Home › Blog › Klondike, Spider, Freecell: Solitaire Variants Explained
Solitaire is a family of games, not a single one. The variants share a deck and a foundation concept but play very differently. Here's what distinguishes the main ones you'll find on OwlGeometry.
The classic. Seven tableau columns build down in alternating colours, foundations build up by suit. You draw from a stock; in draw-3 you cycle the stock as many times as allowed. Klondike is approachable but not every deal is winnable, so don't be afraid to restart a bad layout.
Spider uses one or two decks and builds descending runs of the same suit within the tableau. Completed runs clear automatically. The one-suit version is the gentle entry point; four-suit Spider is a serious challenge that rewards careful sequence planning.
Every card is dealt face-up from the start, and four free cells hold single cards as temporary storage. The genius of Freecell is that nearly every deal is winnable with perfect play, which makes it the variant of choice for players who want a puzzle they can always solve with enough thought.
These are quicker pairing games. Pyramid has you remove pairs that sum to 13; Tripeaks removes cards one rank above or below the waste card. They're ideal for shorter sessions and easier to learn than the column-based variants.
Begin with Klondike to learn the foundation mechanic, try Freecell when you want a guaranteed-solvable brain teaser, and take on Spider (four-suit) once you're comfortable managing long sequences. Browse the full solitaire range to find your variant.