How To Set Up Solitaire (with Pictures) - WikiHow

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow Solitaire Set Up & Gameplay PDF download Download Article Learn how to set up and play Solitaire like a pro Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: July 19, 2025 Fact Checked

PDF download Download Article
  • Dealing Your Cards
    • |
  • Placing the Rest of the Cards
    • |
  • Playing a Game
    • |
  • Learning Rules and Variations
    • |
  • Video
    • |
  • Q&A
    • |
  • Things You'll Need
|Show more |Show less ARTICLE VIDEO X

This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,147,834 times.

Most card games require a large group of people to enjoy, but Solitaire is designed for solo players. The game is a great way to pass the time and can provide hours of entertainment. Once you know the board layout and rules, it takes less than a minute to set up and can be assembled almost anywhere.

Setting Up Solitaire: Quick Steps

Deal one card face-up, then six cards face-down in a row to the right of it. Skip the first card, then deal six more cards in the same way over the first row of cards. Now skip the first two cards, and deal five more cards in the same way over the row of cards. Repeat this process until each pile in the row has one face-up card on top.

Steps

Part 1 Part 1 of 3:

Dealing Your Cards

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  1. Step 1 Shuffle the deck... 1 Shuffle the deck. To play Solitaire, you will need a traditional 52-card pack of standard playing cards. Open your pack and discard the instruction and Joker cards. Before you start dealing, shuffle the cards a couple of times to make sure that the deck is all mixed up.
  2. Step 2 Deal seven cards in a row. 2 Deal seven cards in a row. Deal the first card and place it face up on your left-hand side. Then, deal six more cards face-down in a row to the right of this card so that each card has its own spot.
    • When you are finished, you should have seven cards total. The first one on the left should be facing up and the other six should be facing down.
    • The cards that you are dealing are called your “Tableau.” These are the main cards that you will use to play solitaire.[1] When you are finished dealing all of the cards, your Tableau will look similar to an upside down staircase.
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  3. Step 3 Skip the first card and then deal six cards. 3 Skip the first card and then deal six cards. Next, you will need to deal six more cards onto the stacks. Place the first card face up on the second stack of cards from the left. Then, deal one card face down card onto each of the stacks moving to the right.[2]
  4. Step 4 Count over to the third card and then deal five cards. 4 Count over to the third card and then deal five cards. Starting with the third stack over from the left, deal one card face up. Then, deal four more cards facing down on each of the stacks to the right of this stack.[3]
  5. Step 5 Deal four cards starting with the fourth stack. 5 Deal four cards starting with the fourth stack. Starting with the fourth stack over from the left, deal one card face up onto this stack and then deal three cards facing down. Place one card onto each of the stacks to the right of this stack.[4]
  6. Step 6 Skip the first four cards and deal three. 6 Skip the first four cards and deal three. Count over to the fifth card from the left in your row of seven card stacks. Deal one card facing up on this stack and then deal one card facing down onto each of the two stacks to the right.[5]
  7. Step 7 Count over to the sixth card and then deal two. 7 Count over to the sixth card and then deal two. Next, count over to the sixth stack from the left and deal one card facing up onto this stack. Then, deal one card facing down onto the stack to the right of this stack. This stack should be the last one in your row of seven.[6]
  8. Step 8 Deal one last card face up. 8 Deal one last card face up. There should only be one stack left that does not have a face up card on it. This stack should be all the way on the right of your Tableau. Deal one card onto this stack facing up. Now this stack should have six cards facing down and one on top that is facing up.[7]
    • After you have dealt this last card, your Tableau is complete! Dealing the Tableau is the hardest part of setting up solitaire, so the next part will be easy.
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Part 2 Part 2 of 3:

Placing the Rest of the Cards

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  1. Step 1 Place the remaining cards face down. 1 Place the remaining cards face down. After you have finished setting up your stacks, you can place the cards that you have left just above the Tableau on the left-hand side. This will be your “Stock” or “Hand” pile. You will draw cards from this pile as you play the game.[8]
    • If you want to be extra sure that the cards are shuffled, then you can shuffle them again before placing your Stock pile. This is optional though.
  2. Step 2 Identify the space for your discard pile. 2 Identify the space for your discard pile. The discard pile, also known as the “Talon” or “Waste” pile, is where you will discard any cards that you draw and cannot use.[9] At the start of your game, the Talon pile will be empty. Reserve a space next to your Stock pile to create your Talon pile during gameplay.
    • The Talon pile is usually just to the right of the Stock pile.
    • When you have exhausted your Talon pile, you can flip it over (face down) onto the Stock pile space again and continue playing.
  3. Step 3 Leave room for your Foundation piles. 3 Leave room for your Foundation piles. The Foundation piles are where you will place the cards that you will clear from the Tableau stacks as you play solitaire. At the start of your game, your Foundation piles will be empty, so you just need to reserve some space above your Tableau. Leave enough room to place four stacks of cards as you play.[10]
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Part 3 Part 3 of 3:

