Patience — Free Online Card Game
Patience is the British name for the family of single-player card games that Americans call solitaire. The version most people picture — seven tableau columns, four foundations, a stock pile — is called patience here and Klondike in the US. Same game, same rules, same odds. About one in five deals is unwinnable from the moment the cards are dealt; this version's built-in solver tells you in real time whether your current position still has a winning path. Turn 1 or Turn 3, unlimited undo, install-as-app for offline play. Free, no sign-up.
Patience and Solitaire — One Game, Two Names
The two names are regional, not technical. British and Commonwealth English have used "patience" since the games arrived from the Continent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, named after the virtue a solo card game demands. American English settled on "solitaire" over the 20th century, and Microsoft's decision to ship the game under that name with Windows 3.0 in 1990 made it the default term on computers worldwide.
The variant played on this page — and on most "free solitaire" sites — is more precisely called Klondike in card-game taxonomy, named after the Yukon gold-rush region of the late 1890s. When a British dictionary lists "patience" and an American one lists "solitaire," they are usually pointing to the same Klondike rules. The American site for the same game lives at /klondike.
| Region | Common name | Stock-flip terminology |
|---|---|---|
| UK / Ireland | Patience | Turn 1 / Turn 3 |
| Australia / New Zealand | Patience | Turn 1 / Turn 3 |
| United States / Canada | Solitaire (Klondike) | Draw 1 / Draw 3 |
How to Play
- Goal. Move all 52 cards to the four foundations, building each suit from Ace to King.
- Tableau. Build columns down by alternating colours. A black 9 goes on a red 10.
- Empty columns. Only Kings can fill them.
- Stock. Click the deck (top-left) to flip cards to the waste. Cycle as many times as you need.
- Foundations. Move Aces up immediately. Build each foundation by suit, Ace to King.
Drag with the mouse on a desktop or tap on a phone. Unlimited undo means you can experiment without losing a game.
Turn 1 vs Turn 3
Both modes use the same deals and share the same theoretical winnability — about 82 per cent on perfect play (Yan et al., 2005). The difference is access to the stock.
| Aspect | Turn 1 (Draw 1) | Turn 3 (Draw 3) |
|---|---|---|
| Stock flip | One card at a time | Three; only the top is playable |
| Theoretical win rate | ~82% | ~82% (same deals) |
| Practical win rate (skilled) | ~40% | ~10–15% |
| Recommended for | Learning, casual play | The traditional challenge |
Turn 3 cards land mid-triplet and stay buried until you cycle the stock again. The deal itself is no harder; it is just harder to reach.
The Built-in Solver
Roughly one in five patience deals cannot be won, no matter how well you play (Yan et al., 2005). Without a solver, you can spend ten minutes on a doomed game without knowing. Ours runs entirely in your browser as a Web Worker — your moves never leave your device — and tells you whether a winning path still exists from the current position.
- Green tick — A winning path exists from this position.
- Red X — No winning path. A move you made (or the deal itself) closed the door.
- Deal Winnable — Pick a seed with a verified solution before any cards are dealt.
- Undo to Winnable — When the position becomes unsolvable, rewind to the last solvable state and try a different line without restarting.
For the search algorithm and the four-state status icon in detail, see the Klondike strategy guide.
A Short History of Patience
Patience games entered English from continental sources in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The earliest English-language compendium of any size is Lady Adelaide Cadogan's Illustrated Games of Patience (London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1870); Mary Whitmore Jones followed with several volumes of Games of Patience in the 1890s. By the early 20th century, most of the patience family — Klondike, Spider, Canfield, FreeCell — was already documented or in widespread play.
"Solitaire" gained ground in American English over the same period. The term became the default name on computers when Microsoft bundled the Klondike variant under that name with Windows 3.0 in 1990 — the version coded by Microsoft intern Wes Cherry, with card faces designed by Susan Kare. British and Commonwealth usage continues to prefer "patience" in newspapers, broadcast references, and Penguin's card-game titles.
Why Play Patience Here
- Browser-side solver. Most free patience sites do not ship one. Ours runs without sending data anywhere.
- Deal Winnable + Undo to Winnable. Skip impossible deals and recover from dead ends without losing progress.
- Daily challenge. Same deal for everyone that day — compare times with other players.
- Install as an app. Add it to your phone or computer's home screen. After install, it works without an internet connection.
- Free, no sign-up, no download. Stats save locally; nothing leaves your device unless you install.
- Unlimited undo in both Turn 1 and Turn 3.
Other Patience Games to Try
- FreeCell — almost every deal winnable; no luck of the draw
- Spider — clear King-to-Ace runs across 10 columns
- Yukon — like Klondike, but every card face-up
- Double Klondike — two decks, more elbow room
- East Haven — Klondike with a Spider-style stock deal
Frequently Asked Questions
Is patience the same game as solitaire?
Yes. Patience is the British and Commonwealth term for the family of single-player card games that Americans call solitaire. The most common variant — seven tableau columns, four foundations, stock and waste — is called patience in the UK and Klondike (or simply Solitaire) in the US. Same rules, same odds, same deck.
Why do Americans call it solitaire?
Both names come from European usage — patience from the virtue the games require, solitaire from the French for solitary. American English settled on solitaire over the 20th century, and Microsoft's decision to ship the Klondike variant under the name Solitaire with Windows 3.0 in 1990 entrenched American usage on computers worldwide.
What is the difference between Turn 1 and Turn 3?
Both modes use the same deals and share roughly the same theoretical winnability — about 82 per cent on perfect play (Yan et al., 2005). Turn 1 flips one card at a time; Turn 3 flips three but only the top one is playable. Practical win rates run about 40 per cent in Turn 1 and 10 to 15 per cent in Turn 3, because the middle cards of each triplet stay buried until the next pass.
What are the odds of winning patience?
About four in five deals are theoretically winnable on perfect play (Yan et al., 2005). The remaining roughly 18 per cent lock up the moment the cards are dealt, no matter how well you play. The solver on this site runs in your browser and tells you in real time whether the position you are in still has a winning path.
Where does the name patience come from?
From the virtue. The games entered English from continental Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, named after the temperament a solo card game demands. Lady Adelaide Cadogan's Illustrated Games of Patience (London, 1870) is an early English-language compendium; Mary Whitmore Jones followed with several volumes of Games of Patience in the 1890s.
Ready to Play?
Free, in your browser, no sign-up. Pick Turn 1 if you are learning, Turn 3 if you want the traditional challenge.
Play Patience Free