12 Most Difficult Solitaire Games (Based on Win Rate Data)
If you like to play Solitaire but are looking for more of a challenge, you’ve come to the right place. Although you play the game solo, sometimes there’s no greater competitor than yourself. So if you’re ready to take your card playing to the next level, we’ve compiled the most difficult Solitaire games. You can play all of them for free on Solitaire Bliss.
1. Russian Solitaire (Win Rate: 2.5%)
A variation of Yukon Solitaire, Russian Solitaire involves sorting cards into ascending order in their foundation piles by suit, starting with an ace. All cards are dealt onto the tableau, and there is no stockpile. Unlike Yukon Solitaire, you create sequences in the tableau in descending order by suit, instead of alternating in color.
Building tableau sequences by suit increases the difficulty factor of this game because you only have one possible play for each card instead of two (two cards of equal rank and the same color). So if you have a ten of clubs, you can only play a nine of clubs on top of it, not a nine of hearts or nine of diamonds.
To make the most of a tricky tableau, look for moves that reveal hidden cards and empty columns. You have a good chance of having kings already on the tableau, so emptying columns gives you a bonus move, and revealing hidden cards increases your possibilities for making plays.
2. Golf (Win Rate: 3%)
The concept for the game of Golf is quite simple—just place a card from the tableau onto the foundation pile that is one higher or lower in rank—but the execution can prove otherwise. Because you can only play on top of a single card, you only have two possibilities for a play, and if those aren’t available, you have to draw a new foundation card out of the stockpile.
To overcome this issue, take a lot of time to survey the tableau and consider what’s buried in the stockpile. Check out where you might face roadblocks on the tableau, such as having multiples of the same rank buried far up into columns.
For example, several buried tens means you need nines or jacks to play them. So if you see a lot of buried tens but very few nines and jacks, you might have a good chance at getting all your tens played when those become available from the stockpile.
3. Alaska Solitaire (Win Rate: 3.5%)
Alaska Solitaire is another variation of Yukon Solitaire, and is played just like Russian Solitaire but with one difference—you can build sequences by suit in both ascending and descending orders. This gives you more leeway in terms of options for play, but it still makes for a challenging Solitaire game.
Like its relatives, the difficulty with playing Alaska Solitaire is the limited amount of cards you can move. In fact, what makes this variation easier creates a whole new challenge. If you have a seven of hearts, you can play an eight or six of hearts on it, but mixing the order of sequences means you just push your problems down the road. Once you start playing on the foundation pile, it’s a lot harder to unravel mixed sequences across the tableau than one that is built in descending order.
To win at this game, focus on emptying columns and uncovering the hidden cards first, but do your best to keep sequences in descending order. Use ascending order as a temporary move or a last resort to make building your foundation piles much easier.
4. Forty Thieves Solitaire (Win Rate: 5%)
With 40 cards dealt onto the tableau, Forty Thieves Solitaire takes a lot of problem-solving skills to win. Played with two decks of cards, you must build eight foundation piles in ascending order by suit to win the game. But unlike Classic Solitaire, you build sequences on the tableau by suit, not alternating colors, and they must descend in rank.
Because you get just one shot with the stockpile and you can only move the bottom card of each column, this game tends to limit your available moves. You have to think ahead and plan moves that maximize consecutive card movements, plus you have to keep track of what you’ve turned over in the stockpile.
To give yourself the best chance at winning, focus on emptying columns. Any card can be moved into empty spaces, and that frees you to undo sequences and utilize buried cards. So take a good look at the tableau before moving any cards. Weigh your options to see what helps you both get closer to emptying a column as well as gain the most consecutive moves.
5. Scorpion Solitaire (Win Rate: 5%)
If you’ve played Spider Solitaire, then gameplay should be familiar with Scorpion Solitaire with a few exceptions. In this Solitaire card game, you play with just one deck of playing cards, and while most are face up on the tableau, 12 cards remain facedown and hidden with only 3 cards left in the stockpile. Like Spider, you need to build sequences by suit in descending order in the tableau. Finished piles automatically move to their foundation pile, and once you’ve completed all four piles, you win.
This sting in this version of Solitaire comes from the hidden cards. Those 12 cards are buried in the first four tableau columns, and to get them, you have to move out the four face-up cards that are covering them. Getting to these cards is no easy feat when you consider that the three-deep stockpile is really for emergency use only.
While this version is a difficult game, you can give your strategy a headstart by zeroing in on the hidden cards in the tableau. You can move an entire column of cards, regardless of its order, as long as the first card is placed on top of a card of the same suit and one rank higher. So you can move a column of assorted cards that begins with the nine of spades to reveal the hidden card underneath as long as you place the column on top of a ten of spades.
6. Canfield (Win Rate: 7%)
Although Canfield is another variant of Klondike Solitaire, you see only a couple of similarities in its setup. Like Solitaire Turn 3, the stockpile is used to flip three cards into a waste pile, and you create descending sequences in the tableau that alternate by color.
However, while it has four foundation piles, one of them already has a card dealt onto it, and the tableau only has columns and the additional element of 13 cards in a reserve, with only the top card face up. Those four columns really limit your play, and because all of the hidden cards are in one single reserve pile, you can only access them one by one, playing the top face-up card whenever possible.
While this game is tough, you can increase your chances of winning by running through the stockpile first to see the hidden cards. You get endless cycles through the stockpile, and if you find a base card, you can play it to open up more places to move cards right from the beginning. Then focus on arranging cards so that tableau sequences begin with the last card needed to finish foundation piles. For example, if the base card is a jack, then you want to arrange cards on the tableau so that you’re eventually starting each one with a ten since it will be the last card to place on the foundation pile.
