Solitaire Glossary — Every Term Defined

Solitaire has a specialized vocabulary that appears across rule books, strategy guides, and digital interfaces. This glossary covers every important term, organized alphabetically for quick reference.

A

Alternating Colors

The rule requiring cards placed on tableau columns to alternate between red (Hearts, Diamonds) and black (Spades, Clubs). Used in Klondike and FreeCell.

Ascending Order

Cards arranged from low to high rank (Ace → 2 → 3 → … → King). Foundations are built in ascending order.

Autoplay / Auto-Complete

A digital feature that automatically moves cards to the foundations when no other useful moves remain. Triggered when all cards are face-up and the game is essentially won.

B

Base Card

The first card placed on a foundation pile. In Klondike and FreeCell, the base card is always an Ace. In Canfield, the base card is determined by a random draw.

Block / Blocked

A state where a needed card is buried under other cards and cannot be accessed without significant rearrangement.

Building

The act of placing cards on piles in a required order. Building down means placing cards in descending rank. Building up means ascending rank. Building by suit means all cards must be the same suit.

Building Down

Placing cards in descending rank order (e.g., 10 → 9 → 8 → 7). The standard tableau-building direction in Klondike.

Building Up

Placing cards in ascending rank order (e.g., A → 2 → 3 → 4). The standard foundation-building direction.

C

Cascade

The overlapping, fan-shaped arrangement of cards in a tableau column. Cards in a cascade are offset so that the rank and suit of each face-up card is visible.

Column

A vertical stack of cards in the tableau. Klondike has 7 columns, Spider has 10, FreeCell has 8.

Complete Game

A game where all 52 cards (or 104(in Spider) have been successfully moved to the foundations or removed. The player wins.

D

Deal

1. The initial distribution of cards to the tableau at the start of a game.
2. A specific arrangement/shuffle of the deck (e.g., “Deal #11982” in FreeCell).

Deadlock

A game state where no legal moves can make further progress. The game is lost. Common in FreeCell when free cells and columns are all occupied with no productive moves.

Deck

A standard deck contains 52 cards (4 suits × 13 ranks). Klondike, FreeCell, and most variants use 1 deck. Spider uses 2 decks (104 cards).

Descending Order

Cards arranged from high to low rank (King → Queen → Jack → … → Ace). Tableau columns are built in descending order.

Discard Pile

See Waste Pile.

Draw

The act of flipping one or more cards from the stock pile to the waste pile. “Draw-1” flips one card; “draw-3” flips three.

F

Face-Down Card

A card placed with its back showing, so its rank and suit are hidden. Face-down cards in the tableau must be uncovered before they can be played.

Face-Up Card

A card showing its rank and suit. Only face-up cards can be moved or played.

Foundation

One of four (or eight, in Spider) piles where cards are built in ascending order by suit from Ace to King. Completing all foundations wins the game.

Free Cell

In FreeCell Solitaire, one of four temporary storage spaces where a single card can be placed. Free cells give the player flexibility to maneuver cards around the tableau.

G

Group Move

Moving multiple cards at once as a properly sequenced unit. In Klondike, a group must be in descending order with alternating colors. In Spider, a group must be same-suit descending.

K

King Pile / King Space

An empty tableau column. In Klondike, only a King (or group starting with a King) can fill an empty column. In FreeCell, any card can fill an empty column.

M

Move

Any legal action — moving a card between tableau columns, to a foundation, from the stock, or to/from a free cell.

O

Open Card

A face-up card that can be legally played. Typically the bottom card of a cascade or the top card of the waste pile.

P

Pack

Another term for fanning or stacking cards. Sometimes used interchangeably with “stack” or “pile.”

Pass

One complete cycle through the stock pile. Some scoring systems limit the number of passes allowed.

Patience

The European name for Solitaire. “Patience games” is the umbrella term for all single-player card games.

Pile

A stack of cards. Solitaire features several types: tableau piles (columns), foundation piles, stock pile, and waste pile.

R

Rank

A card’s numerical value. From low to high: Ace(1), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack(11), Queen(12), King(13).

Recycle

Flipping the waste pile back over to form a new stock pile. Some rule sets limit the number of recycles.

Reserve

A set-aside pile used in certain variants (e.g., Canfield). Cards from the reserve are played one at a time, typically when uncovered by tableau moves.

S

Sequence

A group of cards arranged in proper order — usually descending rank with alternating colors (Klondike) or descending rank of the same suit (Spider).

Stock Pile (Stock)

The face-down pile of undealt cards. In Klondike, 24 cards start in the stock. Players draw from the stock when they run out of tableau moves.

Suit

One of four categories of cards: ♠ Spades (black), ♥ Hearts (red), ♦ Diamonds (red), ♣ Clubs (black).

Supermove

A shortcut in digital FreeCell that lets you move a properly sequenced group of cards in one action, rather than moving them one at a time through free cells. The maximum supermove size depends on the number of empty free cells and empty columns.

T

Tableau

The main playing area consisting of multiple columns of cards. The tableau is where most card manipulation takes place.

Turn

Drawing one or more cards from the stock. “Turn 1” (draw-1) flips one card; “turn 3” (draw-3) flips three.

U

Uncover

Revealing a face-down card by removing all face-up cards on top of it. Uncovering hidden cards is one of the most important objectives in Solitaire strategy.

Unsolvable / Unwinnable

A deal that cannot be won regardless of play decisions. Approximately 18% of Klondike deals are unwinnable; FreeCell has less than 0.001% unwinnable deals.

W

Waste Pile (Waste)

The face-up pile where cards drawn from the stock are placed. Only the top card of the waste is playable. Also called the “discard pile” or “talon” in some rule sets.

Win Rate

The percentage of games a player wins over a large sample. Varies by variant, skill level, and scoring rules.

Wrapping

In some variants, sequences can “wrap around” from King back to Ace (or vice versa). For example, in Canfield, if the foundation base is 7, you might build 7 → 8 → … → K → A → 2 → … → 6.

Quick Reference by Game Area

Bookmark this page as a reference while reading our other Solitaire guides: Rules for Beginners, Strategy, and Variants.