Solitaire guide

A guide to Solitaire on OverTime: the board and controls, a strong opening, reading the stock, costly moves, and how your time is ranked.

How to play Solitaire

  • Klondike
  • Draw one card
  • 7 tableau columns

Goal

Move all fifty-two cards to the four foundations, each built up in suit from Ace to King.

How to play

  • This is Klondike, dealt one card at a time from the stock.
  • Build the tableau columns downwards in alternating colours - a red eight onto a black nine.
  • Move a face-down card into play by clearing the cards on top of it, then turn it over.
  • Only a King may be placed into an empty column.
  • Draw from the stock when you run out of moves, and send cards to the foundations from Ace upwards in suit.
  • Undo, hint and auto-complete buttons sit under the board if you get stuck.

Technique

Turning face-down cards over is the real objective - every hidden card is information you do not have. Prefer the move that exposes a new card over the move that tidies the tableau, and think twice before sending a low card to the foundation while it could still catch a card you need.

Scoring

  • Cards reaching the foundations score, and completing the game scores the most.
  • The leaderboard ranks your finishing time, so a faster win ranks higher.

Before your first deal

Each New Game deals a fresh shuffle. The stock and waste sit at the top left, the four foundations at the top right, and the seven tableau columns underneath.

Above the board, a bar shows your time, moves and score. Below it sit New Game, Undo, Hint, Auto and a settings button where you can switch between the Classic and Pixel Art card styles.

Drag a card or a run of cards to move it, or click a card and then click where it should go. Double-click a card to send it straight to a foundation.

On a keyboard, H shows a hint, Z or Ctrl+Z undoes, A starts auto-complete and Escape drops your selection. On a phone the cards shrink to fit, and dragging works by touch.

A sound way to start

Before you draw a single card, scan all seven columns. Play any Ace or Two that is already showing, then look for moves that turn a face-down card over.

When two moves are possible, take the one from the column with more hidden cards. Those columns are where the cards you need are buried.

The Hint button follows a fixed order that makes a good habit. It prefers a foundation move first, then a move that reveals a card. After those come freeing a low card and clearing a column for a King.

Reading the game as it unfolds

You draw one card at a time, and only the top card of the waste can be played. Before each draw, check the tableau once more for a move you missed.

Clicking an empty stock turns the waste back over so you can draw through it again. You can do this as often as you like, but each pass takes 20 points off your score.

Keep a mental note of the colour and rank each column needs next. A red Seven waiting on a black Eight tells you exactly which card to look for in the stock.

Once the stock and waste are empty and every tableau card is face up, Auto becomes available. It finishes the game for you, and the clock pauses while it runs.

Moves that cost games

Most stalled games trace back to one of a few choices made early on.

  • Emptying a column with no King ready. Only a King can fill it, so the space may sit idle while you need it elsewhere.
  • Building a long run on a column you will want to clear. Every card you add has to move again later.
  • Pulling a card back down from a foundation without need. It costs 15 points, so save it for when it truly unblocks the board.
  • Leaning on Undo. Each undo takes 5 points off your score, and the clock keeps running while you think.

Scoring and leaderboards on OverTime

The clock starts with the deal. The leaderboard ranks your finishing time in seconds, so a faster win ranks higher. It covers today, this week, this month, this season and all time.

The score on screen is separate from your ranked time. A card reaching a foundation earns 10 points and turning a card over earns 5.

When you win, a time bonus of 700,000 divided by your seconds is added to give your final score. The results show your moves and final score, with a chart of your recent times.

Your game is saved as you play, so you can close the page and carry on later.

Where to go next

New Game deals again at any time, so a hopeless layout costs you nothing but a click. Try a few deals in a row and you will start to spot good openings quickly.

If you enjoy cards, Blackjack offers a different challenge against a dealer with a bankroll that carries over between visits. Hearts is a multiplayer card game you win by avoiding points.