At first glance, Solitaire appears to be a straightforward card game, with the aim of sorting all 52 cards into four foundation piles by suit, ordered from Ace to King.
To get there, you need to shift cards around seven tableau columns in descending order and alternating colours. If no moves are possible on the tableau, you draw from a stock pile.
Every move you undo or stock pile you flip costs you points. A timer tracks your every second. And yes, every move counts.
In fact, it turns out some of us have been playing Solitaire wrong and assuming that it’s an easy game to win; in fact, it boasts a surprising level of mathematical complexity.
One of the game’s biggest mysteries: how often can it actually be won? While Klondike rules are simple, the sheer number of possible arrangements is staggering. Estimates suggest a win rate of around 30% when playing randomly and up to 50-80% if you play strategically. In other words, no – not every game of Solitaire is winnable.
It blends random chance (the card order) with logic-based decision making, creating a perfect cocktail of luck and strategy
This uncertainty is exactly why people can’t get enough of it; every decision you make involves probability, and the wrong move could doom your entire game.
Around 10-20% of games are doomed from the start due to poor card distribution. If all four Aces are buried beneath other cards in the tableau, you’re unlikely to progress.
Mathematicians and computer scientists have even tried to design algorithms in a bid to try and ‘solve’ Solitaire in optimal moves, taking on different variations of the game such as FreeCell and Spider Solitaire.
Think you could give it a good go? Play Solitaire now and keep the rules in mind: build down in alternating colours on the tableau, and build up in matching suits on the foundation. If you get stuck, the Hint button offers a clue, and the Undo button lets you test different strategies – but mind the score penalty!
Play Solitaire now with Express Games and see if you can beat the odds and win!
