Solitaire is not one game but a whole family of card games. Klondike, FreeCell, Spider, Tri Peaks and Pyramid all use familiar cards, but the way you build, match, reveal and clear them can be completely different.
Types of Solitaire Games: More Than One Kind of Solitaire
When most people hear the word Solitaire, they picture Klondike.
Seven tableau columns. Four foundations. A stock and waste pile. Build down in alternating colours and try to move every card to the foundations.
That version is the classic for a reason.
But Solitaire is much bigger than Klondike.
Some games are about building sequences.
Some are about planning with almost all the information visible.
Some ask you to clear cards in runs.
Others barely use traditional building rules at all.
Pyramid asks you to make pairs that add up to 13. Tri Peaks asks you to remove cards one rank above or below the waste. Spider is built around long descending runs and complete same-suit sequences.
They are all solitaire games.
They simply solve the puzzle in very different ways.
If you want the traditional starting point, the How to Play Solitaire guide covers Klondike in full. From there, the rest of the solitaire family starts to make more sense.
Klondike Solitaire: The Classic Building Game
Klondike is the version most people mean when they say Solitaire.
The game uses one deck and seven tableau columns. Cards are built downward in alternating colours, while Aces begin four foundation piles that eventually need to reach King.
What makes Klondike interesting is the balance between hidden and visible information.
Many tableau cards begin face down.
That means progress is often about exposing new cards rather than simply making every legal move you can see.
The stock adds another layer. Depending on whether you are playing Draw 1 or Draw 3, access to those cards can be straightforward or much more restrictive.
Klondike therefore sits somewhere between planning and uncertainty.
You can make strong decisions, but you cannot see the whole deal from the beginning.
That is a major reason it feels different from FreeCell.
You can play Klondike Solitaire, or compare the two common stock modes in Draw 1 vs Draw 3 Solitaire.
FreeCell: Solitaire With Almost Everything Visible
FreeCell takes many familiar Solitaire ideas and removes much of the hidden information.
The tableau is dealt face up.
There is no stock pile.
You can see nearly every problem from the start.
That changes the feel of the game completely.
Instead of waiting to discover what is beneath a face-down card, you are trying to work out how to rearrange the cards you already see.
The four free cells give the game its name. Each can temporarily hold one card, while empty tableau columns can also become valuable working space.
That makes FreeCell heavily focused on movement and space management.
The challenge is not finding information.
It is creating enough room to act on it.
This is why FreeCell often feels more like a puzzle that can be planned several moves ahead.
The How to Play FreeCell guide covers the rules, while FreeCell vs Solitaire looks more closely at how differently the two games ask you to think.
Spider Solitaire: Building Long Runs With Two Decks
Spider feels larger immediately.
Instead of one deck, it uses two.
The tableau is wider, there are no traditional foundation piles during normal play, and the main objective is to build complete descending sequences from King to Ace.
Once a full same-suit sequence is completed, it is removed from the tableau.
Do that eight times and the game is won.
Spider also has one of the clearest difficulty ladders in Solitaire.
In 1 Suit, all cards effectively belong to the same suit for building purposes.
In 2 Suit, managing colour becomes important.
In 4 Suit, building complete same-suit runs becomes much harder because moving mixed-suit sequences is far more restrictive.
That makes Spider less about exposing one particular hidden card and more about organising a crowded board.
Space matters.
Empty columns matter.
The timing of stock deals matters.
And temporary mixed-suit stacks can either help you or become the reason the board locks up.
The How to Play Spider Solitaire guide explains the rules, while Spider 1 Suit vs 2 Suit vs 4 Suit breaks down how much the game changes between difficulties.
Tri Peaks: A Faster Card-Clearing Game
Tri Peaks looks very different from Klondike or FreeCell.
Instead of building tableau columns, cards are arranged into three overlapping peaks.
The goal is to clear exposed cards by playing one that is one rank higher or lower than the current waste card.
A 7 can remove a 6 or 8.
A Queen can remove a Jack or King.
Suit does not matter.
That creates a much faster rhythm.
You are not constructing long stacks. You are trying to build removal runs.
One card leads to another.
Then another.
A good sequence can suddenly clear a large part of the board.
The stock becomes important because once a run ends, drawing the next card may either restart your momentum or leave you with no useful move.
