Play Robert Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Every turn boils down to one question: does this card fit the foundation? Luck decides most of Robert's 35% win rate.
Robert Solitaire is about as small as a solitaire game can get: a stock, a waste pile, and a single foundation make up the entire table. One card is dealt to the foundation to serve as the base, and from there you build up or down regardless of suit, wrapping between King and Ace whenever it helps. Play it out enough times and about 35% of deals end in a win — a difficult rate for such a simple layout. It is played with a single deck, and your odds of victory are determined almost entirely by luck.
Because there is no tableau, every turn boils down to one question: can the top card of the waste sit on the foundation card, one rank higher or one rank lower? The wrap-around rule is worth more than it first appears — a King on the foundation accepts both a Queen and an Ace, so there are always two ranks that keep the chain going. You are allowed three passes through the stock in total, which softens the luck a little: a card that slips by on the first trip will come around twice more.
Games this simple have a long history in solitaire collections, where they were often recommended as quick time-fillers between longer, more demanding layouts. Robert asks for no planning and almost no thought, which is exactly its charm — a deal resolves in a minute or two, and the temptation to try just one more is considerable.
If the build-up-or-down-regardless-of-suit chase is what you liked here, Golf Solitaire runs that same rule across a full tableau, and Bobby Solitaire keeps Robert's setup but adds a second foundation pile.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Robert Solitaire
Layout:
1 foundation pile: Build up or down regardless of suit, wrapping between King and Ace, until all 52 cards have been played. One card is dealt here at the start of the game.
Stock: Click to flip over cards one at a time to the waste. There are two redeals, for three passes in total.
Waste: Top card is playable.
Foundation:
There is one foundation pile.
A card is dealt to the foundation at the start of the game. This is the starting card.
A card can be added to the foundation only if it's one rank higher or one rank lower than the pile's current top card, regardless of suit. Ranks wrap around, so an Ace can be played on a King and a King on an Ace, and the only cards that fit on an 8 of spades are any 7 or any 9.
The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it. The game is won when all 52 cards have been moved to the foundation.
Stock and waste:
There is one waste pile and the remaining 51 cards comprise the stock.
When you click on the stock, one card from the stock is dealt to the waste. When the stock is empty, click it to turn the waste back into the stock and deal through it again. You get three passes through the stock in total.
The top card of the waste can be played to the foundation.
