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SolSuite Solitaire
"The World's Most Complete Solitaire Collection". More than 700 Solitaire Games, 80 Card Sets, 300 Card Backs, 100 Backgrounds.

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Glossary

Here are some useful terms you need to know to play Solitaire.

A

alternating colors
Cards are built in alternating red and black colors, where red means Heartshearts suit or Diamondsdiamonds suit and black means Spadesspades suit or Clubsclubs suit.
ascending sequence
A sequence of two or more cards increasing in rank: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K.
ascending sequence of alternating colors
Cards are built in increasing rank of alternating red and black colors. For example, the Jackhearts suit can be played on the 10spades suit or on the 10clubs suit.
Example of a complete ascending sequence of alternating colors: Aclubs suit 2hearts suit 3clubs suit 4diamonds suit 5spades suit 6hearts suit 7spades suit 8hearts suit 9clubs suit 10diamonds suit Jackspades suit Queenhearts suit Kingclubs suit.
ascending suit sequence
Cards of the same suit are built in increasing rank. For example, a Jackhearts suit can be played on a 10hearts suit
Example of a complete ascending suit sequence: Ahearts suit 2hearts suit 3hearts suit 4hearts suit 5hearts suit 6hearts suit 7hearts suit 8hearts suit 9hearts suit 10hearts suit Jhearts suit Qhearts suit Khearts suit
autoplay
Autoplay will automatically play any cards that can be legally moved from the tableau or cells to the foundations. Autoplay is helpful at the end of the game when all that's left is to play all the cards from the tableau to the foundations.

B

base card
The first card in a sequence. A card turned up, or otherwise selected, to determine the foundations. The card at the bottom of a pile which is built on in a given order. In many solitaire games the Ace is specified as the base card; in others, the base card is a different predefined card or a choice of a base card is allowed.

C

column
A line of cards, one below the other, extending vertically on the screen.

D

deck
Also called pack, it is the aggregation of all cards used in a game. Sometimes the word "deck" defines the stock.
descending sequence
A sequence of two or more cards decreasing in rank: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A.
descending sequence of alternating colors
Cards are built in decreasing rank of alternating red and black colors. For example, the 10hearts suit can be played on the Jackspades suit or on the Jackclubs suit.
Example of a complete descending sequence of alternating colors: Kclubs suit Qhearts suit Jclubs suit 10diamonds suit 9spades suit 8hearts suit 7spades suit 6hearts suit 5clubs suit 4diamonds suit 3spades suit 2hearts suit Aclubs suit 
descending suit sequence
Cards of the same suit are built in decreasing rank. For example, a 10clubs suit can be played on a Jackclubs suit.
Example of a complete descending suit sequence: Kclubs suit Qclubs suit Jclubs suit 10clubs suit 9clubs suit 8clubs suit 7clubs suit 6clubs suit 5clubs suit 4clubs suit 3clubs suit 2clubs suit Aclubs suit

F

fan
Three or four cards spread out and overlapping one another in the shape of a fan. Only the top-most card in the fan is completely visible; the other cards are partially hidden.
foundation
A pile to which cards are played in a certain sequence in order to complete the game. Foundations are usually built up in an ascending suit sequence from Ace to King.

K

King sequence
A packed sequence with a King at the top.

P

pair
Two cards of the same rank.
partial deck
An ordinary deck from which some cards have been removed.
pile
A batch of cards dealt upon each other and squared up in a compact heap.

R

rank
The face value or the number of an individual card. Each suit has 13 ranks consisting of 10 numerals (running from Ace (1) to 10) and three face cards (Jack, Queen and King). 5, 7, K are examples of a rank. A Jack of Clubs "ranks" higher than a 10 of Clubs.
ranking continuous
Means that Aces are in sequence both above the Kings and below the Twos. If the building is up, Aces may be built on Kings. If down, Kings may be built on Aces.
redeal
When all the cards have been discarded to the waste pile (once the stock has been exhausted) and no further moves are possible, if the rules allow, the waste pile is turned over, face down, and used as a new stock. Some games will allow one, two or three redeals and some will allow an unlimited number. Many games do not allow redeals.
reserve
A group of cards that is dealt at the start of the game and moved to a special part of the layout. Generally, the top-most card is available for play. Unlike the tableau, no building takes place on the reserve.
reversal
When two foundations of the same suit meet, the top cards being in sequence, any or all cards of one pile may be reversed upon the other as is advantageous, except the Ace or King at the bottom.
row
A line of cards, side by side, extending horizontally on the screen.

S

sequence
An entire built unit of cards of the same suit and in the correct order.
shuffle
To arrange the cards in a random order. SolSuite Solitaire has more than nine trillion predefined shuffles for each solitaire game, numbered from 0 to 9,999,999,999,999. Each game has a game number that identifies the shuffle starting position.
space
The spot occupied by a card on the tableau or in the reserve.
stock
The portion of the deck that remains at the start of the game after the layout has been dealt. These cards are normally face down. Cards are dealt from the stock, usually one at a time, when no further moves are possible.
stripped deck
A stripped deck is an ordinary deck with the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of each suit discarded, leaving thirty-two cards. Ace is low and Seven follows Ace.
suit
There are four suits: Heartshearts suit, Diamondsdiamonds suit, Clubsclubs suit, Spadesspades suit. Hearts and Diamonds are red suits - Clubs and Spades are black suits.
suite
A full set of 13 cards all of the same suit. For example: Acehearts suit to Kinghearts suit.

T

tableau
The main area of play, consisting of rows or columns, where cards are re-ordered according to the rules of the game and become available for transfer to the foundations.

W

waste (waste pile)
Cards dealt from the stock that cannot be played to the tableau or the foundations are placed, generally face up, in a waste pile. The top-most card is usually available for play until it is covered by the next discard.