Free Card Games Online: Solitaire, Spider, Spades and Mahjong

Classic solitaire: the easy one to settle into

Magic Solitaire is the solitaire most people already know, set on a tavern table by the fire or under an oak beside a waterfall. A fairy helper guides you through, which makes it the gentlest entry point in the category.

It is a one-player game, so there is no opponent to play against. On a computer you play with the left mouse button, and it also supports phones and tablets in portrait view. Choose it when you want something familiar and calm, and scan the whole layout before each move.

Magic Solitaire Classic solitaire dealt in a fairy-tale world, with a fairy helper to show you around. Play Magic Solitaire

Spider Solitaire: a long game you can set the difficulty for

Spider Solitaire uses two full decks dealt into columns. You build runs of cards in descending order from King to Ace, and a run only counts when every card in it is the same suit. Complete one and it comes off the table. Clear eight runs to win.

Difficulty depends on how many suits you play with. One suit is forgiving and a good way to learn. More suits ask for real planning, because a convenient move with the wrong suit creates a knot you have to untie later. It suits patient players who like to think a few moves ahead. Our Spider Solitaire tips go into more detail.

Spider Solitaire Two decks, eight runs to complete and a choice of how hard you want it to be. Play Spider Solitaire

Spades: the only one with partners

Spades is a partnership game for four, and the game supplies the other three players: a computer-controlled teammate sitting opposite you and two computer opponents. Each round begins with bidding, where you say how many tricks you expect to win. Spades are always the trump suit.

This is the choice if you want a game with decisions that involve other players, even if they are computer-controlled. There is a built-in tutorial that explains the rules step by step, and a blind nil option for bold players. If the rules are new to you, read our Spades rules explained first.

Spades The four-player trick-taking classic with a computer partner, bidding and blind nil. Play Spades

Mahjong solitaire: matching tiles, no cards

Mahjong solitaire is a different game from the tile game played with four people. Here you have a stack of tiles, and you clear it by finding pairs of identical tiles that are free. A tile is free when nothing lies on top of it and at least one long side is open.

Two versions are on the site. Mahjong Earth has more than 250 layouts, a combo meter that rewards quick matching, a leaderboard and an earthy soundtrack, and it plays in portrait view. Garden Tales Mahjong 2 also has more than 250 layouts, with a garden theme, a Chapters Mode journey and a Quick Play mode that deals a board straight away. Both offer Shuffle, Torch and Hint when you are stuck.

It is the best option for anyone who likes spotting patterns more than planning long sequences.

Mahjong Earth Calm mahjong solitaire with more than 250 layouts, a combo meter and an earthy soundtrack. Play Mahjong Earth

Peg Solitaire: a board puzzle that hides in the cards section

Peg Solitaire has no cards at all. The board is full of pegs except for one hole, and a peg can jump over a neighbor into an empty hole, removing the peg it jumped. The aim is to finish with a single peg.

It is the most pure-thinking game on this page, with several levels of difficulty. It is played on a computer with the board in landscape view. A peg left alone on the edge with no neighbors can never jump or be jumped, so keep your pegs grouped together.

Peg Solitaire The centuries-old board puzzle: jump pegs over each other until only one is left. Play Peg Solitaire

Cards 2048: solitaire columns with number merging

Cards 2048 mixes solitaire's columns with the number-merging idea. You drag each dealt card onto a column, and two cards of the same value stacked together become one card of double the value. The goal is the 2048 card.

It is a good fit if you want a card game that feels more like a puzzle, and you do not mind a game that ends when the columns fill up.

Cards 2048 Solitaire meets 2048: stack matching number cards, merge them and climb to 2048. Play Cards 2048

Which one should you play?

A simple way to choose is to think about the kind of attention you want to give. None of these games needs an account, and all of them run in your browser, so trying two or three costs you nothing but a few minutes.

• Relaxed and familiar: Magic Solitaire.
• Long and strategic, with adjustable difficulty: Spider Solitaire.
• Social and decision-heavy, with a partner: Spades.
• Quick pattern spotting: Mahjong Earth or Garden Tales Mahjong 2.
• Planning moves ahead on a board: Peg Solitaire.
• A card game with a puzzle twist: Cards 2048.

Habits that carry across the card games

In most solitaire-style games, it helps to look at the whole layout before moving, and to prefer the move that leaves you more options afterward. There is no opponent to hurry you, so take your time. When a game has a reset or restart option, it is worth using it. Replaying a layout with a better plan is how most players improve, and it costs nothing. In the games that offer helpers, such as hints or shuffles, it usually pays to save them for when you are genuinely stuck.