience
Patience is another name for Solitaire.
The term is especially common outside North America.
Historically, “patience games” refers to the broad family of single-player card games that includes Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid and many others.
So if you see “patience” in an old card-game book or article, it is usually talking about the same family of games now commonly called Solitaire.
Solitaire
Solitaire is both the name people commonly use for Klondike and the broader name for an entire family of mostly single-player card games.
That creates a little confusion.
Someone saying “I play Solitaire” may mean Klondike specifically.
Someone talking about “types of Solitaire” may be including FreeCell, Spider, Pyramid, Tri Peaks, Golf, Yukon, Forty Thieves and many more.
The difference is context.
If you want to see how broad the family actually is, Types of Solitaire Games compares several of the major styles.
Once You Know the Terms, the Games Get Easier to Learn
Solitaire vocabulary can look more complicated than it is.
Tableau is the main playing area.
The stock holds cards waiting to enter play.
The waste receives cards from that stock.
Foundations are where cards are usually built toward completion.
Free cells provide temporary space.
Runs and sequences are ordered groups of cards.
Exposed cards are available.
Blocked cards are not.
Once those ideas become familiar, moving from one Solitaire game to another becomes much easier.
You stop learning an entirely new language each time.
You start recognising the same ideas being used in different ways.
If you want to see those terms in action, try Klondike Solitaire, FreeCell, Spider Solitaire, Tri Peaks or Pyramid Solitaire. Each game uses the same deck of familiar cards, but gives that vocabulary a slightly different job.
