Solitaire Variants Compared: Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, and Accordion

Substantively reviewed August 14, 2026 · Editorial policy · Request a correction

Editorial diagram: Choose a Solitaire variant. Match the rules to the kind of puzzle you want. — Choose a Solitaire variant: Match the rules to the kind of puzzle you want.

Choose a Solitaire variant by its objective and information, not by its name alone. Klondike sorts one deck into suit foundations while revealing hidden cards. Spider builds and removes eight same-suit runs from two decks. FreeCell exposes the full deal and uses four temporary cells. Pyramid removes exposed cards in pairs totaling 13. Accordion compresses a deck into one pile through rank-or-suit matches.

Those differences change what you plan, what can be known, and what counts as progress. The Pagat card-game reference usefully distinguishes sorting, elimination, piling, and pattern-building objectives; this page narrows that larger family to five commonly searched variants. The comparison below uses named rulesets from current specialist or publisher documentation. Digital versions may alter stock passes, automatic moves, scoring, or difficulty modes, so check the help screen of the version you actually open.

Solitaire variant comparison

Variant	Cards	Main objective	Information at the start	Central constraint
Klondike	1 × 52	Build four suit foundations from ace to king	Many tableau cards and the stock are hidden	Alternating-color tableau builds plus stock access
Spider	2 × 52	Assemble and remove eight complete same-suit runs	Many tableau cards and undealt rows are hidden	Descending builds may mix suits, but movable/completed units depend on suit
FreeCell	1 × 52	Build four suit foundations from ace to king	All 52 cards are face up	Four free cells and empty columns determine move capacity
Pyramid	1 × 52	Clear the pyramid by removing exposed pairs totaling 13; kings remove alone	The 28-card pyramid is visible, while stock access is sequential	Only uncovered cards are playable; stock-pass rules vary
Accordion	1 × 52	Compress all cards into one pile	Cards are dealt face up, with play allowed during the deal	A pile moves only one or three positions left onto a matching rank or suit

The “information” column describes the cited physical or conventional layout, not every software option. Some digital games expose hints, allow replay, or offer guaranteed-winnable deals.

Choose by the kind of problem you want

Familiar foundation building with hidden information: choose Klondike.
Long sequence planning with selectable suit complexity: choose Spider.
An open-information planning puzzle: choose FreeCell.
Quick arithmetic and exposure decisions: choose Pyramid.
A compact matching puzzle with constantly changing distances: choose Accordion.

Klondike: the game often called simply “Solitaire”

Klondike uses one standard 52-card pack. Twenty-eight cards form seven tableau piles, with only each pile’s top card face up; the remaining cards form the stock. Foundations build by suit from ace to king, while tableau sequences descend in alternating colors. Under the Bicycle rules, stock cards turn up three at a time and only a king can fill an empty tableau space.

Choose Klondike if you want the most recognizable layout and are comfortable making decisions before all cards are known. Decide whether you want Draw 1 or Draw 3 and how many redeals are allowed before comparing results across platforms.

Learn the complete layout and legal moves in How to Play Klondike Solitaire.

Spider: build long runs across two decks

Spider uses two 52-card packs. The cited Bicycle Spider rules deal ten tableau piles and require eight complete suit sequences to be assembled and removed. Cards can be placed in descending rank regardless of suit, but same-suit order determines which sequences move together under the cited rules. A new row cannot be dealt while a tableau space is empty.

Many digital implementations offer 1-, 2-, and 4-suit modes. These alter the suit-management burden, so a 1-suit result should not be compared directly with a 4-suit result. Choose Spider if you enjoy building and reorganizing long sequences rather than moving cards steadily to four foundations.

See the Spider Solitaire rules and worked example.

FreeCell: plan with the whole deal visible

FreeCell deals all 52 cards face up into eight columns and provides four free cells plus four foundations. Tableau sequences descend in alternating colors. The KDE KPatience rules explain that a multi-card move is permitted only when enough empty cells and columns exist to reproduce the transfer one card at a time; their stated capacity formula is (empty free cells + 1) × 2^{empty columns}.

Choose FreeCell when you prefer planning from visible information. “All cards visible” does not make every move obvious: using a free cell or empty column reduces the temporary space available for later transfers.

Before moving a sequence, calculate the available capacity from the empty free cells and columns, then preserve enough temporary space for the move you plan next.

Pyramid: pair exposed cards to total 13

Pyramid places 28 face-up cards in seven overlapping rows. Cards covered by lower rows are visible but not playable. Number cards use their face values, aces count as 1, jacks as 11, queens as 12, and kings as 13; a king can be removed by itself. The cited Mattel rules allow two passes through the stock, but other implementations use different pass limits.

Choose Pyramid if you want short matching calculations and decisions about which pair exposes the most useful cards. Before comparing scores or win rates, confirm whether winning requires clearing the pyramid only or every card, and how many stock passes the software permits.

See the Pyramid rules, values, and exposure example.

Accordion: compress positions rather than build foundations

Accordion uses one 52-card pack dealt face up from left to right. Under the Bicycle rules, a card or pile can move onto the pile immediately to its left or the third pile to its left when the top cards share a rank or suit. The entire pile travels with its top card, and making a legal move is optional.

Choose Accordion if you want a game where every merge changes the distance between later piles. It does not use suit foundations, a stock-building cycle, or a conventional tableau. The objective is one final pile.

Use the Accordion guide for a position-by-position worked example.

Why “hardest variant” has no single answer

Difficulty can mean a low proportion of solvable deals, a low human win rate, more hidden information, more legal choices, longer games, or a harder software mode. Those are different measurements. Spider suit count, Klondike stock rules, Pyramid passes, and digital undo or winnable-deal options can all change results.

When comparing difficulty, record the exact variant, rule mode, assistance settings, sample size, and whether the number describes solver winnability or player outcomes. The site’s Solitaire winnability guide explains that distinction.

Where to open each version

SolitaireGoogle.com does not host a playable game. Use the verified Solitaire entrance directory for dated external links to Google Solitaire, Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, TriPeaks, Accordion, and broader game menus.