Useful language
Solitaire glossary
The small vocabulary shared by many patience games, explained without the rulebook fog.
Tableau
The main playing area where cards are arranged into columns or a shape.
Foundation
A destination pile, usually built by suit from ace to king.
Stock
The face-down cards not dealt to the tableau.
Waste
The face-up card or cards drawn from the stock.
Deal
One particular shuffled arrangement of the cards.
Free cell
A temporary space that holds one card in FreeCell.
Reserve
A separate pile of cards, notably used in Canfield.
Build down
Place a card one rank lower than the card beneath it.
Alternating colours
Build red on black or black on red.
Same suit
Cards that are all clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades.