The Solitaire Variant Down Under

Quick Answer: Australian Patience is a solitaire variant that blends Klondike’s dealing structure with Yukon’s free group movement, but uses same-color building (red on red, black on black) instead of alternating colors. It uses a standard 52-card deck with seven tableau columns and a stock pile dealt three cards at a time.

Australian Patience is one of those patience card games that rewards players who enjoy familiar mechanics with a fresh twist. If you have mastered Klondike Solitaire and want something that feels similar but plays differently, Australian Patience offers a satisfying middle ground between ease and challenge. It is widely played across Australia and has grown in popularity among digital solitaire enthusiasts around the world.

Because its structure feels familiar, the game is often easiest to learn when you already understand a tableau game with foundations and a stock pile. If you want a useful comparison point, the Klondike Solitaire Complete Guide can help highlight what changes and what stays the same. Players who enjoy flexible tableau movement may also like FreeCell Solitaire Explained, which rewards careful planning in a different way.

What Is Australian Patience?

Australian Patience is a single-deck solitaire game that combines elements from two of the most popular patience variants. From Klondike it borrows the seven-column tableau layout and the stock pile. From Yukon it takes the ability to move groups of face-up cards regardless of sequence. The distinctive rule that sets it apart from both is its building color requirement: unlike Klondike (which uses alternating colors) and unlike Russian Solitaire (which uses same-suit only), Australian Patience builds in same-color sequences.

Definition: "Same-color building" means you may only place a card on a tableau column if the moving card’s color matches the top card of that column. Red cards (hearts and diamonds) stack on red cards; black cards (spades and clubs) stack on black cards.

This seemingly small change from Klondike’s alternating-color rule creates surprising strategic depth. Suit identity still matters because foundations must be built by suit, but in the tableau you think in terms of red and black rather than specific suits.

The game appears in Australian card game literature and is documented on authoritative sites like Wikipedia’s Solitaire Variants. It has been played by card enthusiasts in Melbourne and Sydney for generations, though it has recently gained a wider audience through online solitaire platforms.

For players who enjoy other open-information patience games, it can be helpful to compare Australian Patience with Flower Garden Solitaire and Baker’s Dozen Solitaire. Those games use different layouts, but they share the same basic skill of uncovering useful moves without wasting your most flexible columns.

Australian Patience Setup

What you need: One standard 52-card deck, shuffled well.

Tableau columns: Deal seven columns using the standard Klondike pyramid:

• Column 1: 1 card, face up
• Column 2: 1 face down, 1 face up
• Column 3: 2 face down, 1 face up
• Column 4: 3 face down, 1 face up
• Column 5: 4 face down, 1 face up
• Column 6: 5 face down, 1 face up
• Column 7: 6 face down, 1 face up

This uses 28 cards total. The remaining 24 cards form the stock pile, placed face down.

Foundations: Four empty piles in the upper area, one per suit. Build from Ace up to King.

Waste pile: Cards dealt from stock go face up onto a single waste pile. Only the top card of the waste pile is available to play.

When setting up the tableau, it helps to identify columns that can become long same-color chains later. A column that begins with a black card can often become a useful landing spot for clubs and spades, while a red starter can support hearts and diamonds. That color awareness matters much more here than it does in standard Klondike.

How to Play Australian Patience

Objective: Transfer all 52 cards to the four foundation piles, building each suit from Ace through King.

Tableau building:

• Build in descending rank order
• Same color only — red on red, black on black
• Any face-up card (along with all cards on top of it) may be moved as a group to another column, provided the bottom card of the group is one rank lower than the destination card and matches its color

Stock pile dealing: Flip cards from the stock one at a time onto the waste pile. You may play the top card of the waste pile at any time. In most versions of Australian Patience, you get unlimited redeals through the stock, though some stricter variants allow only one or two passes.

Turning cards over: When a face-up card (or group) is moved away from a column, the top face-down card flips up.

Empty columns: When a tableau column becomes empty, any face-up card or legal group may be moved there.

Foundation play: You may move cards from the tableau or waste pile to foundations at any time. In Australian Patience, you may also move cards back from foundations to the tableau — a rule that adds flexibility and mirrors some other patience traditions.

Because group movement is so important, the game often rewards long-term rearrangement rather than short, isolated plays. Sometimes it is better to move a whole red or black run to open a hidden card than to send a playable card straight to the foundation. That tension between short-term progress and long-term flexibility is one of the most distinctive parts of the game.

If you like variants that emphasize careful placement and column management, you may also enjoy Beleaguered Castle Solitaire or Gaps Solitaire. They play differently, but both reward planning a few moves ahead.

Key Differences from Klondike and Yukon

Understanding how Australian Patience relates to its parent games helps you appreciate its strategic flavor. Here is a comparison:

The free group movement from Yukon gives Australian Patience significantly more flexibility than Klondike. You can reorganize columns much more aggressively. However, the same-color building rule means you need to think carefully about which color chains you are building — long red-on-red sequences consume both Heart and Diamond cards, which can create bottlenecks if you need to separate the suits for foundation building.

You can explore more about Yukon’s rules and how they relate to other games in our Yukon Solitaire guide, or see the full spectrum of variants in our different types of solitaire games article.

Australian Patience Strategy

Balance red and black columns. Since tableau building must be same-color, you will naturally develop some columns as red piles and others as black piles. Try to maintain at least two active columns of each color to avoid running out of legal moves.

