Ususual Forms of Solitaire

Solitaire is one of the easiest games to play, and it’s endlessly fun. But sometimes you want a little bit of variety in yor single-player card games.

Luckily, there are a huge amount of varieties when it comes to the humble Solitaire. And, like the original, they tend to be very, very easy to learn.

Some of them might look a bit strange, others might look weirdly familiar. But all of them are worth you taking a look at either digitally, or with actual physical cards.

Pyramid Solitaire

This is an activity that takes the game you love and turns it on its head. Pyramid Solitaire is quite different from the original Solitaire, but is just as fun, and is just as easy to play.

Like other versions of the game, the goal is simple: clear the cards. There is a stack of cards underneath the pyramid, with one uncovered. Using that card, you can clear the pyramid with anything that adds up to 13.

So, for instance, if the uncovered card is a 4, you can clear one instance of the number 9 from the pyramid. Or vice versa.

The challenge comes from choosing the right combination of cards. It’s easy to find yourself trapped, with nowhere to go, because you were a little to excited to clear something easy early on.

Pyramid Solitaire combines a minor mathematical challenge with some logic skills and, as always, luck. It’s great fun, and bound to be a challenge for those bored of regular Solitaire.

Addiction Solitaire

This one is completely different. All the cards are laid out randomly in front of you, except for the aces which are removed. You must then use those four gaps to move cards up the board and off the table.

Here’s the difficult part: cards can only move if they’re the same suit and one rank higher than the card immediately to the left.

It’s hard to fully explain exactly what this is all about and how it plays, so give it a Google and try it out. It’s something that’s completely different from what you’ll have played before, and yet it scratches the same logical itch. And this is a relatively new variation on the classic, so get to playing it before your friends do.

Scorpion Solitaire

This is a game based on Spider Solitaire, although it’s actually much, much harder.

Like Spider Solitaire you have to put together a full sequence of cards – same suit – to remove those cards from the board. Unlike Spider Solitaire, you are able to move any uncovered card from anywhere on the board, taking everything below it with you.

While this sounds like it might be easier, it’s actually not, and only about five per cent of games end in a win. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but is a nice difficult variety for those that want something new.

The biggest challenges come from needing to split up your sequences as you work. If you’re able to visualise the board as it changes and can think multiple steps ahead, this one might just be for you.

Golf Solitaire

We’ve had some difficult variations on the list so far – here’s something a bit easier.

You have a car at the bottom of the table, and you can remove cards one above or below from the table above.

It is surprisingly difficult, but very good fun. It never overstays its welcome and you never feel like you’ve wasted time if you’ve lost.

The hard part is in making sure you have enough cards left to clear the full board. It can take you a couple of games to get the hang of it, but once you have it done, you’ll enjoy yourself every time.

It lacks the in-depth effort needed for other forms of Solitaire. But if it’s simple fun you want, you could go a lot worse than Golf Solitaire.