Playing a Game

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  1. Step 1 Learn the object. 1 Learn the object. If you have never played solitaire before, then you will need to take a few minutes to learn how to play solitaire first. The object of a game of Solitaire is to transfer all of the cards in the deck and in the tableau stacks to your foundation piles.[11] You begin the game with nothing in these piles and arrange cards in these stacks going from lowest to highest and separated by suit.[12]
    • For example, one stack might begin with the ace of spades, so only the two of spades can be placed in this stack next. You cannot place the three of spades until the two of spades is in place.
  2. Step 2 Draw and place cards. 2 Draw and place cards. You will need to draw and place cards to play. Draw one card at a time and either play it on one of your stacks or discard it if you cannot use it. You can play a card on one of your tableau stacks if the color and sequence are right.[13] The colors need to alternate between red and black.
    • For example, if one stack has a five of hearts on it and you draw a four of clubs, then you could play the four of clubs on the five of hearts.
  3. Step 3 Move and flip face-up cards. 3 Move and flip face-up cards. You can move cards between stacks to expose face-down cards. When a face down card is exposed, then you can flip it over and use it.[14]
    • For example, if one stack has a five of hearts on it and another stack has a six of spades on it, then you could move the five of hearts to the six of spades stack. This will expose a face-down card that you can then flip over and either leave it in place or use it.
  4. Step 4 Reuse the discard pile. 4 Reuse the discard pile. When you have exhausted the discard pile, then you can flip over the stack and begin using those cards again. Continue to draw one card at a time and to flip the deck each time you go through it.
  5. Step 5 Transfer cards to the foundation piles to clear them. 5 Transfer cards to the foundation piles to clear them. As you expose cards and draw cards, you will be able to transfer them to the foundation piles above your tableau stacks. Remember that each pile needs to begin with an ace card and there should only be one stack per suit.[15]
    • When each stack contains an ace through king set, then you will have won the game!
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Learning Rules and Variations

Solitaire Rule Sheet Solitaire Variations

Community Q&A

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  • Question How long is the average game of solitaire? Community Answer Community Answer It can take anywhere from 2-30 minutes, depending on the shuffle. The average is probably 15-20 minutes. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 39 Helpful 110
  • Question If my seventh column has nothing in it, can I put a card there from my other piles? Community Answer Community Answer If and only if the card being moved is a king, although the normal card movement rules still apply as far as moving the stack along with it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 51 Helpful 85
  • Question How do I get the game started? Community Answer Community Answer Basically, follow the steps in this article Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 126 Helpful 78
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Things You’ll Need

  • Deck of cards (multiple decks for multi-player Solitaire)
  • Table or other playing surface

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh66RlyRQfM
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh66RlyRQfM
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh66RlyRQfM
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh66RlyRQfM
  5. ↑ https://frvr.com/tutorials/how-to-play-klondike-solitaire/index.html
  6. ↑ https://www.solitairebliss.com/blog/how-to-set-up-solitaire
  7. ↑ https://frvr.com/tutorials/how-to-play-klondike-solitaire/index.html
  8. ↑ https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/solitaire/
  9. ↑ https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/solitaire/
More References (6)
  1. ↑ https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/solitaire/
  2. ↑ http://www.cardgamesolitaire.com/solitaireInstructions.php
  3. ↑ https://www.solitairebliss.com/blog/how-to-set-up-solitaire
  4. ↑ https://www.aquatennial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Card-Games_Solitaire.pdf
  5. ↑ https://www.aquatennial.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Card-Games_Solitaire.pdf
  6. ↑ https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/solitaire/

About This Article

Ashton Wu Reviewed by: Ashton Wu Board Game Expert This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. This article has been viewed 3,147,834 times. 149 votes - 76% Co-authors: 18 Updated: July 19, 2025 Views: 3,147,834 Categories: Featured Articles | Shedding Card Games Article SummaryX

To set up a game of Solitaire, first shuffle a deck of cards and deal one card face up. Then, deal 6 cards face-down in a row to the right of it. Next, deal one card face-up on top of the second pile of cards from the left, and deal another card face-down on each of the piles to the right. Now, deal one card face-up on the third pile of cards from the left, and deal another card face-down on each of the piles to the right. Repeat this process, moving one pile to the right each time, until every pile has a face-up card on it. Finally, place the remaining cards face down above the seven piles you’ve made. For details about how to play the game once it's set up, keep reading! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Ashton Wu Reviewed by: Ashton Wu Board Game Expert 149 votes - 76% Click a star to vote Co-authors: 18 Updated: July 19, 2025 Views: 3,147,834 Skyler Stewart

Skyler Stewart

Aug 13, 2017

"Very helpful and organized tutorial thanks! I live in military dorms and cant have people stay over so I need..." more V. Novak

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"This article was extremely efficient – I found no flaws at all. The use of pictures and written explanation was..." more Nutan Sinha

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