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1 Player Card Games

A short guide to the world of single player card games. If you’re looking for brain teasers and puzzles, this guide is for you.

Home » Card Game Rules » 1 Player Card Games
  • Spider Solitaire
  • Wish Solitaire
  • Napoleon at St. Helena
  • Emperor
  • Accordion
  • Devil’s Grip
  • Streets and Alleys

What are Single Player Card Games?

Single player card games are a genre of card games designed for one person to play, rather than a group. This also means that these games are generally less competitive and more a test of intelligence. Many might even consider these games to be part of the puzzler genre, rather than something beloved by card game connoisseurs.

Most card games for one are focused on sorting out a shuffled deck, with rules specific to each game type adding to the challenge. In fact, one can consider all one player card games to be elaborate reverse shuffling of decks.

Due to the nature of single player card games, players might find certain configurations to be unsolvable, but to many, this is the appeal of these games. The popularity of single player gaming can be attributed to the modern digital age where games are easily accessible digitally. The most popular example being the versions of Klondike and Spider Solitaire bundled with Windows XP computers.

Examples of the most played one player card games are provided in the following section.

What are the Most Popular Single Player Card Games?

As with other card games for different player counts, there are a wide variety of available one-player card games. These are the best single player card games, with games besides solitaire being included as well.

Spider Solitaire

A popular game based on the classic Solitaire or Patience game. A deck is shuffled and spread across 10 columns and a draw stock. The goal is to arrange cards in sequences from the King to the Ace of each suit. This process of sorting is challenging due to the limited card movement as allowed in the rules.

Wish Solitaire

A simplified game based on the rules of Solitaire, the decks consist of only 32 cards, with the 2-6 cards being removed. 8 piles of 4 are dealt, with all placed face down. The top cards are revealed, and each pair of the same rank, regardless of suit, is taken until all cards are cleared.

Napoleon at St’Helena’s

The conqueror’s favourite variation of Solitaire, this uses two decks of 52, as opposed to the usual single deck set up. 10 piles of 4 are placed all face-up, with the remaining cards forming the draw pile. The goal is to build up the 8 sets from Aces to Kings by removing the cards in ascending order.

Emperor

A difficult version of Solitaire using 2 decks of 52 cards. 10 piles of 4 are dealt face-down, and the remaining cards are placed aside, forming the draw pile. The rules are similar to Napoleon, with only minor differences in moves.

Accordion

Accordion is a 52-card game of solitaire, with a simplified rule set. The name describes the end goal, where the deck is arranged into a pile, much like an accordion. Cards from the draw pile are dealt in certain numbers decided by the dealer.

Devil’s Grip

Devil’s Grip aims to sort out the deck into different piles, which end up with Jacks at the top, Queens at the middle, and Kings in the bottom row forming the top. 2 decks with the Aces are removed. The game ends when no more cards can be dealt, and scores are granted based on the number of cards remaining.

Streets and Alleys

Another variation of Solitaire, this uses the standard deck, but with all cards in the 3 columns of 4 being placed face-up, allowing players to make more informed decisions, since more information is readily available.

How to Play Single Player Card Games

Solo card games are all about thinking out moves to prevent unsolvable, blocked boards. There are specific steps to be taken in one player card games.

Decks

Single player card games can be played using the standard 52-card deck. However, there are also special decks such as the Spanish 40-card deck, which can be made using the 52-card deck by removing the 8-10 cards from the standard deck.

Dealing

The dealing phase, much like in other playing card games with a deck, places cards in the standard configuration for play. Depending on the rules of the card games, there are 4 different sections of the game. These are the board, the Foundations, the stock and the discards.

  • The board will be the area where all piles are placed.
  • The Foundations are the places where completed sets are placed.
  • The stock and the discards are sections where the undealt cards are placed.

Depending on the game, each part of the game have different sizes and roles, but they generally function similarly.

Play

The main aspect of single player card games involves the sorting of cards. This is done via the moving of individual cards. Cards can be moved to the Foundation if they are the first cards, generally the Aces, and then follow up with the subsequent cards.

Moving cards can then be done if there are consecutive ranks from different piles. For example, if there is a 3♠ and a 2♠ card on different piles on the Table, one can move the 2♠ card to the 3♠ pile.

Winning

Wining a single player card game means that all cards are cleared from the board. However, since not all boards are solvable, and some might be rendered unsolvable through some wrong moves, the game also ends when no valid moves can be done.

Single player card games are scored based on the time taken to solve the puzzles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are easy single player card games?

There are special Solitaire variations designed to be easily won, but to simplify things, most games can be played using modified decks, where suits of the same color are treated as the same suit, or even games where suits are disregarded completely.

Which single player card games can I play with one deck?

You can play many variations of Solitaire using one deck. Examples include Klondike Solitaire and Spider Solitaire.

Is every single player card game solvable?

Not necessary. However, if you play digitally, programs can be set to only generate solvable games.

Also Read:

  • 2 Player Card Games
  • 3 Player Card Games
  • 4 Player Card Games

🕑 Last Updated on February 22, 2023

author

About Paul Dunlop

Paul, a self-proclaimed tabletop games expert, has been playing classics like Bridge and Mahjong competitively for over 25 years. Holding a degree in mathematics, he also loves to solve numeric puzzles regularly.

About us

CoolOldGames.com is a collection of guides covering rules and strategies for traditional games. All of the guides are written by Paul Dunlop, a self-proclaimed tabletop games expert. Paul holds a mathematics degree and is a life-long player of classic games. Cool Old Games considers every game up to the early 2000s as a ‘classic.’

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