Best Free Solitaire Games Online (Klondike, Spider, Canfield)

The best free solitaire games online are browser-based Klondike, Spider, and Canfield — all three load in under a second, run on mobile, and skip the ads that infest the App Store versions. Microsoft estimates over 35 million people play some form of Windows Solitaire every month, and that was built in 1990.

Here are the ones worth your time.

Klondike (the default)

When someone says "solitaire," they mean Klondike. Seven tableau columns, four foundations by suit, stock-and-waste draw pile.

Play Solitaire — unlimited undo, draw-1 or draw-3, keyboard shortcuts. The solvable rate for draw-3 Klondike is about 82% with perfect play, 43% for most humans.

Klondike tactics

• Don't rush to foundations. Cards stuck in foundations can't block descending runs.
• Empty a column before you commit a king. Flexibility compounds.
• Draw-3 is a memory game. Track which cards have cycled past.

Spider Solitaire

Two decks. No reserve, no foundations you manipulate directly — you build descending runs in-suit right on the tableau. When a run from K down to A completes, it auto-clears.

Spider Solitaire runs in 1-suit (easy), 2-suit (medium), or 4-suit (hard). 4-suit is solvable ~30% of the time.

Spider survival tip

Keep at least one column empty as long as possible. It's the pressure valve for the whole game.

Canfield

The casino version. Fewer cards dealt, stricter rules, and a reserve pile you can't reorder. Historically, Canfield houses kept the odds favorable — players bought the deck, got paid per foundation card.

Try Canfield Solitaire. Expected win rate for humans: 10–15%. Don't chase. Just play.

Mahjong Solitaire (bonus pick)

Not technically solitaire — tile-matching pairs from a pyramid. But it scratches the same solo-puzzle itch. Mahjong has over 140 tiles per board, average session 4 minutes.

Why solitaire still works

Solitaire is a bounded-attention game — finite board, clear rules, no social pressure. Psychologists call this "restorative attention." A 15-minute solitaire break improves follow-on focus measurably — effect sizes around 0.4–0.6 SD in lab settings.

That's a fancy way of saying: it's the perfect wind-down for a bad meeting.

What's different about browser solitaire

No install. No account. No "watch this ad to get hints." Open the tab, play, close it.

For the history of the game, see the history of solitaire. If you prefer multiplayer card games, try best free card games online.

Quick FAQ

Is all Klondike winnable? No — about 18% of draw-3 deals are unwinnable regardless of play.

Which variant is hardest? 4-suit Spider — about 1 in 3 with strong play.

Does "undo" count as cheating? Competitively, yes. Casually, no one cares.