Official Solitaire Glossary

Patience

The British and European name for Solitaire card games. It generally implies games for a single player.

Solitaire

The North American name for games of Patience.

Open Game

A game where all cards are visible face-up from the start (e.g., FreeCell). These are purely games of skill.

Closed Game

A game of incomplete information where some cards are face-down (hidden), introducing an element of luck.

Half-Open Game

A game that starts closed but becomes open as play proceeds (e.g., Klondike).

Rank (or Value/Denomination)

The number or symbol on the card. In Solitaire, usually ordered: Ace (1) to King (13).

Suit

The four categories: Spades ♠, Clubs ♣ (Black) and Hearts ♥, Diamonds ♦ (Red).

Black Suits

The suits of Clubs and Spades.

Red Suits

The suits of Hearts and Diamonds.

Court Cards (or Honors)

The picture cards: King, Queen, and Jack (Knave). "Honors" typically includes the Aces.

Pips (or Spots)

The spots or symbols on the card denoting its suit and value.

Up-card (Face Up)

A card with its face visible.

Down-card (Face Down)

A card with its back visible. Its value is hidden.

Singleton

A single card of any suit.

Packet

A squared-up pile of cards dealt at the start of a game.

Top Card (or Uppermost Card)

The exposed card on top of a pile.

Layout

The arrangement of cards dealt to the table at the start of the game.

Tableau

The main playing area, typically consisting of several columns. This is where most gameplay happens.

Foundations (or Base)

The destination piles (usually four) where sequences are built up (Ace to King) to win the game.

Stock (or Talon)

The pile of undealt cards available for the player to draw from.

Waste (or Rubbish Heap/Discard Pile)

Where cards from the Stock are played to. Only the top card is usually available.

Reserve

A specific area in some games (like Canfield) containing cards available for play but not part of the tableau.

Cells

Specific slots (as in FreeCell) that can hold exactly one temporary card.

Depot

A position in the layout comprising a pile of cards or a space waiting for a card.

Space (or Vacancy/Gap)

An empty spot in the tableau created when a column is cleared.

Lane

An empty line of spaces formed by removing a row of cards.

Column

A vertical line of cards extending towards the player.

Row

A horizontal line of cards placed side by side.

Wing

The left or right half of the tableau when divided by a clear space.

Pile (or Stack)

Cards one on top of the other.

Fan

A set of cards laid out in an overlapping shape so all can be seen.

Deal

To distribute cards from the pack to the tableau.

Play

To move a card to the foundations or another valid place in the tableau.

Move

Any transfer of an available card from one place to another allowed under the rules.

Building

Adding cards to a pile in a specific order (Up or Down).

Sequencing

Arranging cards in the tableau, often in alternating colors and descending rank.

Alternating Colors

The rule requiring a card to be placed on another of the opposite color.

Marriage

Placing a card of the same suit on the next one above or below it.

Pair

Two cards of the same rank.

Available (or Exposed) Card

A card that is not covered ("buried") by another card and is free to be moved.

Blocked (or Chockered)

A state where no legal moves can be made.

Recycling (or Redeal)

Turning the waste pile over to restore the Stock pile.

Released Cards

Cards that were previously blocked but are now available.

Turn the Corner

To continue a sequence after Ace or King (e.g., K-A-2).

Spread

To overlap cards so each is visible.

Squared

When cards in a pile are directly on top of one another.

Auxiliary Sequence

A pile of cards packed on a tableau depot specifically to be transferred to the foundations later.

Batch

A number of cards dealt at one time.

Below / Beneath

A card is below/beneath another if it is covered or overlapped by it.

Covered (or Buried)

A card that has another card wholly or partially over it. It is not available.

Crown

To play the last card (often King) to a suite or family.

Deadlock (or Circular Dependency)

A specific type of blocked state where card A blocks card B, but card B is needed to move card A.

Family (or Suite)

A full sequence of 13 cards of one suit (Ace through King) built on a foundation.

Grace (or Merci/Privilege)

A special rule allowing a player to make a move that is normally illegal to save a game.

Heel

Cards set aside for later in the game.

Multiples

Building by intervals (e.g., 2, 4, 6).

Out (or Come Out / Goes Through)

When a patience game is solved successfully.

Pass

Running through the entire stock once. Some games allow one pass, others infinite.

Peeking

Looking at the next card in the stock or a face-down card before making a decision.

Reversing

Building ascending on one pile and descending on another simultaneously.

Shuttling

Moving a card to an empty space which automatically fills the previous space.

Suitable Cards

Cards whose value and suit fit them to be played.

Worrying Back

Moving a card from a Foundation pile back down to the Tableau.

Wrapping (or Round the Corner)

Building a sequence that goes past the King to the Ace (e.g., Q-K-A-2).

Glossary Pro-Tips

• Tableau Depth: When people say "Column 7," they are referring to the right-most stack in the tableau, which is the deepest stack in the game.
• The 'W' Piles: Some older manuals refer to the Waste pile as the "Warp" or "Wing," but "Waste" is the modern standard.
• Foundation Symmetry: Ensuring your foundations are "balanced" means they all have a similar rank (e.g., all are at Rank 4).