Russian Solitaire Online

Solitaire is one of those universal, fun activities that lends itself to the perfect way to spend some free time. While most people are familiar with the game of Solitaire, they almost always have the ordinary version of Klondike in mind and they might not be aware that there are so many variations of Solitaire that can keep you busy forever. Russian Solitaire is one of those variants that can give you an endless amount of fun. In this article, we will outline in great detail what Russian Solitaire is, how to play it and much more.

What Is Russian Solitaire?

Russian Solitaire is not your common game of Solitaire. It is one of the hardest versions of the game and it requires a bit more than luck in order to win it. A player needs a lot of patience as well as a strategic plan in order to win the game. Russian Solitaire is a solitaire card game that is very similar to the game of Yukon. However, the way they differ is in the building by suit. With these differences on board, it is still one of the many games of Solitaire that provides endless amounts of entertainment.

How to Play Russian Solitaire?

As this type of Solitaire is quite similar to Klondike, it has a very simplistic layout which makes for an easy and relaxing play. The very top cards in the columns are available for building onto the foundations by building up following the suit. The card that has been moved, as well as the rest of the cards in its fan, move together, regardless of whether they are all in sequence. Only the kings or fans with a king as the bottommost card may be placed on an empty column.

The game of Russian Solitaire has a very straightforward gameplay. You are only required to move cards from the playboard to the foundation columns. Every foundation column must begin with an ace and finish with a king at the end. Furthermore, each foundation column must be built from cards following the same suit. So, if you were to start with an ace of hearts, every card that follows should be in the hearts suit.

On the playing board, a player is able to move cards from one column to another. Although, in order to do so, the card in question must be of a rank lower than the one that is being moved to and follow the same suit. So, for instance, if you want to move a 3 of hearts, it can only be moved to another column where the bottom card is a 4 of hearts. 

As previously mentioned, any card with the playing board of a Russian Solitaire can be moved as long as it is facing up. And even though Russian Solitaire can be a very hard game to win, it most definitely has one of the easiest gameplays. With the lack of a stock pile and a waste pile, you are only required to rely on the cards on the playing board.

Set Up the Game Russian Solitaire

To set up the game, you will need to designate 4 foundations, which are initially empty. Furthermore, you will need to deal out 7 columns. The first column starts with no cards facing down. Then the second column is to have one card facing down, and so on to the seventh which starts with six cards facing down. The remaining cards from the deck are dealt out face-up with one on the first column and five each on the remaining columns. The layout of this game looks similar to that of the ordinary game of Klondike Solitaire with the only difference being that the ‘extra’ cards are laid out face-up on six of the seven columns.

The Goal of Russian Solitaire

Russian Solitaire has one very simple objective just like any other Solitaire card game. And that is to move all the cards to the foundation column. Once you have done that, the game ends and you have won. It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner, an occasional player or a very experienced veteran. The goal is simple enough for anyone to follow but not everyone might win the very first time they play. In fact, most people probably won’t. That’s the nature of the game. However, it is so addicting in a good way that people just keep on playing ‘till it gets better and better. 

How to Win Russian Solitaire

Russian Solitaire is a very simple game to play, however, it can be a bit tricky and difficult to win. So, you might be wondering why you would want to start playing a game without knowing how to win it. Well, the answer lies in the amount of fun you will be having. But even the most amount of fun can sometimes give way to the gnawing feeling that you not only need to enjoy this game but to win it. So, in order to win a game of Russian Solitaire you only have to do something very simple. You need to make sure you resist the urge to make moves that will not expose facing-down cards. That will no doubt hinder your progress in the game, even if it may seem like it is helping in the short term. But do trust: it will most definitely not do you any good in the long term.

Tips and tricks for Russian Solitaire

  • Unlike other types of Solitaire card games, this one’s number one objective is to always uncover as many face-down cards as possible. When you can see more cards, you will be able to make more moves and therefore you will be able to build on your foundation that much easier. The rules of Russian Solitaire state that once a card is turned face-up, it is available for play thereafter. It is important to remember that in Russian Solitaire, the cards that are in between foundation columns can be moved with the rest of the cards that are above them.
  • It is imperative to avoid making moves that do not expose face-down cards. While it may be tempting as these moves might help you move some cards away to the foundation columns, in the long run, they will be of no service to you and will most likely prevent you from progressing with the game at later and more important stages of the game.
  • Another important bit of tip is to start moving cards within the columns after exposing face-down cards and sending any that you can to the foundation columns. A really good strategy is to empty a column as they make for the perfect way to send kings on empty columns which makes it easier on you later in the game. Furthermore, to that strategy, if you can have the kings be at the top of a few separate columns, you will help yourself a lot.

Conclusion 

As promised, this article went into great detail on the topic of Russian Solitaire and all of its different aspects. It is a game that is suited for every type of card player, starting from beginners to advanced players. It is most certainly one of the easiest and most fun ways to spend some alone time and forget about everything else that might be on your mind. So, don’t hesitate to start playing Russian Solitaire as it will bring you some much-needed entertainment.

FAQ

Find answers to all your questions.

Is it difficult to play Russian Solitaire?

Russian Solitaire is one of the most challenging Solitaire games and it takes a lot of strategy and planning to win it.

What is the score in the game Russian Solitaire?

Each card that is moved to the foundation column will provide 100 points. The quicker you finish the game, the more extra points you will get. Furthermore, extra points are given the fewer moves you make.