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Russian Solitaire is the toughest member of the Yukon family, free to play online in your browser with no download and no sign-up. All 52 cards are dealt into seven columns at the start, 21 of them face down, and there is no stock to fall back on. Any face-up card can move together with every card lying on it, in order or not, but it may only land on the next card up in its own suit — so each card has exactly one place to go, where Yukon gives it two. That one change makes the game far harder: our solver, which sees every face-down card, finds a win in only 160 of the first 2,400 deals and proves the other 2,240 can never be won. So this version deals winnable hands by default, each one played out to a win by the solver before you see it. Drag or tap, undo anything, and ask for a hint that knows the way.
How to play Russian Solitaire
- All 52 cards are dealt into seven columns. The first column holds a single card; each of the other six holds a row of face-down cards — one in the second column, up to six in the seventh — under five face-up cards. There is no stock.
- Build the four foundations up in suit, from each Ace to its King. A card goes home by itself the moment it can, because nothing could ever build on it again.
- In the columns, a card goes only on the next card up in its own suit: the 7♠ on the 8♠ and nowhere else.
- Any face-up card can move, and it takes every card lying on it along — in order or not. Only the card at the bottom of the group has to fit where it lands. Drag it, or tap it and it goes to the one place it fits.
- When the last face-up card leaves a column, the card beneath turns over. Uncovering those 21 face-down cards is most of the game.
- An empty column takes only a King, or a group with a King at its bottom. You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations.
Tips
- Count the face-down cards first. The seventh column hides six; turning those over opens far more of the game than tidying a column that has none.
- Every card has exactly one place to go, so before a move ask what it buries. Dropping a group onto a column can cover the very card that column was about to free.
- Look for a card lying on top of a lower card of its own suit, like the J♥ over the 4♥. The 4♥ cannot go home until the J♥ moves, and the J♥ can only go onto the Q♥ — so find the Q♥ early.
- Empty columns are precious but only a King can fill one. Before emptying a column, check there is a King worth moving — ideally one sitting on face-down cards.
- A group does not have to be in order to move. Use that: the card you need may be the bottom of a messy pile that moves in one go.
- In Any deal mode most hands cannot be won at all. When the hint says a deal can no longer be won, undo back a few moves and try another line — or start a new one.
FAQ
Is Russian Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Russian Solitaire is completely free to play online in your browser, with no download, no account and no in-game purchases. Your wins, streaks and best scores are kept in your own browser.
Does Russian Solitaire work on a phone?
Yes. Drag a card with your finger, or just tap it: in suit there is only one card it can go on, so a tap sends it there. On an upright phone the seven columns get a tall table so long columns stay readable, and the game also fits a phone held sideways.
How do you play Russian Solitaire?
All 52 cards are dealt into seven columns, 21 of them face down. Build down in suit in the columns, moving any face-up card together with every card on it, and up in suit on the four foundations from Ace to King. Only a King, or a group with a King at its bottom, can go into an empty column. Turn over every face-down card and bring all 52 cards home to win.
How is Russian Solitaire different from Yukon?
The deal and the moves are the same — seven columns, no stock, and any face-up card can move with everything on it. The one difference is how the columns build: Yukon builds down in alternating colours, so a red 6 can go on either black 7, while Russian Solitaire builds down in suit, so the 6♥ can only go on the 7♥. Measured on the same 2,400 deals, the same careful player who never peeks wins 356 games of Yukon, about one in seven, and only 84 of Russian Solitaire, about one in 29. Our Yukon Solitaire is on its own page.
Can you move cards that are not in order?
Yes. Any face-up card can be picked up together with all the cards lying on top of it, whatever order those are in. Only the card at the bottom of the group has to fit: it must land on the next card up in its own suit, or — if it is a King — in an empty column.
Is every Russian Solitaire deal winnable?
Far from it. Our solver sees every face-down card and tries every move, and on the first 2,400 deals it finds a win in only 160, about one in fifteen. For the other 2,240 it proves that no sequence of moves can ever win. That is why this game deals winnable hands by default; choose Any deal for a truly random shuffle.
What does Winnable deals mean?
Before you see a deal, the solver plays it out to a win, so every hand it gives you can be won. The solver knows where the face-down cards are and you do not, so a winnable deal can still be lost: on the 160 winnable deals among the first 2,400, a careful player who never peeks wins 84 — about half. The Hint button uses the same solver and shows the next move of a winning line while one exists.
What can go in an empty column?
Only a King, or a group of cards with a King at its bottom. Nothing else can start a column. Moving a King into an empty column is worth most when it lifts the King off face-down cards.
Where do these Russian Solitaire rules come from?
Russian Solitaire is a variant of Yukon, and this game follows the rules as PySolFC, the open-source solitaire collection, gives them: Yukon’s deal of 1 to 11 cards per column, building down in suit, groups moved regardless of sequence, Kings only into empty columns, and no redeal.