Play Australian Patience (Australian Solitaire) Online for Free
What is Australian Patience?
Australian Patience is a same-suit solitaire where 28 cards are dealt face-up across seven columns and the remaining 24 cards form a one-pass stock pile. Cards must be built on the tableau in the same suit descending. Movement is one card at a time, not whole stacks - making Australian Patience a different challenge class from Yukon despite sharing the suit-building rule.
Australian Patience history
Australian Patience emerged from the British patience tradition as a hybrid of Klondike-style stock play and the stricter suit-building rules found in games like Russian Solitaire. Its popularity in Australia gave it the name. The stock's one-pass limit creates genuine urgency: every stock draw that doesn't produce a usable card is gone permanently.
Opening deal layout
Australian Patience uses an even tableau deal. All tableau cards are face-up from the start:
| Location | Cards | Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Each of 7 tableau columns | 4 cards per column | All face-up |
| Stock pile | 24 cards total | All face-down |
| Foundations | 0 (empty) | - |
How to play Australian Patience
Stock management framework
The 24-card stock is a one-pass resource. There are no redeals (unlike Canberra or Tasmanian variants). Every card you draw and can't use is wasted. This decision logic applies each time you consider drawing:
- Exhaust tableau moves first. Before drawing from stock, confirm there are zero remaining tableau moves that improve your position. Stock is borrowed time.
- Draw only when blocked or near-blocked. If you still have any tableau moves available, use them. Stock cards that come out wrong can't be put back.
- Evaluate the waste card immediately. When a stock card is turned face-up into the waste, decide on its best available placement before drawing the next card. Good stock games minimise idle waste cards.
- Track which suits you're missing. If you haven't seen any ♥A yet and your ♥ foundation needs it, plan a path to that suit. If it's deep in the stock, your entire ♥ foundation chain is on hold until it appears.
Strategies to win Australian Patience
- Build suit chains vertically, not horizontally. Long pure-suit columns are easier to manage than scattered same-suit cards across many columns.
- Empty columns are King territory. Rules require Kings to fill empty space. Use empty columns to park a long suit chain temporarily while reassembling beneath it - but budget the King placement carefully.
- Watch for suit lock early. If two different suits each need the same column to progress, you have a potential lock. Identify these conflicts in the first 10-15 moves and resolve them before the stock empties.
- Count aces. If an Ace hasn't surfaced by mid-stock, that suit's foundation chain is completely blocked. Accelerate cleanup on that suit's tableau cards to be ready when the Ace lands.
Australian Patience rules and objective
Build four suit foundations from Ace to King. In the tableau build descending same-suit (e.g. ♥10 on ♥J). Only single cards can be moved between tableau columns. Empty columns accept any card including non-Kings, providing tactical flexibility despite strict build rules.
Game setup
Seven columns of 4 face-up cards. Remaining 24 cards form the stock (face-down). Drawn one card at a time to a waste pile. One pass through the stock only.
Australian Patience family compared
| Game | Tableau start | Redeals | Win rate (skilled) | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Patience | 7 × 4 face-up | 0 | 18-35% | Medium-hard |
| Canberra | 7 × 4 face-up | 1 | 24-42% | Medium |
| Tasmanian | 7 × 4 face-up | Unlimited | 35-60% | Medium-easy |
| Brisbane | Columns 1-7 cards | 0 | 20-38% | Medium-hard |
How difficult is Australian Patience?
Australian Patience is harder than its Canberra and Tasmanian relatives because you have no safety net - the stock comes through exactly once. However, starting with a fully visible tableau means you can plan your entire game state from move one, unlike hidden-card games. The challenge is that plans break quickly when the stock doesn't deliver what you need.
What is Australian Patience win percentage?
Experienced players typically see 18-35% win rates. The variance is high because stock draw order significantly affects conversion probability - a good deal can feel almost trivial; a bad one is unwinnable even with perfect tableau play.
What is the difference between Australian Patience and Yukon Solitaire?
Three key differences: (1) Australian Patience has a 24-card stock pile; Yukon has none. (2) In Australian Patience only single cards can be moved between tableau columns; Yukon allows whole stacks. (3) Australian starts with all tableau cards face-up; Yukon deals a mix of face-down and face-up. Both use same-suit descending building.
Australian Patience FAQ
Is Australian Patience harder than Klondike Turn 1?
Generally yes. Klondike's alternating-color build rule gives you roughly three to four times the legal tableau moves for any given position. Australian's same-suit requirement combined with a one-pass stock makes it more punishing when the stock order doesn't cooperate.
Can any card fill an empty column in Australian Patience?
Yes - unlike Yukon and its no-stock variants, empty columns in Australian Patience accept any card in this implementation. This flexibility is a meaningful tactical advantage and should be used deliberately, not filled the moment a column clears.
What is the best stock strategy in Australian Patience?
Cycle stock cards only when there are no tableau moves remaining. Then immediately evaluate the turned card against all current tableau tops. The best stock players never draw more than two or three cards without making a tableau move in between - it means they're converting every useful stock card on contact.
Is Australian Patience mostly luck or skill?
Skill dominates on the tableau side - the open-information start means strong players extract significantly more value from good positions. Stock order adds meaningful luck: the same initial tableau with a bad stock draw order is often unwinnable, while a favorable stock order can be winnable even with sub-optimal tableau play.
How do I win more Australian Patience games?
Three habits help: (1) Identify suit locks during the first 5 moves and resolve them before they tighten. (2) Never use a tableau move unless it either advances a suit chain or frees a column for something better. (3) Track stock progress - when you're halfway through the stock with two suits still Ace-locked, start planning aggressive column consolidation.
Other solitaire games you may enjoy
For more recovery breathing room, try Canberra Solitaire (one redeal) or Tasmanian Solitaire (unlimited redeals). For a different opening layout with the same rules, Brisbane Solitaire uses ascending column sizes instead of the uniform 4-per-column start.