Solitaire was originally included on computers to help people become acquainted with using a mouse to click, drag, and drop items on a screen. Even though computer mouses have become familiar pieces of technology to most users, the addictive game is still ubiquitous on nearly every computer and phone in existence.
Solitaire is easy enough to learn to play in a few minutes, but still tricky enough to pose a challenge.
Here are a few hacks that can help you up your game.
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For your first move, draw a card from the deck to give yourself more options
The object of the game is to stack all four suits in the foundations. But in the columns, cards can only be stacked together if they are one less in rank and the opposite color.
You want to be able to reveal as many cards as possible to be able to stack them efficiently. Why not increase your chances of being able to make a great move by revealing one more card at the start of the game?
Play aces and twos right away
Aces and twos can't help you reveal more hidden cards. They'll just weigh you down. Put them in the foundation as soon as you get them.
Don't leave an empty space if you don't have a king to put on it
Only kings can be the first card on an empty space. If you don't have one to put there, that blank spot won't serve you. James Yates of ChessandPoker.com writes that you shouldn't clear a space just because you can. Wait until you have a king to put there.
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That said, play kings carefully
When deciding which king to play, think a few turns ahead and use the king that can help reveal the most cards.
A red king will require a black queen, a red jack, a black 10, a red nine, and so on. A black king can be stacked with a red queen, a black jack, a red 10, a black nine, and so on. Look to see which king has more cards that work with it, then play it.
Move cards from the column with the most hidden cards
If there are a few different moves you can make, BVS Solitaire Collection advises moving cards from the biggest pile of face-down cards.
In the above situation, there's a jack of diamonds in the third column from the right and two available 10s. One could either move the 10 of clubs on the second column from the left or the 10 or spades on the far right. The 10 of spades has more hidden cards beneath it, so it's better to move it and try to reveal as many of them as possible.
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