Russian solitaire
All 52 cards are dealt at once. Any face-up card can move with everything on top of it, but only onto the next higher card of its own suit. Every deal here has been played to a win by a solver.
How to play Russian solitaire
How to play
Build four foundations up by suit from ace to king. In the seven columns, a card may only go on the next higher card of the same suit: the 6 of hearts on the 7 of hearts. You can move any face-up card together with all the cards on top of it, even if they are not in order. Only a king, with whatever sits on it, can go into an empty column.
Controls
Drag a card to move it and everything above it, or tap it and then tap where it should go. Double-tap a card to send it to its foundation or to the spot where it fits. Any card that can go to its foundation moves there by itself: building in suit, nothing could ever need it again. With a keyboard, use the arrow keys to choose a card and Enter to pick it up and put it down.
Tips
Each card has exactly one place it can go in the tableau, so look for the card one rank higher in the same suit. Turning over the face-down cards is the main job: dig into the long columns on the right early. Moving a group from the middle of a column is often the only way to reach a buried card. Free a column when a king is blocking hidden cards.
Questions
How is Russian solitaire different from Yukon?
The deal and the moves are the same: seven columns, no stock, and any face-up card can move with the cards on top of it. In Yukon you build down in alternating colours; in Russian solitaire you build down in the same suit, which makes it much harder.
Can every game of Russian solitaire be won?
No, most deals can’t. Under these rules our solver can search every possible line of play, and only about one random deal in fifteen can be won. Every deal on this page is one of those: it was solved by the computer and the solution was replayed through the rules.
What goes into an empty column?
Only a king, together with any cards on top of it.
Does the hint cheat?
No. The hint only looks at the cards you can see. Once every card is face up, it asks the solver and tells you when its move keeps the game winnable.
Any tips for winning Russian solitaire?
Free the aces and twos early: nothing of their suit can go home before them. Before you move a group, check what it uncovers and where the card beneath it can go next. Use undo freely: with so few legal moves, trying a line and stepping back is part of the game.