Frequently Asked Questions

• starWhat makes this different from the other solitaire implementations?

  This solitaire is all about flow. Anything that distracts from your interaction with the flow of the game has been either been tried and removed or not included. Crucially, the games can be played by single-clicking the card you wish to move, and the software figures out where you want the card to go (mostly to the foundation if possible, and if not, the biggest tableau). If you don't like where the card goes, just try clicking it again or drag it.

  Also, I'm trying to make games authentic, by taking the rules from reputable sources and implementing them exactly. For example, the tableau shuffling algorithm for Cruel and Perseverance has been chosen carefully, Penguin works as the author intended, Blockade refills empty tableaux from the stock, Baker's Dozen shuffles kings to he bottom of each tableau and Frog/Toad moves aces out of the reserve and only allows cards to be moved to certain places.

• photoWhy are the graphics so basic?

  Anything that distracts from your interaction with the flow of the game, or the ability to scan a deck of cards, has either been tried and removed, or not included. This includes: fancy card designs (front and back), changing the screen/baize background, animating card flips, keeping an arbitrary score, distracting graphics on the screen, and forcing you to drag the cards to move them.

  The user interface tries to stick to the Material Design guidelines, and so is minimal and tactile. I looked at a lot of the other solitaire websites out there, and think how distracting some of them are. Features seem to have been added because the developers thought they were cool; they never seem to have stopped to consider that just because they could implement a feature, that they should.

• format_sizeSometimes the cards are really huge or really tiny
  Resize your browser window. If the cards are big and you can't see the ones at the the bottom, try making your browser window narrower. The cards and playing area will scale automatically.
• format_list_numberedThe rules for a variation are wrong
  There's no ISO or ANSI or FIDE-like governing body for solitaire; so there's no standard set of rules. Other implementations vary in how they interpret each variant. For example, some variants of American Toad build the tableau down by suit, some by alternate color. So, rather than just making this stuff up, I've tried to find a well researched set of rules for each variant and stick to them, leaning heavily on Jan Wolter (RIP, and thanks for all the fish), David Parlett and Thomas Warfield. Where possible, I've implemented the games from the book "The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games" by Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith.
• bookmarkCan I get to the individual games directly?
  Yes. Each game variant has it's own web page; just bookmark the game you like in your browser.
• data_usageCan I play offline?
  Yes. There's no traffic between the game and the server once it's loaded. Game scores are stored in your web browser, and optionally in your personal cloud storage, not on the game's server. There's no login, no cookies apart from the Google Analytics stuff, and the software doesn't know who or where you are.
• cloudSaving game progress

  Your scores and progress in the game is normally saved in the web browser. You can optionally save your game progress to your personal cloud storage, so you can transfer your progress to several different devices and browsers. Currently, saving to Dropbox is implemented (Google Drive support is being worked on).

  If you don't already have a Dropbox account, you can create a free one at Dropbox.

  The software will create a folder called Apps in your Dropbox storage area, and a folder called Oddstream Solitaire within that. (This software only has access to that folder, and can't see or do anything with the rest of your stuff.) Within that folder, this software will create a file called gameState.json that contains your progress in the games you have played. You are free to make a backup copy of this file.

  Start the process by clicking on the cloud icon in the index.html title bar. Then click on the 'Get Access Token' button. In the window that pops up, sign into Dropbox and then grant this software access. An 'access token' will be returned. Thereafter, click on the 'Sync' button to save/load your game state between Dropbox and the browser, or set the sync selector to auto to have this happen automatically when the index.html page is loaded or unloaded. You can sever the connection to Dropbox by deleting the displayed access token (doing this won't delete any Dropbox files or folders).

  The games only sync from the opening index.html page, not the individual game pages.

• favoriteMy favourite variation is not included
  Email me with the name of the variation, and why you like it so much. I'm aiming for a well chosen collection of 100 variations. Easthaven and Agnes Sorel might be taken out because, although well known, they're just about unwinnable. Unless someone can explain the virtue of that. For some reason I don't like the games where you have to match pairs of cards that make a certain number, like 13 (Pyramid). Accordian is just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen.
• scoreWhat about scores?
  Nope, the software doesn't keep an arbitary score. Too confusing. Just the number of moves made, number of wins, and your winning streak (streaks are great). A game isn't counted at all until you move a card. Thereafter, if you ask for a new deal, or to replay the current deal, that counts as a loss.
• timerWhat about a timer?
  Nope, there isn't one of those. Too stressful. Solitaire is also called patience; it's hard to feel patient when you're pressured by a clock.
• keyboardKeyboard or mouse shortcuts?
  U to undo the last move
  
  A to show the number of available moves
  R to show the rules for the current game
  
  E is the same as clicking on the waste (if there is one)
  W is the same as clicking on the stock
  
  S to save the current game position
  L to load a saved game position
• casinoIs the game rigged?
  No. The cards are shuffled randomly using a Fisher-Yates shuffle driven by a Park-Miller pseudo random number generator, which is in itself seeded by a random number. This mechanism was tested and analysed to make sure it produced an even distribution of shuffled cards. There are 80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000 possible deals of a pack of 52 playing cards; you're never going to play the same game twice, nor indeed play the same game that anyone else ever has, or ever will.
• settingsSettings

  Animation speed different browsers animate at different speeds, and folks differ in how fast they expect the cards to move around. It's fun to set the animation to it's slowest speed and see how many cards you can have animating at the same time.

  Highlight movable cards if a card has an available move, then it will appear lighter than one that doesn't. It makes moveable cards easier to see. Whether or not the move is useful is up to you.

  Allow single click to move a card instead of having to drag the cards around.

  Auto collection to encourage the software to move a card from the tableau to a foundation when it is safe to do so. The cards do not auto collect from any waste or reserve piles; that would make the games too easy.

• bug_reportI found a bug
  Please email odd.stream@googlemail.com, and mention that your user agent is .

  There is a known bug where a card will not animate to it's destination. If this happens, press 'S' (to save the current game) and then 'L' (to reload it). If you can find a way to reproduce this bug, then please let me know.

  Message @GOddstream

• phoneThe game is weird on my phone/tablet
  The game is aimed at modern desktop browers (Chrome, Edge and Firefox seem good, Internet Explorer is a complete non-starter).
  The app runs well on mobile Chrome in fullscreen. Do this by tapping the Menu button (three vertical dots) in the upper right-hand corner of the screen (or tap the hardware menu button on those devices having one) and selecting Add to homescreen from the menu. Tap the Add button in the pop up dialog. Then, from the home screen, tap the app icon to open in fullscreen mode.
  If you have an Android phone, you can download the mobile version from the Google Play Store.
• attach_moneyIs the game free?
  Yes, but please drop a coin in my tip jar if you enjoy the games.
• infoAbout

  Written as a general-purpose solitaire engine, capable of playing any variation, in vanilla ECMAScript 2017 (ES8). The graphics are done in SVG (which would have been easier if there was better SVG support in browsers for z-indexing, drag-drop and events, and more consistent modelling of touch, pointer and mouse events).

  Front-end CSS framework by Materialize. Icons and Acme font by Google.

  Original games by Jan Wolter, David Parlett, Paul Alfille, Art Cabral, Albert Morehead, Geoffrey Mott-Smith, Zach Gage and Thomas Warfield.

  Original Javascript, HTML and CSS Copyright © 2018-2020 Gilbert Oddstream. All rights reserved. In continuous development, so if you fork it, your copy is already out of date.

  Message @GOddstream