Tri Peaks therefore rewards sequencing and timing rather than traditional tableau building.
The How to Play Tri Peaks guide explains the full system, and Tri Peaks Strategy: How to Build Longer Runs goes deeper into keeping those sequences alive.
Pyramid Solitaire: Matching Pairs Instead of Building Sequences
Pyramid takes Solitaire in another direction again.
There are no foundations.
There are no descending tableau stacks.
You do not build by suit or alternating colour.
Instead, 28 cards form a pyramid and you remove exposed cards in pairs that add up to 13.
A 6 pairs with a 7.
A 5 pairs with an 8.
A Queen pairs with an Ace.
Kings remove themselves.
The matching rule is quick to learn. The overlapping layout is what turns those matches into a puzzle: cards higher up stay locked until the cards covering them are gone, and a partner from the stock may arrive before the pyramid card you need is free.
Pyramid is a matching game built around access.
The How to Play Pyramid Solitaire guide covers the rules, while Pyramid Solitaire Strategy: How to Win More Games focuses on the decisions that matter once the pairs themselves are familiar.
The Main Difference Is What You Are Trying to Build—or Remove
A useful way to understand Solitaire variants is to notice what “progress” looks like on each board.
Klondike and FreeCell both push cards toward foundations, but FreeCell does it with almost everything visible and with free cells as temporary space. Spider is less about foundations during play and more about assembling complete same-suit King-to-Ace runs. Tri Peaks and Pyramid clear cards directly: Tri Peaks by chaining ranks from the waste, Pyramid by unlocking pairs through the overlapping layout.
Those goals change everything else.
A move that would be useful in one game may not even exist in another.
That is why knowing Klondike does not automatically mean you already know FreeCell, Spider or Pyramid.
The cards are familiar.
The puzzle is different.
Some Solitaire Games Hide Information
Hidden information is one of the biggest dividing lines between Solitaire variants.
Klondike hides many tableau cards and keeps most of the stock unknown until you draw through it.
Spider also begins with face-down cards buried in the tableau.
Tri Peaks hides many cards until the overlapping cards below them are removed.
Pyramid shows the entire pyramid layout, but most cards are inaccessible until they become exposed, while the stock still introduces uncertainty.
FreeCell is the major contrast.
Almost every card begins face up.
This makes FreeCell more transparent, but not necessarily easier.
Seeing the problem and solving the problem are two different things.
That distinction is explored in Is Every FreeCell Game Winnable?, where visible information becomes part of the game's strategic character rather than an automatic advantage.
Some Games Depend More Heavily on the Stock
The stock plays very different roles across Solitaire games.
In Klondike, it supplies cards that may be needed for the tableau or foundations.
In Spider, dealing a new row from the stock changes every tableau column at once.
In Tri Peaks, the stock provides the next starting point whenever a removal run ends.
In Pyramid, it supplies temporary partners for exposed pyramid cards.
FreeCell does not use a stock at all.
That difference matters because stock-heavy games naturally contain more timing and uncertainty.
You are often deciding not only what to do with the cards you have, but when to ask the deck for more information.
In Spider, dealing too early can cover useful cards and make the board harder to organise. When to Deal From the Stock in Spider Solitaire looks at that problem in more detail.
The same stock can serve completely different purposes depending on the game.
Foundations Are Not Universal
Foundations are strongly associated with Solitaire because they are central to Klondike and FreeCell.
But many Solitaire games do not use them in the same way—or at all.
Klondike and FreeCell both aim to move cards into four suit-based foundations from Ace upward.
Spider removes completed King-to-Ace same-suit runs instead.
Tri Peaks clears cards directly from the layout.
Pyramid removes pairs.
That makes “get every card onto the foundations” a Klondike-style idea rather than a definition of Solitaire itself.
The broader family is united more by solo card play and puzzle-like decision-making than by one universal board structure.
One Deck or Two Can Change the Feel of the Game
Most familiar Solitaire variants use one standard 52-card deck.
Klondike, FreeCell, Tri Peaks and Pyramid all fit that pattern.
Spider uses two decks.
That immediately increases the amount of material on the board and changes the scale of the puzzle.
There are more copies of every rank and suit.
There are more columns to manage.
