Free solitaire is available all over the Internet. Type “free solitaire” into your search engine of choice and see for yourself. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
What’s a solitaire junkie to do when faced with hundreds of possibilities for free solitaire play? You’ve come to the right place.
Here’s a breakdown of my four favorite free solitaire spots on the Internet. You’re welcome.
World of Solitaire takes the top spot in my review of free solitaire websites because it was the first place I ever really got hooked on playing online solitaire. I love World of Solitaire, and not just because the games are free, but because of the way the site looks — it is a beautiful rendering of everyone’s favorite solo card game. World of Solitaire offers attractive, realistic, and highly adaptable versions of solitaire — fifty games and variations in all.
When you first load World of Solitaire, a round of Klondike is dealt. That means as soon as you land on the website, you can get right into the solitaire action. But don’t get distracted immediately by Klondike. There are so many options and games to explore, you just can’t afford to waste time on Klondike. Okay, maybe just one game . . .
Along the top of the screen at World of Solitaire are four tabs, labeled Solitaire, Decks, Backgrounds, and Options. Under the tab labeled Solitaire, you can choose a new game, undo a move, view statistics about your playing, or learn about the World of Solitaire website. Decks is exactly what it sounds like — an option to change the look of your deck by picking from nine different deck options. Like the standard “Anglo American” deck? You can use it — though I recommend the attractive Parisian deck. Similar to Deck is Backgrounds, an option to change the playing surface. Finally, under the Options tab, you can tweak the game’s settings to personalize the game exactly as you like it.
Solitaire Craving doesn’t offer the variety of games, looks, options, and other accoutrements that you’ll find at World of Solitaire — but this is a solid and dependable source of gaming time to satisfy your Solitaire craving. The things I love about World of Solitaire are simply not present here — your game will be played on a fairly plain “tabletop”, with just one deck of cards to choose from. Still, I find myself hanging out at Solitaire Craving whenever the need to put cards in descending order strikes me. Maybe it is the simplicity of the site that does it for me, I’m just not sure.
The game at Solitaire Craving is Klondike, and only Klondike. One bright spot for fans of variety — you can select a game to play based on its difficulty rating. This is a pretty cool feature, and allows you to pick the level of game you want. There’s also a big forum where Solitaire addicts like you and me can meet to share our stories of success and our tales of woe. This morning there appears to be a ton of “Boo, Hiss!” and similar epithets.
The ability to select my level of difficulty is a big deal for me. There are some morning where I just want to waltz right through a game of Klondike — that’s when you play an easy game. On those nights where there’s nothing going on around town and you need a mental challenge to keep you sane, the “Hard” or “Very Hard” settings will be right up your alley.
These guys have an interesting web presence — they sell many versions of Solitaire for your use at home, and these aren’t your run of the mill games included with your operating system. Games like their downloadable FreeCell Wizard have plenty of extra features that almost make the game worth the cost of the download — features, like the ability to track your Solitaire play statistically, play multiple variations of each game, save games in progress, etc. I say almost because I think the price is a bit high.
However, you don’t have to drop a dime to play at Solitaire Games. Solitaire Games offers eleven different varieties of Solitaire under the “Play Solitaire Online” tab from their main site, including Spider, Pyramid, Aces and Kings, Eights Off, and a few more. Pretty good variety for a website that isn’t particularly customer-friendly. Did you see what they’re charging for their Solitaire game downloads? I know, I know, I’m harping on the price thing.
What I don’t like about Solitaire Games is that I sometimes have trouble playing their free games because of Java settings. I don’t have trouble with Java anywhere else on the Internet using my machine, so I’m not sure if the site is occasionally a bit crowded or if there’s a software problem. Either way — don’t be surprised if you occasionally can’t access Solitaire Games actual, well, games of Solitaire.
Just Solitaire may not be the prettiest website in the world, and it may sometimes lag a bit (I’m guessing they have a ton of traffic) but the sheer number of free online games they offer is impossible to beat. There are currently twenty-six different Solitaire games — and we’re not just talking about variations of games here. Since the site was launched in late 2004 I have been a regular customer, and I can tell you that Just Solitaire is constantly tweaking their game offerings
I discovered an entirely new Solitaire game playing at Just Solitaire — Russian Solitaire. This wacky variation is a little game with a big difference. In Russian Solitaire you don’t have to make traditional “runs” in the tableau — instead, you match suits to build on the foundations. Check it out for yourself, for free, at Just Solitaire.
Everyone has their favorite Solitaire game, and if you’re a true Solitaire junky, you’re sure to have your own favorite free Solitaire website. Check out the above four if you’re looking for a (mostly) reliable source of solid free Solitaire gaming. Trust me — I play Solitaire at least an hour every day, and often more than that.
I’ve got what you might call a “chronic case”.
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