Solitaire (PuzzleMadness)

About Solitaire (PuzzleMadness)

The layout has four areas. The stock is the face-down pile at the top left, and cards turned from it go face up onto the waste beside it. The tableau is the row of seven piles in the middle, and the foundations are four piles at the top right, one for each suit. The aim is to move every card onto the foundations, starting each suit with its Ace and finishing with its King.

On the tableau you build downwards in alternating colours: a card can go onto one that is one higher and of the other colour, and a run of face-up cards can move together if its bottom card fits. Only a King, or a run headed by a King, may fill an empty tableau pile. When the stock runs out, the waste can be turned back over to form a new stock. Because the deal is fixed for the day, everyone plays the same cards and scores feed the Solitaire leaderboards like any other PuzzleMadness puzzle.

PuzzleMadness is a free puzzle website run by Dewi, a software developer who started out making games for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii and DS and now builds the site as a hobby. It carries dozens of puzzle types, from classic sudoku to newer logic grids, and each one gets its own dated puzzle every day at each difficulty. Solitaire comes in Easy, Medium and Hard versions plus a Mixed page, and the same day's Solitaire puzzle is shared by everyone who opens it.

The site checks your grid as you go and tells you when it is finished; it does not publish solutions. Each completed puzzle earns a score, and scores feed a monthly and an all-time Solitaire leaderboard, where only your best attempt at a puzzle counts. Older days stay in the archive, so a missed puzzle can still be played later and still counts toward the current month. Playing needs no account; a free registration gives you a username on the leaderboards and a cloud save. The pages carry adverts.

How to play Solitaire (PuzzleMadness)

1. Open today's Solitaire page on PuzzleMadness and choose a difficulty from the menu above the grid.
2. Turn cards from the stock onto the waste, and play them to the tableau or foundations when they fit.
3. Build tableau piles downwards in alternating colours, moving single cards or whole face-up runs; only a King can go into an empty pile.
4. Build each suit on its foundation from Ace up to King; when the stock is empty, turn the waste over to go through it again.
5. The site tells you when the grid is complete and adds your score; registered players appear on the leaderboards.

Tips

• Turn over face-down tableau cards whenever you can; they are where the game usually gets stuck.
• Do not empty a tableau pile unless you have a King ready to move into it.
• Moving cards to the foundations early is not always best: a low card on the tableau may still be needed to hold a run.
• Missed a day? Earlier puzzles are in the archive, and finishing one still counts toward this month's leaderboard.

Questions