Play Chinaman Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Same deal as Klondike, but the tableau rule loosens: build up one rank in any suit but a match. Two stock passes, medium difficulty, about 35% winnable.
Chinaman Solitaire is an old relative of Klondike that has appeared in solitaire collections for decades. The deal is exactly the one you know: seven piles of growing size, only the top card of each turned face-up, and the rest of the deck flipped to the waste three cards at a time.
The twist is in the building rule. Instead of alternating red and black, a card on the tableau must be placed on a card one rank higher of a different suit — so any 7 except the 7 of hearts may land on the 8 of hearts. That looser rule opens up far more moves than Klondike allows, but the game keeps you honest elsewhere: empty piles accept nothing but Kings, and you only get two passes through the stock. That keeps it at medium difficulty, with about 35% of games ending in a win.
It's played with a single deck, and both skill and luck play a part in whether you land that win.
Klondike, Whitehead, and Thumb and Pouch Solitaire are solitaire games that are comparable to this one.
When you want something more familiar, the original, classic Solitaire is always there.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Chinaman Solitaire
Layout:
4 foundation piles: Build up from Ace to King in the same suit.
7 tableau piles: Build down in different suits. Groups of cards in sequence down by different suits can be moved together. Only Kings can fill empty spaces. At the start of the game, one card is dealt to the first pile, two to the second, and so on up to seven on the last pile; only the top card of each pile is face-up.
Stock: Click to turn over 3 cards at a time to the waste. One redeal is allowed, for two passes in total.
Waste: The top card can be played on the foundations or tableau.
Foundation:
There are four foundation piles.
A card can be added to a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on a 10 of hearts is a J of hearts. There can be no more than 13 cards in a pile.
The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.
Tableau:
Seven tableau piles dealt as in Klondike, growing from one card to seven. The top card of each pile is dealt face-up, and every card beneath it face-down. When a face-down card becomes uncovered, it is turned face-up.
A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and a different suit than the pile's current top card, so the cards that fit on the 8 of hearts are the 7 of spades, the 7 of clubs, or the 7 of diamonds — any 7 except the 7 of hearts.
Cards on the tableau that are not covered by another card are free to be played onto the foundation or any other tableau pile.
Groups of cards in a downward sequence of different suits may be moved from one tableau pile to another as a unit.
Only Kings, alone or together with their sequence, may fill empty spots in the tableau.
Stock and waste:
There is one waste pile and the remaining cards comprise the stock.
When you click on the stock, three cards from the stock are dealt to the waste. There can be two trips through the stock.
The top card of the waste can be played to the tableau or foundation.
