What Are HTML5 Games and Why Do They Run Everywhere?
HTML5 games run in the browser you already have. Here is how they work and what that means for you as a player.
Golf, Pyramid and Thirteen: Three Solitaire Games Explained
Solitaire is not one game but a whole family, and the members play very differently. Three of them live in our Card Games category. None needs more than a couple of minutes, and all three get better once you know what to look for.
Golf Solitaire: follow the run
In Golf Solitaire you move cards from seven columns onto a single pile. A card can go if it is one rank above or below the card on top of the pile; suits do not matter. A 7 can take a 6 or an 8, and in our version Kings and Aces connect as well.
Tip: every card is face up, so plan before you play. Trace the longest run you can see — 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4 — and only then start it. When two cards of the same rank are available, take the one that uncovers something useful.
Pyramid Pairs: sums to thirteen
Pyramid Pairs lays twenty-eight cards in a pyramid. You remove two uncovered cards at a time when they add up to 13, with Jacks worth 11, Queens 12 and Kings 13 on their own. The stock supplies extra cards to pair with.
Tip: check where the partners are. If all four 6s sit above the 7s that need them, the pyramid is in trouble, and you should use stock cards to free that area first. Remove Kings as soon as they appear; they never help by waiting.
Thirteen: the same sum, a flatter table
Thirteen uses the same pairing rule without the pyramid, which makes it the gentler of the two and a good place to learn which ranks go together: Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, 6 and 7.
Is every deal winnable?
No, and that is normal for patience games. The cards are shuffled fairly, so some deals cannot be cleared however well you play. In Golf Solitaire a full clearance is uncommon; in Pyramid Pairs a careful player wins a fair share of games. Treat the number of cards cleared as your score, and a clean sweep as a bonus.
If you prefer a puzzle with no luck at all, try Peg Solitaire, where the starting position is always the same and the only question is whether you can finish with a single peg.
