We all love to play card games with our friends. They are more fun that way! The interaction and competitiveness that card games bring is why they are still popular to this day. 

But, sometimes you have a deck of cards, and no friends around to play a game or 2, or friends who have never played card games. Don’t be discouraged, playing them alone is a good way to increase your card game skills. 

There are many ways to play a card game on your own, here are a few of the most popular:

Klondike Solitaire

Klondike Solitaire is one of the easiest solitaire games to learn. It’s a great place to start if you are just learning how to play card games alone. 

Your goal is to organize all of your cards from Ace to King in a row (same suits). 

Brief Game Rules

First, set out all your cards so they look like this. 

If you have any aces, put them at the top (foundation). Your next goal is to put cards in other rows, you can only put cards that are lower (ex. You can put a 4 after a 5, not a 5 after a 4). One rule with this is that it has to be the opposite color, you cannot put a spade directly after a club, only a diamond or heart. If you have the opportunity, you can even take groups of cards in order and arrange them where they can fit.

If you cannot play anymore with the cards you see face up, you can start to take out of the leftover pile you set aside. To do this, draw 3 cards, but you can only use the faceup card, if you can play, it play it. If you play it and you can play the card below, you can do that too. If you cannot play it, draw 3 more. In the game of solitaire you can only play the cards you see.

If you have used all of your leftover cards, flip the deck and start again. If you go through the pile without playing a card, or no more moves can be made, you have lost. 

If you can place all of your cards on the foundation piles from ace to king, you win! If you were playing in the 18th century, your fortune would come true! ...We’ll touch on that later.

Here is a more in depth video on how to play Solitaire.

Aces Up Solitaire

This form of solitaire is called “Aces Up.” This game is less popular, but if Klondike Solitaire isn't your style, try this one.

In this game you lay out 4 cards face up, and put the lowest cards of each suit in the garbage pile. Your goal is to have every card in the deck in the garbage pile, and only leave the aces up, hence the name. 

For a full explanation, watch this video on how to play Aces Up.

History of Solitaire Games

We’ve all probably heard of solitaire. If not, it is essentially a form of card game you play alone. It’s a pretty easy game to learn and play. 

Solitaire, also called Cabale or Patience in European countries, is a game developed in the 18th century. It was originally developed to be a form of fortune telling. You would think of a desired outcome, and if you “won'' your desired outcome would come true. 

Solitaire hit its peak of popularity when the game came pre-installed on laptops. To this day Solitaire is still increasing in popularity. The term “how to play Solitaire” actually hit its peak in March 2020. Coincidence? We think not!

The ultimate goal when playing Solitaire is to fight boredom. But the end goal of each game can vary drastically.

There are as many as 100 different variations of solitaire. But the Klondike is the most popular. 

With all games, it will take time to learn and master, but with all games comes a bit of luck. If you fail at your first game, keep trying. After all, you are trying to cure boredom more than anything. 

If you happen to have a few friends around you that have never played a card game (maybe why you're playing solitaire), or you have never played before, check out this blog on tips and tricks for new players. Since you have friends with you who now know the basics, check out these games! Spades and Golf. 

If you are reading this without a good deck of cards in front of you, shop our cards below. Make sure to come back to Copag USA for new game ideas, updates, and more!