Solitaire for parents: what the card game is like
Solitaire is a calm card game for one player that runs in a web browser. It is made for children from about 8 to 12 and the grown-ups who play with them. The child puts an ordinary deck of cards in order in four classic patience games. There is no money, no chat, no other players, no ads and no timer. This page lists the facts a grown-up may want before their child plays.
What does the player do?
- Picks one of four classic solitaire games: Klondike, Pyramid, Spider or FreeCell, or the Daily deal and twelve small Goals.
- Moves cards by tapping, dragging, or with a keyboard or controller, following simple rules: build down in order, send aces up, or make pairs that add up to 13.
- Wins a deal by getting every card home. Wins open new card backs and table cloths for the cards; there is no shop.
Every game has short How to play picture cards the first time it is opened. The rules of each game are on Klondike, Pyramid, Spider and FreeCell.
Content notes
- Nothing scary. The pictures are an ordinary deck of playing cards on a soft table cloth.
- No losing. A deal with no move left offers Undo, the same deal again or a new one. A stuck deal is never counted as a loss.
- No timer and no rush. Every deal can be stopped at any time and picked up later.
- No gambling theme. There are no chips, no bets and no money of any kind, real or pretend. Counting in Pyramid (pairs that make 13) is the only arithmetic.
- A win is celebrated with cards bouncing across the table and a shower of card symbols. The Calm setting turns this off.
Ads, purchases and links
- There are no ads in the game.
- There is nothing to buy inside the game. Card backs and table cloths are earned by winning.
- There is no chat and no contact with other players.
- The only link out of the game is the membership card, which opens the Join page of the Contenta Games portal.
How much reading is there?
Very little. The game uses short sentences and everyday words, like "Put a card on one that is one higher and the other colour." Each How to play card has a small picture of the move. The Hint button shows the next move with a glow instead of words, so a child who can't read every line can still play.
Helpers for younger children
These settings are on when the game starts, and help a younger child win:
- One tap moves a card: a tap sends a card to its best place.
- Show where a card can go: rings show every place a picked card can go.
- Only deals you can win: Klondike and Pyramid deals come from a list of deals a computer has won.
The Hint button follows a winning plan, so a child who follows the hints wins those deals. Four colours gives each suit its own colour, and Moving effects: Calm makes everything still. All of them are on the settings page.
Where is progress saved?
The game saves by itself after every move, in the browser on the device being used. There are three separate save slots, so siblings can each keep their own wins, settings and deal in progress. If the browser blocks saving, for example in a private window, the game says so. Details are on saving, save slots and your stats.
Devices, controls and languages
- Plays in a web browser on computers, phones and tablets, with no download.
- Touch, mouse, keyboard or game controller; every action works with each of them.
- On a phone, a deal is played with the phone held sideways. The title screen, goals and settings also work upright.
- Nine languages: English, Swedish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. The language can be changed in Settings without losing the deal.
- Sound is off when the game starts. It has soft card sounds and two calm music tracks.
Credits
The card pictures are by Victor Meunier and the card sounds by Kenney; the music is by Komiku. All three are free to use (CC0).
How to get the game
Solitaire can be tried in the browser with the demo. The full game is part of the Contenta Games membership, which opens every game on the portal. See what a membership includes, or browse the guides to all our games.
See also
- The guide's front page: what the game is about.
- FAQ: quick answers to common questions.
- Your first deal, step by step: what a first game looks like.
- Play Solitaire together.
