Four different games under one name
Patience is the most played category on Android and the one where the name tells you least. Klondike, Spider, FreeCell and Pyramid have different odds, different skill and different pacing, and the app store presents them all as Solitaire. The other dividing line is economic: some of these are a deck of cards, and some are a progression system that pays out in coins and asks for them back.
Which game you are actually playing
| Variant | How it plays | How often it can be won |
|---|---|---|
| Klondike, one card draw | The classic, moderate skill | Most deals are winnable with good play |
| Klondike, three card draw | Harder, more luck in the order | A minority of deals go out |
| Spider, two suits | Long, methodical, forgiving | Usually winnable with patience |
| Spider, four suits | Considerably harder | Expect to lose most of them |
| FreeCell | Nearly pure skill, everything visible | Almost every deal is solvable |
| Pyramid and TriPeaks | Quick, luck-heavy, good for short sessions | Varies widely by deal |
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The apps
The long-standing standard for Klondike: winnable deals, proper statistics, daily challenges, and no coin balance to manage.
The same studio's Spider, with all four suit settings and an undo that does not charge you for using it.
And their FreeCell, which is the one to install if you want the pure-skill variant done plainly.
Five variants in one app with daily challenges and a long history. The reviews suffer from the advertising and the account prompt rather than the card games.
Clean, quick, and unusually good at one-handed play, with a layout that works on a large phone.
Well rated and modern, with a sensible free tier. The interface is the reason to prefer it over its many lookalikes.
A straightforward Klondike with adjustable draw rules, which is the setting most apps bury or omit.
Light, about 50 MB, and it opens instantly. Good on an older phone where the larger card games stutter.
Very highly rated, with a generous set of variants and themes for a free app.
Another solid free Klondike, worth trying if you want a second option with a different look and the same rules.
A large variant collection in one install, so Pyramid and TriPeaks are there when Klondike goes stale.
Spider in about 5 MB. Nothing fancy, no account, and the smallest genuinely good card game here.
Zynga's Solitaire: tournaments and events alongside the standard game, which some people enjoy and others find noisy.
Klondike with an aquarium you decorate between games. The cards are ordinary; the meta-game is the point, so judge it on that.
Solitaire Grand Harvest: enormously popular, and built around coins, boosters and a farm rather than the card game. Included so it is clear what it is.
What to look at before installing
- Find out whether deals are winnable Good apps say whether they deal solvable hands. It is the difference between a puzzle and a shuffle.
- Check that undo is unlimited and free In coin-based apps undo costs currency, which quietly turns a thinking game into a spending one.
- Look for real statistics Wins by variant, average moves, best time. Without them there is no way to tell whether you are improving.
- Decide about the coin economy up front Boosters and daily rewards are a design choice, not a bug. Some people like them; know which you are installing.
- Test it with one hand on the sofa This is where patience is actually played. Card size and drag distance matter more than graphics.
- Check whether it works offline A deck of cards needs no connection. If it insists on one, that is for advertising rather than for you.
- Winnable deals and unlimited undo
- Several variants with correct rules
- Statistics you can actually read
- Works with no connection
- Undo that costs currency
- Timers between games
- A single variant sold as every variant
- Video advertising after every deal
Pick the variant deliberately, insist on winnable deals and free undo, and check whether you bought a card game or a coin economy.
Frequently asked questions
Is every deal winnable?
It depends on the variant and the app. FreeCell is almost always solvable, three-card Klondike often is not, and many apps deliberately deal only solvable hands. The good ones tell you which they do.
Why are some of these several hundred megabytes?
Card backs, animations, video advertising libraries and a meta-game. A pure card game fits in a few megabytes, and one of the entries above proves it.
Does playing patience improve anything?
You get better at patience, particularly at FreeCell where planning genuinely pays. Claims beyond that are marketing, and the honest reason to play is that it is a pleasant way to spend ten minutes.
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