Neapolitan Mastiff Club

Solitaire can refer to numerous forms of card games, board games, tile games and even computer games. It can actually be used to describe any game played by ones self. Most frequently, the name "Solitaire" is used to describe single player card games such as Klondike, Spider Solitaire, Peg, and Mahjong Solitaire.

Sometimes referred to as "Patience", Klondike is the most common form of the game. Using a regular deck of 52 cards with the jokers removed from play, the cards are placed in receding order. Cards must be of opposite color in the beginning of the game. As aces appear, they are placed at the top of the tableaus and built upon in sequence by suit. When all of the cards have played ace to king, the game is over. There are many variants to this version of the game.

Using tiles with patterns instead of cards, Mahjong Solitaire is another popular version of the game. Tiles are placed and stacked in a prescribed manner, and then matched according to color and pattern. When the tiles are matched in pairs, they are removed from play exposing the next level of tiles. When all of the tiles have been removed from play the game is over.

Peg is a game of a much different variety. Small pegs or marbles are placed onto a bloc of wood, and moved as space allows "jumping" over other singular pegs. Jumped pegs are removed, and the game continues until one peg remains.

Spider Solitaire is a more challenging variation of the classic card game. Unlike other versions, the Spider version uses two decks. Both decks of cards are shuffled together and dealt into ten tableau piles. The object of the game is to place cards in receding order according to the suit. Although cards can be played "off Suit" in receding order, they can only be moved as a group when they are matched with the proper suit. To avoid problems later in the game, it is extremely important to try to avoid becoming blocked in with cards unable to move at all.

To avoid becoming blocked and losing the game, one must attempt to play cards on the same suit. Empty spaces should not be filled frivolously, as they can be the only "out" when a player is blocked. If a player has no choice but to mix suits, it is a good idea to play as high of cards as possible. When a tableau obtains a group of cards in proper sequence of the same suit, the cards are removed. When all of the cards have been placed according to suit and sequence, the player wins the game.

Beginners might be interested in one of the less advanced versions of the spider variant. One Suit and Two Suit use only one or two suits respectively, while regular Spider uses all four. These are probably the simplest versions. Black Widow is played much the same as regular Spider, except that the groups of cards are able to move regardless of suit, making this game easier to win than Spider.

Solitaire variations are not just popular amongst card players. Technology has placed numerous variations to the classic versions on the computer as well. These games can be played with pre-loaded software, separately purchased disks, downloads, or even online. With the assortment of numerous types and levels of the game, one is sure to find at least one variant that is appealing.