Card games are a fun way to pass the time, and they can be played alone or with others. If you’re looking for some one-player card games to play, you’re in luck because there are several options available. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most popular one-player card games.
1. Solitaire
Solitaire is perhaps the most well-known one-player card game. The goal of the game is to move all cards from the tableau to the foundation piles. There are several variations of solitaire, including Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell.
Klondike Solitaire
Klondike Solitaire is the classic version of solitaire that comes pre-installed on most computers. The game involves shuffling a deck of cards and dealing them into seven tableau columns with the top card face up. The remaining cards are placed in a draw pile with the top card face up.
The player moves cards between tableau columns to create descending sequences alternating colors (e.g., black 10 on red jack). The goal is to move all cards to foundation piles in ascending order by suit (e., ace of hearts followed by two, three, etc. ).
Spider Solitaire
Spider Solitaire involves dealing out two decks of cards into 10 tableau columns with some face down and some face up. The player moves cards between tableau columns to create descending sequences alternating colors just like in Klondike solitaire. However, in Spider Solitaire only entire sequences can be moved at once and empty columns can only be filled with kings or king-sequences (i.e., king followed by queen followed by jack ..).
FreeCell Solitaire
FreeCell Solitaire involves dealing out a deck of cards into eight tableau columns with all cards face up. Four open cells and four foundation piles are also used to play the game.
The player moves cards between tableau columns and cells to create descending sequences alternating colors just like in Klondike solitaire. However, FreeCell Solitaire allows any sequence to be moved as long as there is an open cell or tableau column available.
2. Patience
Patience is a one-player card game that involves shuffling a deck of cards and dealing them into eight tableau columns with the top card face up.
The player moves cards between tableau columns to create descending sequences alternating colors just like in Klondike solitaire. The goal is to move all cards to foundation piles in ascending order by suit just like in Klondike solitaire.
3. Pyramid Solitaire
Pyramid Solitaire involves dealing out a deck of cards into a pyramid shape with some cards face down and some face up. The player removes pairs of cards that add up to 13 (e., king and queen) until all cards have been removed from the pyramid or there are no more pairs available.
4. Golf
Golf is a one-player card game that involves shuffling a deck of cards and dealing nine cards face down in three rows of three each, forming the tableau layout. The player then tries to remove all nine cards from the tableau by drawing one card at a time from the draw pile and discarding it onto either an Ace pile (if it matches suit) or onto one of eight discard piles (if it matches rank).
5. Clock Solitaire
Clock Solitaire involves shuffling a deck of cards and placing them around a clock face with one card at each hour position (1-12) and the remaining cards in a draw pile. The player turns over the top card of the draw pile and places it face up next to the clock.
The player then continues to draw cards one at a time and places them on the clock in numerical order as closely as possible. The goal is to place all cards on the clock before running out of cards from the draw pile.
Conclusion
One-player card games are a great way to pass the time and challenge yourself mentally. In this article, we explored some of the most popular one-player card games, including solitaire, patience, pyramid solitaire, golf, and clock solitaire. Try these games out for yourself and see which ones you enjoy!