Solitaire Glossary
Every solitaire term explained in plain English — from the tableau, foundation, stock and waste to supermoves, same-suit runs and uncovered cards.
The four solitaires on CardCouch share most of their vocabulary but not all of it: a run means one thing in Klondike and something stricter in Spider, FreeCell adds cells and supermoves, and Pyramid has no tableau at all. Each entry says which game it belongs to. For the rules in context, see Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and Pyramid rules, or compare all four in solitaire games compared.
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- Alternating Colours
- The tableau building rule in Klondike and FreeCell: a card may be placed only on a card of the opposite colour (red on black, black on red) that is one rank higher. Spider ignores colour entirely and builds by rank alone.
- Apex
- The single card at the top of the Pyramid layout. It is covered by the two cards in the second row and is always the last pyramid card to become playable.
- Auto (Auto-move)
- A button that sends cards to the foundations for you. In Klondike on CardCouch it moves every available waste and column-top card home until nothing more fits; in FreeCell it moves only safe cards, so it never takes a card you might still need in the columns.
B
- Base Card
- The card a foundation is built from. In Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and most solitaires the base card is an Ace; the foundation grows upward from it to the King.
- Build Down
- To place cards on a tableau column in descending rank — a Six on a Seven, a Five on the Six. Klondike and FreeCell also require alternating colours; Spider does not, though only same-suit runs move together.
- Build Up
- To place cards on a foundation in ascending rank, Ace through King, all of one suit. The opposite of building down on the tableau.
C
- Cascade
- Another name for a tableau column, used especially in FreeCell. The eight cascades of FreeCell hold every card face up from the deal.
- Cell
- See Free Cell — a single-card holding space in FreeCell. A player is said to be 'out of cells' when all four are occupied, which is when FreeCell becomes dangerous.
- Column
- One of the vertical piles of the tableau: seven in Klondike, ten in Spider, eight in FreeCell. Cards are moved between columns, and an empty column is a valuable space in every game.
- Completed Run
- In Spider, a full King-to-Ace sequence of one suit sitting face up on top of a column. It is removed from the table automatically; eight completed runs win the game.
- Covered Card
- A Pyramid card that still has at least one card overlapping it from the row below. Covered cards are visible but cannot be selected until both cards beneath them are removed.
D
- Deal
- Either the initial layout of the cards, or in Spider the act of taking ten cards from the stock and placing one face up on every column. Spider's stock holds five deals, and a deal is refused while any column is empty.
- Deal Number
- See Game Number — the seed that reproduces a FreeCell layout exactly.
- Draw
- To turn the top card of the stock onto the waste in Klondike or Pyramid. Draw-one turns a single card; the draw-three variant turns three at once with only the top card playable. CardCouch plays draw-one.
E
- Empty Column
- A tableau column with no cards in it. In Klondike only a King (or a run headed by a King) may fill it; in Spider and FreeCell any card or run may. In FreeCell each empty column doubles the number of cards you can move at once.
F
- Face Down
- A card whose face is hidden. Klondike and Spider deal most tableau cards face down and reveal them as the cards above are moved; FreeCell and Pyramid deal everything face up.
- Face Up
- A card whose rank and suit are visible. Only face-up cards can be moved, and only face-up cards can be built on.
- Flip
- Turning a face-down card face up once the card covering it has been moved away. In Klondike and Spider a flip happens automatically the moment a face-down card becomes the top of its column.
- Foundation
- One of the piles the game is won on. Klondike and FreeCell have four, one per suit, each built up from Ace to King; Spider has eight spaces for completed King-to-Ace runs. Pyramid has no foundations — removed cards simply leave the table.
- Free Cell
- One of the four single-card holding spaces at the top of the FreeCell layout. Any card may be parked there and taken out again later. Each occupied cell reduces the supermove limit, so cells are best kept empty.
- FreeCell
- The solitaire in which all 52 cards are dealt face up into eight columns with four free cells for parking. Almost every deal is solvable, so it is regarded as a game of pure skill.
G
- Game Number
- In FreeCell on CardCouch, a number from 1 to 1,000,000 that determines the deal. Entering the same number always produces the same layout, so a game can be replayed or shared. CardCouch's numbering is its own and does not match Windows FreeCell.
K
- Klondike
- The solitaire most people simply call 'Solitaire': seven tableau columns, a stock and waste, and four foundations built from Ace to King. CardCouch plays draw-one with unlimited passes and Kings only in empty columns.
L
- Layout
- The arrangement of piles on the table at the start of a game: the tableau, foundations, stock and waste in Klondike; the pyramid, stock and waste in Pyramid; and so on.
M
- Move
- One action that changes the table — placing a card or run, drawing from the stock, recycling the waste, or dealing a Spider row. CardCouch counts moves and keeps your fewest-moves record for each game.
P
- Pairs to 13
- The core rule of Pyramid: two cards in play may be removed together when their values total 13 — Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, 6 and 7. Aces count 1, Jacks 11, Queens 12 and Kings 13.
- Pass
- One trip through the stock. In Klondike on CardCouch passes are unlimited; in Pyramid you get three — the first pass plus two recycles of the waste.
- Patience
- The British name for solitaire card games in general. 'Solitaire' and 'patience' mean the same family of one-player games; Klondike is only one member of it.
- Personal Best
- Your fastest winning time and fewest winning moves for a game, stored in your browser on CardCouch. Spider keeps separate bests for one, two and four suits.
- Pyramid
- Both the solitaire game and its layout: 28 cards dealt face up in seven overlapping rows, cleared by removing pairs that add up to 13 and Kings on their own.
