Build in suit whenever you can
Any card can go on a card one rank higher, but only a same-suit run moves as a group. A 7♥ on an 8♠ is legal, but it ties those cards together until you can take them apart one at a time. When you have a choice, always prefer the same-suit move, even if the other one looks more useful right now.
Empty columns are your best tool
- An empty column lets you take apart a mixed run, park a card while you rearrange, or move a long run in pieces.
- Don't fill an empty column with a single low card just to tidy up. You've lost your working space for nothing.
- If you have to fill one, fill it with a King or a long same-suit run starting from a high card. Those don't need to move again.
Which columns to work on
- Go after the columns with the fewest face-down cards first. Clearing one completely gives you an empty column.
- Kings can't be moved onto anything, so a King near the top of a column is a good sign. A King buried under face-down cards will need an empty column later.
When to deal from the stock
Each deal puts a card on every column, burying everything you've lined up. Before you deal:
- Make every same-suit move available.
- Turn over every face-down card you can reach.
- Put your columns in the best order for the new row, for example with long same-suit runs on top, so a new card lands where it can be moved.
You can't deal while a column is empty, so fill gaps with the least harmful card or run before dealing.
2 and 4 suits
- 2 suits: you can no longer move every run, so mixed runs start to cost you. Plan which cards go where before you stack them.
- 4 suits: expect to lose more often. Every deal from the stock is a big disruption, so use Undo to test lines, and keep at least one column clear for as long as possible.
- At any difficulty, a complete run from King to Ace in one suit clears itself. Count what you're missing for a run and go after those cards.
Practise on the same deal
Note the deal number of a game you lose, play it again with Restart, and try a different plan before the first deal from the stock. That's usually where a game is won or lost.