Russian Solitaire

Russian Solitaire has the layout and the freedom of Yukon, with one change that makes it a much sterner test. Cards build down in the same suit, not in alternating colors. A seven of hearts accepts exactly one card, the six of hearts, so every column you build is a piece of a single suit. Few places to land, and many cards that need one, is the whole character of the game.

Rules step by step

1. The deal. Seven columns are dealt left to right. Column 1 gets one face-up card. Each other column gets face-down cards first (one in column 2, up to six in column 7) and then five face-up cards. That is 21 face-down and 31 face-up cards. There is no stock.
2. Build down in the same suit. A card can go on a card of the same suit that is exactly one rank higher. The five of spades goes on the six of spades and on nothing else.
3. Move a card with everything on top of it. Pick up any face-up card and the cards above it come with it, in order or not. Only the card you pick up has to fit the card you land on.
4. Turn cards over. A face-down card flips up by itself when it becomes the last card of its column.
5. Empty columns take kings. Only a king, with the cards on it, can go into an empty column.
6. Foundations. Each suit goes up from ace to king in its own pile, one card at a time, always from the end of a column. A card on a foundation stays there.
7. Win when all four foundations hold thirteen cards.

The page shows time and moves. There is no score.

Why it is harder than Yukon

In Yukon a card has two possible landing spots, one red and one black. Here it has one. That cuts the number of useful moves sharply, and it means most of a deal depends on the first few exchanges. Our own solver confirms it: it finds a win in only a small share of random shuffles, roughly one in twenty, while it clears most random Yukon deals.

The good news is that a suit-only game is also quite readable. There are few moves to compare at any moment, and the order in which a suit can ever be assembled is plain to see.

Strategy

• Read the suits first. Before moving, look at where each ace and each king sits and which suit stacks already exist on the table.
• Join cards of one suit whenever you can. A pair such as the nine and eight of clubs is permanent progress, because it only grows.
• Do not bury the next card of a suit. If the five of hearts sits under a heavy pile, the four of hearts and everything under it is stuck too.
• Free kings early. Empty columns matter more here, since they are the only spare space, and only a king may fill them.
• Send cards up as soon as they are next. Moving a card to its foundation never costs you a landing spot in this game, because only the next card of its suit could have used it.
• Use undo freely. Every move can be taken back, so try a line and see what it opens.

Frequently asked questions

Is every deal winnable?

Not every random shuffle is, and in this game the share is small. The default deals come from a pool that an offline solver has checked, and it found a winning line for each one. The solver sees every card, while you see only the face-up ones. Pool deals also lean toward easier wins than a random shuffle, because only deals the solver could finish are kept. A deal that does not come from the pool is labelled as not checked.

How is it different from Yukon?

Only the building rule. Yukon builds in alternating colors, Russian Solitaire in the same suit. The layout, the deal and the move-anything rule are identical.

Can I undo a move?

Yes, as often as you like, and redo too. Using the hint marks the game as played with help in your own stats.

Do I need an account?

No. Settings, stats and the game in progress stay in your browser. The privacy page lists the entries.

How do I share a deal?

Every deal has its own web address. Copy it and a friend opens the same cards on this page.

Related games

• Klondike, draw one is the gentler classic with alternating colors.
• FreeCell shows every card from the start and wins far more often.
• Spider rewards building in a single suit too.
• Pyramid is a quick pairing game when you want a break.

Last updated 2026-10-30