Use group movement aggressively. The ability to move any face-up card with everything on top of it is your biggest tactical tool. Use it to uncover face-down cards and to consolidate color runs that set up foundation sequences.

Plan foundation order carefully. Although tableau building is by color, foundations require specific suits. Keep track of which Hearts and Diamonds cards are in your red tableau chains, because when it comes time to separate them for foundations, you may need to do some reorganization.

Manage the stock wisely. With unlimited redeals available in most versions, it can be tempting to cycle through the stock repeatedly. However, each stock cycle that produces no useful cards is wasted time. Prioritize tableau moves that expose new face-down cards before turning to the stock.

Empty column discipline. An empty column is a powerful asset. Avoid filling it with a random card just to fill the space — hold it open for a strategic group movement that will unlock a buried sequence.

Don’t send cards to foundations too early. Especially in the early and mid game, keeping low cards in the tableau can maintain flexibility in your same-color chains. Moving a 2 or 3 to a foundation might block a sequence you need later.

One practical habit is to scan the tableau for “release moves” before making obvious foundation plays. A move that uncovers a face-down card or frees an empty column is often more valuable than a foundation move that only removes a single card from view. That is especially true when you are trying to preserve both red and black lanes for later restructuring.

Win Rate and Difficulty

Australian Patience sits in the medium difficulty range — harder than standard Klondike Turn 1 but easier than games like Spider Solitaire four-suit or Russian Solitaire. With unlimited redeals and free group movement, a skilled player can win approximately 40–55% of randomly dealt games. The same-color building constraint limits moves more than alternating colors does, preventing some of the rapid tableau building you can achieve in Klondike.

For players in the United States who are looking for a step up from Klondike without diving into the deep end of difficulty, Australian Patience is an excellent choice — offering enough familiarity to learn quickly and enough strategic depth to remain engaging.

If you are still building confidence, it can help to play a few rounds where your goal is not just to win, but to improve your move selection. Try prioritizing early face-down reveals, preserving empty columns, and resisting unnecessary foundation moves until the tableau starts to open up.

Variations and Alternative Rules

Like many patience games, Australian Patience has regional variations:

Stock dealing: Some versions deal the stock one card at a time, others deal three. One-at-a-time dealing is more forgiving; three-at-a-time more challenging.

Redeal limits: Stricter variants limit the player to one or two passes through the stock, significantly increasing difficulty.

Foundation reversal: A few versions prohibit moving cards back from foundations to the tableau, making the game harder to complete once you’ve committed cards.

If you enjoy Australian Patience, you might also want to explore Flower Garden Solitaire and Simple Simon Solitaire, both of which share the theme of working entirely from an openly visible tableau.

For more advanced strategic principles applicable to Australian Patience, check out our advanced solitaire strategies guide.

Another game worth trying is Scorpion Solitaire, which also uses tableau movement rules that feel very open once you understand the chain logic. While the details differ, both games encourage you to think in terms of building space for future moves instead of making every legal move immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Australian Patience differ from Klondike Solitaire?

Australian Patience uses same-color building (red on red, black on black) instead of Klondike’s alternating-color rule. It also allows free movement of any group of face-up cards, while standard Klondike only allows properly sequenced runs to be moved together. The stock pile and overall layout are very similar between the two games.

What does "same-color building" mean in Australian Patience?

Same-color building means you can only place a card on a tableau column if the incoming card’s color matches the receiving card’s color. Red cards (hearts and diamonds together) stack onto red cards, and black cards (spades and clubs together) stack onto black cards. This is opposite to Klondike’s alternating red-black rule.

Can you move groups of cards in Australian Patience?

Yes. Like Yukon Solitaire, Australian Patience allows you to move any face-up card along with all the cards stacked on top of it, even if those cards do not form a legal sequence among themselves. The only requirement is that the bottom card of the moving group legally places on the destination card.

Is Australian Patience easy or hard to win?

Australian Patience is considered medium difficulty. With unlimited redeals and free group movement, experienced players win approximately 40–55% of games. It is harder than basic Klondike Turn 1 but significantly easier than Russian Solitaire or four-suit Spider. It is suitable for intermediate solitaire players.

Is there a stock pile in Australian Patience?

Yes. The remaining 24 cards after the tableau is dealt form a face-down stock pile. Cards are flipped one at a time onto a waste pile, and the top card of the waste pile is available to play at any time. Most versions allow unlimited redeals through the stock until no useful moves remain.

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💡 Variant Strategy Note (2026)

Each solitaire variation demands unique table space management. In column-heavy formats like Spider or Yukon, prioritize unlocking hidden columns early to act as temporary staging areas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I move cards to the foundation as soon as I can?

Not always. Early foundation moves can help, but in Australian Patience it is often better to keep low cards in the tableau until they have served a useful role in building same-color chains or freeing face-down cards.

What is the biggest mistake beginners make?

The most common mistake is treating Australian Patience like ordinary Klondike. Players who focus only on alternating-color habits may miss stronger same-color group moves or fill empty columns too quickly.

How important are empty columns?

Very important. Empty columns are one of your most flexible tools because they let you relocate long face-up groups and reorganize the tableau without breaking a chain.

Can I play Australian Patience as a relaxing game?

Yes. Even though it has strategic depth, the game is approachable for casual play because the rules are easy to remember once you understand same-color building and group movement.