Solitaire hints, Undo and Finish: every helper explained
Solitaire has helpers that make every deal friendly. Undo takes back any move, Hint shows a good next move, Finish sends the last cards home, and when you are stuck, a bar offers Undo, Restart this deal or New deal. You can't lose: the worst that can happen is that you try again.
Undo
Undo takes back your last move. Tap it again and again to go further back, all the way to the start of the deal. There is no limit, and using it costs nothing.
- Touch or mouse: the Undo button at the side.
- Keyboard: Z, or Ctrl + Z.
- Controller: B.
The Moves number goes down by one each time. The Undo button is grey when there is nothing to undo.
Hint
Hint shows you one good next move. It does not play the move for you.
- The card to move glows gold, and the place it should go gets a ring.
- If the best move is to turn a card, the draw pile glows.
- In Pyramid, both cards of the pair glow.
Press it with the Hint button (the light bulb), H on a keyboard, or LB on a controller.
How does the Hint know?
The Hint is clever. When you ask, the game looks for a whole plan that wins the deal from where you are now, and shows you the first step. Follow the hints and you keep following that plan. If you make a different move, it works out a new plan the next time you ask. In Klondike and Pyramid, with Only deals you can win on, a player who follows every hint wins the deal.
The first Hint in a new spot can take a moment, because the game is thinking. On a laptop that is about a second at most; on a slow phone it can be a little longer. After that, following the hints is instant. The Hint thinks the same way on every device, so a slow phone gets the same hint as a fast laptop.
When the Hint can't find a plan
On a hard deal (for example Spider with 2 or 4 suits, or a tricky FreeCell deal) the game may not find a winning plan in time. Then it shows a simple next move instead. In Klondike it never shows a move that would take you back to a spot you have already been in.
If even that finds nothing useful, a card says: "I can't find a useful hint here. Try Undo, choose your own move, or start a new deal." It has the buttons Undo, New deal and Keep playing. That does not mean the deal is lost. It only means the Hint can't help from here.
Show where a card can go
When you pick up a card, green rings show every place it can go. This is the setting Show where a card can go, which is on when you start. You can turn it off in Settings if you want to find the places yourself. While you drag a card, the place where it would land lights up too.
One tap moves a card
With One tap moves a card on (it is on when you start), a single tap sends a card to its best place: a top pile first, then onto another card, then a free spot, then an empty pile. Tap the same card again soon after and it tries the next place. Read more on the controls page.
Finish
In Klondike and FreeCell, a Finish button appears when the rest of the cards can only go up to the top piles. Tap it (or press F, or RB) and watch them fly. In Klondike that is when the draw pile and the turned cards are empty and every card on the table is face up. Finish counts as one move. Pyramid and Spider have no Finish button.
No move left
When there is really nothing useful left to do, a bar appears: No move left. "You can undo, try the same deal again, or start a new one." It has three buttons:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Undo | Takes back your last move, so you can try another way |
| Restart this deal | The same cards again from the start. It asks first: "Start this deal over? Your moves will be lost." |
| New deal | New cards, right away |
In Klondike and Pyramid, the game also counts a deal as stuck when going round the draw pile again would never help: no card in it could ever be played. There is no buzzer and no "you lose". A stuck deal is not counted as a loss anywhere.
The progress bar
Under the moves at the side there is a bar that fills up as cards go home: up to 52 in Klondike and FreeCell, the 28 pyramid cards in Pyramid, and all 104 cards in Spider.
How to play cards
The first time you open each game, three picture cards explain its rules, and a fourth shows the keys and controller buttons. Open them again any time with Menu, then How to play.
See also
- Tips for beginners: when to use Hint and Undo to learn faster.
- Settings: one tap, rings and winnable deals.
- FAQ: "Is every deal winnable?" and more.
- Play Solitaire and try the Hint button.
