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Solitaire card games you can play alone [single-player]
If you’re bored with nothing to do on your own, don’t you have a deck of playing cards in your room?
Playing cards often have the image of being a party game you play boisterously with a crowd, but this time, let’s try playing with cards by yourself!
We’re introducing plenty of solo-friendly games—from classic single-player staples to fortune-telling-style activities and even options that don’t rely on the numbers at all.
You might just find yourself hooked on solo card play…!
Even when it’s called “fortune-telling,” many of these can be enjoyed like simple matching or number-based games.
Give them a try!
Solitaire Card Games You Can Play Alone (1–10)
clock
Let me introduce a solo card game called “Clock.” Remove the jokers and thoroughly shuffle the 52-card deck.
Place all cards face down in a circle to match the numbers on a clock face: twelve positions around the circle and one in the center, with exactly four cards at each position.
Start by turning over the top card of the center pile.
Place that card at the clock position corresponding to its rank, then take the bottom card from that position, turn it over, and place it at the correct position for its rank.
Repeat this process to complete the clock.
If you reveal a king (13), place it in the center.
However, if all four kings are placed in the center before the clock is completed, the game ends there.
four-leaf clover
This is a solo playing card game called “Four-Leaf Clover.” It uses the 52 cards excluding the jokers.
Shuffle the cards well, then lay out 4 cards face up, and another 4 cards beneath them, making 4 rows of 4 cards (16 cards total).
Ignore suits and look for cards whose values add up to 15; if you find any, remove them from the layout.
You may remove combinations of two cards totaling 15 or three cards totaling 15.
Fill any empty spaces with cards from the remaining deck.
Continue removing sets that total 15, and if you manage to remove all the cards, you win.
Solitaire
When it comes to solitaire, many people have probably played it on a computer.
Solitaire is also known as “Klondike” and is a famous single-player card game.
Using all cards except the jokers, you lay out the tableau in a staircase: one card in the first pile, two in the next, then three, and so on up to seven piles.
Only the top card of each pile is face up.
You build cards on the tableau by alternating colors (red and black) and placing them in descending order from higher to lower ranks, flipping the top card of a pile face up whenever the card above it is moved.
When an Ace appears, move it to the foundation, and then stack cards of the same suit in ascending order on that Ace.
You win if you manage to move all the tableau cards to the foundations.
Pyramid
The card game “Pyramid” gets its name from the way the cards are arranged in a pyramid shape.
The game uses a standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed.
Place one face-down card at the top, then beneath it place two cards so that they overlap the top card by half, then three cards in the same way, and so on.
The bottom row has seven cards, which are placed face up.
Suits do not matter; you can remove two cards from the layout if their values add up to 13.
When overlapping cards are cleared, the newly uncovered cards are turned face up.
You succeed if you manage to remove all the cards from the layout.
Simple card fortune-telling
It’s a simple fortune-telling method.
While many playing-card readings focus on love, this one is versatile: it estimates the percentage chance that what you’re currently attempting or wishing for will come true.
You use two 13 cards and a total of twelve cards numbered 1 through 10.
Shuffle the 12 numbered cards well and lay them face up in a row of twelve.
Then, determine your success rate by how many numbered cards appear between the two 13s.
For example, if there are 6 cards between the 13s, that means a 60% chance.
couple
This is a card game called “Couple.” Using a 52-card deck without jokers, place four cards face up from left to right.
Then place another row of four cards beneath them, and a third row of four, and so on.
Whenever two cards with the same rank appear vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, remove them as a “couple.” When cards are removed, close the gaps by shifting cards leftward or upward in order, remove any new couples that form, close the gaps again, and if none are available, deal the next row below and repeat.
If you manage to clear all the cards on the table, you succeed.
It’s also played as a kind of love fortune-telling game.
Monte Carlo
This is a game called “Monte Carlo,” which is also played as a compatibility or love fortune-telling game.
Remove the jokers from a well-shuffled 52-card deck and lay out five cards in a row, then another five beneath them, forming five columns.
Among the laid-out cards, remove any cards that have the same rank aligned vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
When no more cards can be removed, compress the remaining cards in order to fill gaps, then deal more cards beneath them to maintain five columns.
If you clear all the cards on the table, you succeed.
For compatibility fortune-telling, the number of cards left at the end is used to judge how compatible you are.
Trump Tower
Many of you probably tried this as a way to pass the time when you were kids.
As its name suggests, a card tower is a game where you stack playing cards to build a tower.
You place two cards together in an inverted V so they support each other, then place another pair beside it, and repeat.
Once the first level is complete, you lay cards across the top, then use that as the base to place another set of inverted V-shaped pairs, continuing the process.
With each added level, keeping the balance becomes harder, and it often collapses halfway through with a sigh…
Try building the tallest tower you’ve ever made!
Weekly fortune
A simple one-week fortune-telling anyone—even kids—can do.
Shuffle the deck well, excluding the jokers, and lay out seven cards in a row, then another seven cards beneath them.
The seven cards represent a week: you can arrange them from left to right as Monday, Tuesday, and so on, or, if today is Wednesday, start from Wednesday, Thursday, and so on.
If the patterns of the upper and lower cards match, that’s OK—interpret that day as your lucky day of the week.
Why not try it casually, just as a reference, for deciding which day to start something, and so on?
golf
This is a solitaire-style card game called “Golf,” often played as a game of chance.
Remove the jokers and thoroughly shuffle the 52 cards.
Lay out 7 cards side by side, then build a tableau of 5 rows so that the cards overlap.
Place the remaining cards as a stock pile.
Flip the top card of the stock and place it next to the stock as your hand card.
You may play cards from the tableau that are exactly one rank higher or lower than your current hand card.
For example, if your hand card is a 5, look for a 4 or a 6 among the bottommost exposed cards on the tableau and place it on top of your hand card.
You can continue in this way, alternating up and down in rank as needed.
When you can no longer play from the tableau, flip the next card from the stock to become your new hand card, and repeat.
You succeed if you clear all the tableau cards.