R
- Rank
- A card's value in the sequence Ace, 2, 3 … 10, Jack, Queen, King. Aces are low in every solitaire on CardCouch. In Pyramid the ranks also have numeric values (Ace 1, Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13).
- Recycle
- Turning the waste pile back over to form a new stock once the old one is empty. Klondike on CardCouch allows unlimited recycles; Pyramid allows two.
- Redeal
- Another word for recycling the waste — or, loosely, for starting a fresh game. On CardCouch 'New Game' deals a new layout; tapping an empty stock recycles the waste.
- Reserve
- A general term for cards set aside to be brought into play later. The free cells of FreeCell act as a reserve; some Pyramid variants add a reserve pile, though CardCouch's does not.
- Run
- A group of cards in a column that descend by one rank in order. In Klondike and FreeCell a run alternates colour; in Spider a run that can be moved as a unit must be all one suit. See also Sequence.
S
- Safe Card
- In FreeCell, a card that can go to its foundation without ever being missed in the columns: Aces and Twos always, and any other card once both opposite-colour cards one rank lower are already on their foundations. CardCouch's Auto button moves only safe cards.
- Same-Suit Run
- A descending sequence of cards all in one suit — Nine, Eight, Seven of clubs. In Spider only same-suit runs move together, which is why building in suit matters so much.
- Sequence
- Cards in consecutive rank order. On the tableau a sequence descends; on a foundation it ascends. A sequence that is mixed in suit or colour may be legal to build yet impossible to move as a unit, depending on the game.
- Solvable Deal
- A layout that can be won with the right sequence of moves. Nearly every FreeCell deal is solvable; a majority of draw-one Klondike deals are in theory; Spider depends heavily on the suit count; and a large share of Pyramid deals cannot be cleared no matter how you play.
- Spider
- The two-deck solitaire played across ten columns. Cards build down by rank regardless of suit, only same-suit runs move together, and the goal is eight completed King-to-Ace runs. Played with one, two or four suits.
- Stock
- The face-down pile of undealt cards. In Klondike (24 cards) and Pyramid (24 cards) you draw from it one card at a time; in Spider (50 cards) it is dealt ten at a time onto the columns. FreeCell has no stock.
- Stuck
- A position with no legal move left: in Klondike after the whole stock has been cycled with nothing playable, in FreeCell when the cells are full and nothing fits, in Pyramid when the stock and passes are gone and no pair makes 13. CardCouch shows a 'No moves left' message; Undo or a new game are the ways out.
- Suit
- Hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades. Foundations are built by suit; Spider's difficulty levels are named for how many suits are in the pack; Pyramid ignores suits entirely.
- Supermove
- Moving a whole run in FreeCell as one action, something only possible because the cards could in principle be shuttled one at a time through empty cells and columns. The limit is (empty free cells + 1) × 2 to the power of empty columns; moving into an empty column does not count that column.
T
- Tableau
- The main playing area where cards are built down in columns: seven columns in Klondike, ten in Spider, eight in FreeCell. Most of the game's moves happen here. Pyramid's equivalent is the pyramid itself.
- Talon
- An older word for the stock or, in some books, the waste pile. If a rules text says 'turn cards from the talon', it means the stock.
U
- Uncovered Card
- In Pyramid, a card nothing overlaps — both cards below it have been removed. Only uncovered cards, plus the top of the waste and the face-up top of the stock, can be used in a move. The bottom row is uncovered from the start.
- Undo
- Taking back the last move. On CardCouch every solitaire has unlimited undo, all the way back to the deal, including undoing draws, recycles, Spider deals and completed-run removals.
W
- Waste
- The face-up pile beside the stock where drawn cards land in Klondike and Pyramid. Only its top card is in play; when the stock runs out the waste can be turned over to form a new stock.
- Winnable
- See Solvable Deal. Whether a deal is winnable depends on the layout; whether you win it depends on your moves. Undo lets you explore a deal until you find the line that works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the tableau in solitaire?
The tableau is the main playing area — the columns of cards you build on and move between. Klondike has seven columns, Spider ten and FreeCell eight. Most of a game's moves happen on the tableau; the foundations are where the cards end up.
What is the difference between the stock and the waste?
The stock is the face-down pile of cards not yet dealt; the waste is the face-up pile where cards go when you draw them from the stock. Only the top card of the waste is playable. When the stock runs out, the waste can be turned over to become the stock again.
What does foundation mean in solitaire?
A foundation is a pile built up in a single suit from Ace to King. Klondike and FreeCell have four; filling all four wins the game. Spider's eight foundation spaces hold completed King-to-Ace runs instead.
What is a supermove in FreeCell?
A supermove is moving a run of several cards in one go. It is allowed only because the cards could be moved one at a time through empty free cells and columns, so the number you can move is limited to (empty free cells + 1) × 2 to the power of empty columns.
What is a run in Spider Solitaire?
A run is a descending sequence of cards in one suit — for example Ten, Nine, Eight of hearts. In Spider you may place any card on a card one rank higher, but only a same-suit run can be picked up and moved as a unit.
What does 'uncovered' mean in Pyramid Solitaire?
A pyramid card is uncovered when both cards directly below it have been removed, so nothing overlaps it. Only uncovered cards can be paired. The seven bottom-row cards start uncovered and the apex is freed last.
Continue learning solitaire
How to Play Solitaire
Klondike beginner's guide
Klondike Solitaire Rules
The deal, tableau, foundations and stock
How to Play Spider Solitaire
Ten columns, eight runs, 1, 2 or 4 suits
How to Play FreeCell
Free cells, foundations and the supermove
How to Play Pyramid Solitaire
Pairs to 13, Kings alone, three passes
Solitaire Strategy
Win more Klondike deals