Solitaire — the noble pursuit of moving cards around in an attempt to bring order to chaos. A simple and captivating game, a way to pass the time, sharpen the mind, or — let’s be honest — avoid work.
Interestingly, beyond the standard rules of Solitaire (red queen on black king), there exists a certain secret, almost sacred, set of unwritten rules that every Solitaire player instinctively follows. Today, we’re exposing them all.
You deal the cards, examine the layout, and — ugh — nothing but red sixes and pathetic jacks. Oh, come on! You don’t even try to push through. Why waste precious seconds when you can just hit the restart button and pretend this disgraceful deal never happened?
Every self-respecting Solitaire player has their own internal threshold for what qualifies as an “acceptable” starting layout.
But the universal truth remains:
If the first few moves feel unlucky, the game isn’t worth the effort.
When we win, it is a direct result of our incredible strategic mastery. When we lose, it is obviously the fault of the deck, the algorithm, or some invisible cosmic force that deliberately sabotaged our game.
We do not question this logic. We do not acknowledge that, perhaps, our decisions played a role. No, the deck was stacked against us. The shuffle was unfair. And if we had just gotten one different card, we would have won.
Our secret love — the Undo button. The most frequently used feature in digital Solitaire. Officially, it exists to correct accidental misclicks. But in reality? It’s a full-fledged multiverse reset button that allows players to explore alternate realities where they didn’t make a dumb move.
There’s no shame in using it. In fact, one could argue that not using Undo in a moment of crisis is downright irresponsible. The question isn’t whether you use it — it’s how many times you smash that button before admitting defeat and restarting.
We don’t like to talk about it, but deep down, we all have preferences. We know that all cards are equal in function, yet somehow, some just feel… wrong.
It makes no sense, and yet we all feel it.
Sure, a win is satisfying. But true mastery is measured by how clean the victory is.
A true Solitaire pro doesn’t just win. They win gracefully.
So, the next time you fire up Solitaire and instinctively restart after a bad deal, or abuse the Undo button, just know — you’re not alone. You’re following The Solitaire Player’s Code, a sacred and universal set of rules that we all obey, even if we pretend we don’t.
Now, go forth. Shuffle the deck. And may your starting layout always be in your favor!
