Solitaire — Klondike, FreeCell & Spider
Three full solitaire games in one: Klondike with one or three card draw, FreeCell with proper supermoves, and Spider at one, two or four suits.
Playing well
- In Klondike, turn a face-down card over whenever you get the choice. A column you cannot see into is a column you cannot plan around.
- Do not send every Ace and 2 to the foundation the moment it appears — low cards are useful for parking the opposite colour, and once they are on the foundation you cannot get them back.
- In FreeCell, an empty column is worth far more than an empty cell: it doubles how many cards you can move at once, while a cell only adds one.
- In FreeCell, plan the whole sequence before you touch anything. All the information is on the table, so a game lost is a game mis-planned.
- In Spider, prefer the move that uncovers a face-down card over the move that makes a longer run. Runs can be rebuilt; buried cards cost you the game.
- In Spider, keep one column empty as long as you can. You cannot deal from the stock while any column is empty, so it doubles as a pause button.
- The stock in Klondike recycles in the same order, so if drawing three you can count ahead to know exactly which card will come up next time round.
Not every deal can be won
This matters more than most people are told. Roughly one Klondike deal in six is unwinnable no matter how well you play, and drawing three makes it worse. If a game strands you, that is often the deal rather than you — take a new one without feeling you failed it.
FreeCell is the opposite. Of the classic 32,000 numbered deals, every one but a single famously impossible board can be won. So a lost FreeCell game really was winnable, which is exactly why it rewards thinking before touching anything.
How to use
- Pick Klondike, FreeCell or Spider, and the difficulty option beside it.
- Click a card to pick it up, then click where it goes. Click the same column again to take fewer cards.
- Double-click a card to send it straight to a foundation.
Frequently asked questions
Is every deal winnable?
No, and this is worth knowing. Roughly one Klondike deal in six cannot be won by any sequence of moves, and three-card draw is harder still. FreeCell is the opposite — of the classic 32,000 numbered deals, all but one are winnable, so a lost FreeCell game genuinely was yours to win.
Why will Spider not deal from the stock?
Because a column is empty. Spider refuses to deal while any column is empty, which turns an empty column into a pause button — it is one of the few ways to control when the next ten cards land.
Why can I only move one card at a time in FreeCell?
You are not really moving a run at all: the game shuffles the cards through the free cells behind the scenes and puts them back down. So the most you can move is (free cells + 1) doubled for each empty column. Fill the cells and you are back to one card.
Why does an empty column matter so much in FreeCell?
It doubles how many cards you can move at once, while an empty cell only adds one. An empty column is worth far more than an empty cell, and it is the single biggest swing in the game.
Why did my long Spider run not clear?
Spider stacks down by rank in any suit, but only clears a King-to-Ace run in a single suit. Thirteen descending cards of mixed suits is a fine working stack and will never come off the board.
Should I send every Ace to the foundation immediately?
Not always. Low cards are useful on the tableau for parking the opposite colour, and once a card is on a foundation you cannot bring it back. Sending everything home early is one of the most common ways to strand a winnable deal.
What does the Finish it button do?
It appears only when every card is face up and the stock is spent, meaning the result is already decided and the rest is mechanical. It plays those moves for you rather than making you click fifty-two times.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.