Play Bristol Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Deal the deck into eight three-card fans, juggle three waste piles, and chase one of the friendliest win rates on the site: 95%.

Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith designed Bristol Solitaire around its unusual three-pile waste. Every stock turn deals one card to each of three separate waste piles, giving you three different draws to choose from instead of one. It's a simple game, with a 95% chance of winning, played with a single deck, and your result comes down mostly to skill.

Try Dover Solitaire next, or switch things up with the classic Spider Solitaire.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Have fun!

How to play Bristol Solitaire

Layout:

4 foundation piles: Build up in any suit from Ace to King.

8 Fans: Build down regardless of suit. Only the top card of each pile is playable, and there are no empty spaces.

Stock: Turn over three cards at a time, one to each waste pile. There's only a single pass through the stock, no redeals.

3 waste piles: Each pile's top card is ready for play.

Foundation:

There are four foundation piles.

A card can be added to a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher than the pile's current top card, regardless of suit, so the only card that fits on an 8 is a 9. Each pile holds up to 13 cards.

The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.

Tableau:

Eight tableau piles of three cards each, all dealt face-up.

A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower than the pile's current top card, regardless of suit, so the only card that fits on an 8 is a 7.

Cards on the tableau that are not covered by another card can be played onto the foundation or any non-empty tableau pile.

Tableau spaces stay empty once cleared; nothing can fill them.

Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences are not permitted.

Stock and waste:

There are three waste piles, and the remaining cards make up the stock.

Click the stock to deal three cards at once, one to each waste pile. You get a single pass through the stock, no redeals.

The top card of each waste pile can be played to any non-empty tableau pile or foundation.