The card room
Seven games, from the gentle one-suit Spider to the stern Forty Thieves. The table below compares their layouts; each portrait leads to the game, its rules and its numbered deals.
KlondikeThe patience most people mean: seven columns, a stock, and twenty-one cards to uncover.Draw 1 · Draw 3
FreeCellEvery card face up from the first moment, four free cells, and almost every deal can be won.
YukonNo stock at all. Move any face-up card with everything on top of it.
Forty ThievesTwo packs, one card at a time, a single pass through the stock. The stern one.
CanfieldA reserve of thirteen cards and foundations that start wherever the first card says.Draw 3 · Draw 1
ScorpionSame-suit building, Kings to empty columns, and loose groups that move together.
SpiderTwo packs in ten columns. Build runs of one suit from King down to Ace.1 suit · 2 suits · 4 suits
The games side by side
| Game | Packs | Columns | Hidden at start | Stock | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klondike | 1 | 7 | 21 | 24 | Draw 1: easy-going; Draw 3: testing |
| FreeCell | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | easy-going |
| Yukon | 1 | 7 | 21 | 0 | steady |
| Forty Thieves | 2 | 10 | 0 | 64 | formidable |
| Canfield | 1 | 4 | 12 | 34 | Draw 3: testing; Draw 1: steady |
| Scorpion | 1 | 7 | 12 | 3 | testing |
| Spider | 2 | 10 | 44 | 50 | 1 suit: gentle; 2 suits: steady; 4 suits: formidable |
Which one to play
New to patience? Start with Klondike Draw 1 or Spider with one suit: both forgive mistakes and show you the basic ideas of building down and uncovering cards.
If you like to think a deal through, FreeCell shows you every card from the start; almost every deal can be won. Yukon keeps that thoughtful feel but adds hidden cards and free-form group moves.
For a challenge, try Klondike Draw 3, Canfield or Scorpion. And when you want a game you will remember winning, Forty Thieves and four-suit Spider are waiting. Our guide on choosing a game compares them using the solver's results.