7. Spider Solitaire 4 Suits (Win Rate: 8%)
Even beginners have probably heard of Spider Solitaire, and if you’re a fan of this game, then Spider Solitaire 4 Suits offers the biggest challenge. Like other Spider Solitaire games, you must create a same-suit descending sequence of cards within the tableau, and then that sequence is automatically placed into the foundation pile. The only difference with this version is that you have four different suits to balance as you play.
The additional suits are what make this game of Solitaire so challenging. Although you can create mixed-suit sequences, having four suits to juggle means you have a lot of sorting to do. Then add to that the cards that get dealt to the bottom of all columns when you need the stockpile, and you can end up with a real mix—and mess―in your columns.
When you play Spider Solitaire 4 Suits, prioritize creating sequences of the same suit. Mixed-suit sequences get messy, and you have to undo them later in the game. So do your best to keep mixed-suit builds as a last resort only. Also focus on emptying columns and uncovering hidden cards. Like any solitaire game, creating empty spaces for movement and knowing where cards are located are key to winning the game.
8. Harp (Win Rate: 8%)
Although it’s a more difficult version of Solitaire Turn 1, you may think Harp looks like a simple game of Double Solitaire Turn 1 until you realize how limited your moves are. While the goal of Harp is like other Classic Solitaire games, building eight foundation piles by suit into sequences from ace to king, you can only move the last card in each tableau column. The exception to this rule is that you can move a sequence that begins with a king (so a black king, red queen, black jack can be moved).
Two elements make this game difficult. You can only move the bottom card of each column, which locks your movements, and you only get three passes through the stockpile, which locks your options.
Still, the game is not unwinnable as long as you strategize carefully. Before making any moves, take a long look at the tableau and weigh the outcomes of a few moves. You want to plan movements that will not just sequence cards but give you consecutive plays before using the stockpile. Like any Solitaire game, try to empty columns so you have a place to move sequences of kings, which helps to open up our possibilities.
9. Solitaire Turn 3 (Win Rate: 10%)
Deceptively simple, Solitaire Turn 3 is just like Classic Solitaire except that when you turn cards from the stockpile into the waste pile, you must turn three at a time, and only the top card can be played. Although you still need to build foundation piles by suit in ascending order to win, accessing the cards you need to win can be tricky.
Like most Solitaire games, the hidden cards in tableau columns creates a challenge, but accessing only the top card of the waste pile adds even more of a challenge in this version.
To have a better chance of winning, cycle through the stockpile first to see what cards it contains. Then the only hidden cards left are in the tableau. So once you know what the stockpile can offer you, take a look at how you can maximize moves on the tableau to uncover hidden cards.
10. Yukon (Win Rate: 12%)
Yukon Solitaire may look like Klondike Solitaire, but, instead of a stockpile, the cards are dealt face up onto the tableau. Like Classic Solitaire, you build foundation piles that ascend in order by suit to win, but you build sequences differently.
How you build sequences can make columns get tricky quickly. You can move a card on top of another that is one rank higher and the opposite color. For example, a red nine can be placed on a black ten. However, all the cards below the one you’re moving move also. So if that red nine had a black four, red ten, and red queen below it, you actually move the nine, four, ten, queen sequence on top of the black ten. That means some moves that help build sequences also add confusion to your columns.
For the best chance at success with this Solitaire variation, plan several sequences of moves before you begin. Consider how the card you’re about to move impacts the sequences you’re trying to build and assess whether it leaves you with the most options. Zeroing in on specific cards and finding a spot to move them first is another way to work the same angle.
11. Baker’s Game (Win Rate: 14%)
Baker’s Game looks just like FreeCell and plays nearly identical to that game. You still have four free cells to use and build foundation piles by suit that ascend in order from ace to king. What makes Baker’s Game different and more challenging than FreeCell Solitaire is that you must build descending sequences by suit, not ones that alternate in color.
The element of building sequences by suit makes this game more difficult because you only have one card that can be played on top of another. For example, a nine of hearts can only have an eight of hearts played on top of it. The implications of this limitation are highlighted when you move something to a free cell. Every card you move in the free cell has only one card you can move it back onto.
To work around this limitation, build mini sequences by suit throughout the tableau first. By building these smaller sequences, you access more cards in the tableau and have a better chance at freeing cards you need to play cards onto.
12. TriPeaks (Win Rate: 16%)
It looks a bit like Pyramid Solitaire and plays a lot like Golf, but, as the new implies, TriPeaks offers a triple-peak challenge that has you matching the foundation card with cards on the tableau that are one rank higher or lower, regardless of suit. Simply clearing the tableau, even if you leave cards in the stockpile, is a win.
Although simple to play, TriPeaks is tricky in that you can only pair a king with a queen and an ace with a two, and cards you need could be buried in the three peaks of the game.
To give yourself the best chance at winning, find the kings and aces and make sure you have queens and twos available, or keep track of where they are or whether they’re in the stockpile. Then look for buried multiples of the same rank. For example, if you have several nines in the last two rows of each peak, you need to keep track of where the tens and eights are located so you can access them when needed.
Test Your Solitaire Skills on Solitaire Bliss!
Whether you want to try out some difficult Solitaire games or you’re a beginner wondering where to start, look no further than Solitaire Bliss. You can play a variety of Solitaire variations at a range of difficulty levels so that you can find the right challenge for you.
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