Patience games differ in three ways: how much is hidden, how strict the building rules are and how much room you have. Together they decide how often a game can be won and how much it rewards thinking ahead.
What the solver found
To choose our numbered deals, a solver that sees every card tried hundreds of random shuffles. Its results are a rough guide to difficulty. They are a lower limit: a deal the solver did not win within its search budget may still be winnable.
- FreeCell: won 32 of 33 shuffles. Almost every deal can be won.
- Klondike Draw 1: won 25 of 34.
- Klondike Draw 3: won 15 of 24.
- Yukon: won 28 of 32.
- Canfield: won 20 of 40 with Draw 3 and 10 of 10 with Draw 1.
- Spider: won 14 of 21 with one suit and 12 of 39 with two.
- Scorpion: won 24 of 120.
- Forty Thieves and four-suit Spider: too large for the solver.
Gentle
One-suit Spider and Klondike Draw 1 forgive mistakes and teach the basic moves. FreeCell is gentle in another way: nothing is hidden, so a careful player wins nearly every deal.
Steady
Yukon and two-suit Spider ask for planning. You will win often, but not by playing the first move you see.
Testing
Klondike Draw 3, Canfield and Scorpion lose more games than they give. Each has its own trap: the rhythm of the stock, the reserve and buried Kings.
Formidable
Forty Thieves and four-suit Spider are long games with little room. Wins are rare and well earned.
Luck or skill?
The deal is luck; the play is skill. In FreeCell, where everything is visible, the result is almost all skill. In Klondike Draw 3 or Forty Thieves the cards have more say. Our numbered deals help either way: replay the same deal and you will see how much a better plan changes the outcome. Start in the library.
Guides
- Reading a deal before your first moveWhat to look at before you touch a card.
- Empty columns and free cellsThe most valuable space on the table, and how to spend it.