And clearing the game requires eight full sequences rather than four traditional foundations.
Two-deck solitaire games often feel longer and more involved simply because there are more relationships to manage.
That does not automatically make them better or harder.
It makes them a different kind of puzzle.
Some Solitaire Games Reward Long-Term Planning
FreeCell is probably the clearest example.
Because the cards are visible, you can often think several moves ahead and work toward creating an empty column or releasing a buried low card.
Spider can also reward long planning sequences, especially in 2 Suit and 4 Suit games where same-suit organisation matters.
Klondike has planning too, but hidden cards limit how far ahead you can know the position.
Pyramid asks for a different kind of planning. You may only be looking a move or two ahead, but the wrong pair can permanently affect which cards become accessible.
Tri Peaks often feels more immediate.
You are looking for the longest possible run from the current waste card and deciding whether taking one card now will open a better route next.
Different solitaire games therefore reward different planning horizons.
Some feel like working through a large puzzle.
Others feel more like keeping a sequence alive.
Luck Matters Differently in Different Solitaire Games
All of these games depend on the deal.
They do not depend on it equally.
FreeCell gives the player a great deal of information and control, which is one reason it has a reputation for rewarding planning.
Klondike contains more hidden information, so a strong move can still reveal an unhelpful card.
Tri Peaks and Pyramid can be strongly affected by stock order and the way inaccessible cards are arranged.
Spider can produce layouts where useful moves are available early and others where the board becomes difficult almost immediately.
Luck is therefore not an on-or-off feature.
It is part of the balance between what the deal gives you and what your decisions can change.
That balance is one of the main reasons different Solitaire variants appeal to different players.
Difficulty Does Not Mean the Same Thing in Every Game
Difficulty does not travel cleanly from one Solitaire game to another.
FreeCell can be hard because space runs out. Spider can be hard because long same-suit organisation takes time. Klondike can stall on hidden cards, Tri Peaks on short runs and awkward stock timing, and Pyramid when matching partners trap each other.
Rather than ranking the games from easiest to hardest, ask which Solitaire game suits you: planning, hidden information, long sequences, restricted movement, or stock timing.
A game can be easy to learn and still demanding to win consistently.
Solitaire Games Also Have Variations Within Variations
Even after choosing a game, there may be several versions of it.
Klondike has Draw 1 and Draw 3.
Spider has 1 Suit, 2 Suit and 4 Suit.
Pyramid can vary in the number of stock traversals allowed and exactly what counts as clearing the game.
Other solitaire families have their own rule variations.
That is why a game name alone does not always tell you everything about the experience.
Small rule changes can affect difficulty, pace and strategy.
Draw 3 Klondike, for example, can feel much more restrictive than Draw 1 because access to the stock changes. Best Draw 3 Solitaire Strategies exists precisely because the same basic game requires a different approach under that rule.
Other Types of Solitaire Games
The Solitaire family extends well beyond the games currently covered here.
Golf Solitaire is another card-clearing game where cards are usually removed by rank relative to the waste, making it closer in spirit to Tri Peaks than Klondike.
Yukon looks more like a tableau-building game but changes how groups of cards can be moved.
Forty Thieves uses two decks and traditionally gives the player much stricter building rules.
There are also countless variations of Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and other patience games.
Some have survived for generations.
Others are small rule changes that create a surprisingly different puzzle.
That variety is part of the appeal of Solitaire.
Once you stop thinking of the word as the name of one game, there is a huge amount to explore.
The Same Deck Can Create Very Different Puzzles
Klondike, FreeCell, Tri Peaks and Pyramid can all begin with the same basic object: a shuffled 52-card deck.
What happens next could hardly be more different.
Klondike asks you to build and reveal.
FreeCell asks you to organise.
Spider asks you to create long suited runs.
Tri Peaks asks you to chain cards together.
Pyramid asks you to find pairs while unlocking a layered layout.
That is really what separates the different types of Solitaire.
Not the cards.
The rules governing what those cards are allowed to do.
If you have only played classic Klondike, trying a different variant can make Solitaire feel like an entirely new kind of game. You can start with Klondike Solitaire, FreeCell, Spider Solitaire, Tri Peaks or Pyramid Solitaire and see how differently the same deck can be turned into a puzzle.
