I've played klondike for most of my life, but I've recently started exploring some other variations and I really like them :))

My favourite at the moment is Free Cell :) I'm a major fan of the fact that (almost) every deal is solvable. It is also an open solitaire, meaning that all the cards are face-up from the beginning. This means, that if you lose a game of Free Cell, it is likely because you could have planned better ahead. Sometimes I find this a bit too stressful and I resort to playing other Solitaire games, with more luck involved :p

I do still play klondike from time to time, but after experiencing playing Free Cell, the amount of games that go nowhere can sometimes annoy me. I think it is a nice way to pass time and I like the adaptive nature of the game, having to change strategy depending on which cards are revealed. I also feel very nostalgic about this variation, since it's the one I've been playing most of my childhood.

Pyramid and Aces Up - I really like to play these variations, when I'm very tired and just looking for something easy to play. I have yet to win a game of Aces Up even though I've played over 100 games. I can't figure out, whether I'm using a wrong strategy, or the odds of winning just are that low 😅

I've played a lot of Spider solitaire in the past, but at the moment I prefer Free Cell, when I'm in the mood for a 'complicated' solitaire. Spider is the only solitaire I play, which uses 2 sets of playing cards. Though I mostly play on my phone, I've actually bought a set of Solitaire playing cards, that are very small. The times I've played Spider solitaire with regular playing cards, they've taken up a lot of space. The small cards help a lot with that issue :))

This community is not very active at the moment, but if you stumble across this post, feel very welcome to share your favourite solitaire variations in the discussion :))

The Card Game 31

Here is a game that my family and I play:

• Play with a single deck of cards (No Jokers)
• Deal 3 cards to each player with 1 card face-up on the discard pile, place the draw pile face-down
• Players take turns either picking up the top card on the discard pile or the top card of the draw pile. They then exchange it for one card in their hand and place the rejected card on the draw pile.

There are three ways to win:

• Have 3 of a kind (3 Kings for example). The player lays their cards down on the table and everyone else instantly loses.
• Have the Ace and two face cards (10 counts as a face card) of the same suit. The player lays their cards down on the table and everyone else instantly loses.
• If a player thinks that they have the highest value in their hand (of the same suit) they can knock on the table. Every other player gets one more turn. Then everyone reveals their cards. The person with the lowest total loses. (Face cards and 10's count as ten points, Aces count as eleven points.)

Scoring:

• We have played with each person starting out with 4 coins that are used as "lives". Players give up one life when they lose.
• My SO and I have been playing this game with points, 31 points for an instant win and the difference of our hands on a knocking win. Double the difference if you knock and lose.