Russian Solitaire Online

Russian Solitaire deals all 52 cards into seven columns with no stock. It uses the flexible packet movement found in Yukon, but the card you place must be the same suit as its destination. Move all cards to four Ace-to-King foundations.

Russian rules: exact suits and flexible packets

  • Build down by suit: a Queen of Clubs goes on a King of Clubs, not on a King of Spades or a red King.
  • Carry any face-up packet: select a face-up card and move every card below it, even when those cards are unordered or mixed suits.
  • Empty columns: accept only Kings and packets beginning with Kings.
  • Uncover hidden cards: the next face-down card turns over when the cards below it leave.
  • Foundations: add single exposed cards in ascending suit order from Ace to King.

Untangle suits in three Russian positions

These simplified positions illustrate decisions in this game; they are not your current deal.

1. The packet may be mixed; the destination may not

Select a face-up Queen of Clubs carrying a 5 of Hearts and a 9 of Spades. The whole packet can move onto an exposed King of Clubs. The carried cards may be mixed and unordered; the Queen must match the King’s suit and be one rank lower.

A King of Diamonds would accept that Queen in Yukon, but not here. A King of Spades is also wrong: sharing a color is not the same as sharing a suit. Check the symbol as well as the rank.

2. Move the 7 before trying to move the 6

A column has a 6 of Spades above an exposed 7 of Spades. An 8 of Spades is exposed elsewhere. Move the 7 onto the 8 first, then move the now-exposed 6 onto the 7. The result is an ordered 8–7–6 Spade run.

You cannot move the 6 onto the 7 while both are in the same column. Selecting the 6 carries the 7, and a packet cannot be placed back inside its own source column. If the 8 of Spades is covered elsewhere, exposing that exact card is the next problem to solve.

3. Open a foundation without sorting every carried card

Suppose an Ace of Diamonds sits above a Jack of Clubs and a 3 of Hearts in one face-up column. A Queen of Clubs is exposed elsewhere. The Diamond foundation is empty.

  1. Select the Jack of Clubs and carry the 3 of Hearts onto the Queen of Clubs. The Jack matches the destination by suit and rank.
  2. Move the newly exposed Ace of Diamonds to its foundation.

You did not need to find a 4 of Hearts for the 3 first. Russian permits that unordered carried packet. But the Queen of Clubs must really be available: a red Queen would work for a black Jack in Yukon and fails this Russian move.

Trace exact-suit dependencies

Trace the destination of the card you want to release. If you need to move a 7 of Hearts, find the 8 of Hearts and work out how to expose it. Moving a different packet may be useful mainly because it releases that exact destination.

Do not assume a mixed packet is permanently stuck. Its first card may still have a legal same-suit destination elsewhere. At the same time, keep a plan for the cards it carries: moving an awkward packet merely to another column may not improve access.

Common questions

Do all cards in a movable packet have to share a suit?

No. The selected card must fit the destination by suit and rank. Every face-up card below it moves along, regardless of its order or suit. This differs from Spider-style games, where a movable run itself must be ordered in one suit.

Can I use another black suit as a temporary destination?

No. A Spade needs the next higher Spade on an occupied column; a Club of that rank is not interchangeable. Only a King-led packet can bypass that requirement by moving into an empty column.

Can I drag a foundation card back into play?

This version does not let foundation cards return to the tableau as a normal move. Use Undo to reverse a recent foundation action if you want to try a different line.

Selecting a Russian packet accurately

Select the first card of the packet by its exposed rank strip, then choose the destination column. The game checks the first card against the destination’s suit and rank. A Hint may identify a long mixed packet; it is still legal here even when the cards below its first card look disordered.

  • Click or tap a card, then its destination. For a packet, select the first card you want to carry. Select it again to cancel. The message below the board explains the current selection or move.
  • Undo reverses your last action. Hint highlights a legal action and describes it below the board; it does not calculate a complete winning route.
  • New starts a fresh shuffle. Daily starts this game's dated challenge. Both replace the current board.
  • Full Screen gives the board more room. On a narrow screen, scroll sideways inside the board to reach all its piles.

Compare the same packet in Yukon's worked example. For same-suit building restricted to one card at a time, try Forty Thieves. Scorpion retains flexible packets but changes the winning goal.

Compare all game styles or return to this board.

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