Play Canberra Solitaire (One-Redeal Australian Patience) Online for Free
What is Canberra Solitaire?
Canberra Solitaire is Australian Patience with one permitted redeal. The redeal turns your exhausted stock back into a drawable pile, giving you a second pass through the same 24 cards. Critically, the redeal is not a reshuffle - the cards return to the stock in a reversed order from how they were drawn, so you can predict exactly what will come out next if you tracked the original draw sequence.
Canberra Solitaire history
Canberra (named after Australia's capital city in the Australian Patience family) became popular as the balanced middle ground of the Australian family - harder than unlimited-redeal Tasmanian but more forgiving than strict no-redeal Australian Patience. It rewards careful redeal resource management above all other skills.
How the redeal works
When the stock runs out with redeals remaining, the waste pile is flipped face-down and becomes the new stock. Cards come out in the reverse order of how they were drawn. If you drew 3♠5, then ♦7, then ♥2 on your first pass, the redeal stock starts with ♥2 on top, then ♦7, then 3♠5. This predictability is powerful: knowing what's coming lets you stage tableau cards to receive the incoming sequence.
How to play Canberra Solitaire
Redeal timing decision guide
When should you use your one redeal? This is the highest-leverage decision in any Canberra game:
| Board state when stock runs out | Use the redeal? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple clear suit chains near completion | ✓ Yes | Second pass will finish them |
| One or two suits blocked by a needed card | ✓ Yes | That card will appear on restock |
| Most columns still blocked with mismatched suits | ✗ No | Board needs more tableau work first |
| Stock just started (15+ cards remain) | ✗ No | Way too early - finish the first pass |
| Foundations all above rank 7 in every suit | ✓ Yes | Clean-up pass will likely finish the game |
Strategies to win Canberra Solitaire
- Treat the redeal as a high-value resource, not a fallback. Players who save the redeal until the board is nearly playable win far more games than those who trigger it the moment the stock empties.
- Prepare the tableau before using it. In the last third of your first stock pass, start staging tableau columns so they are ready to receive the known incoming cards on the redeal pass.
- Minimise dead stock draws. Every first-pass card you can't convert is a card you'll see again on redeal in the same useless position unless you fix the tableau before it returns.
- Empty columns are more valuable in Canberra than in the base game. With a known redeal sequence coming, an empty column gives you a parking space to stage incoming cards.
Canberra Solitaire rules and objective
Same rules as Australian Patience - build four suit foundations from Ace to King, same-suit descending tableau, one card per move - with the addition of one permitted redeal when the stock runs out.
Game setup
Seven columns of 4 face-up cards. 24-card stock drawn one at a time. Empty columns accept any card. Kings are not required. One redeal allowed.
Canberra vs. the Australian Patience family
| Game | Redeals | Redeal order | Win rate (skilled) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Patience | 0 | N/A | 18-35% |
| Canberra | 1 | Reversed waste order | 24-42% |
| Tasmanian | Unlimited | Reversed waste each time | 35-60% |
How difficult is Canberra Solitaire?
Canberra is medium difficulty. The redeal removes the worst one-pass bad-luck outcomes, and the predictable redeal order means skilled players can often engineer a winning second pass. The challenge is recognising when the board is ready for the redeal versus when it needs more tableau work first.
What is Canberra Solitaire win percentage?
Disciplined play typically yields 24-42% win rates. The improvement over Australian Patience is real but the game is not easy - a wasted redeal (triggered too early or with a locked tableau) is essentially the same as losing the game on the spot.
What is the difference between Canberra Solitaire and Australian Patience?
One redeal. Everything else is identical. However that one redeal creates a fundamentally different strategic layer because it shifts the key skill from pure tableau optimisation to redeal resource management - a timing puzzle layered on top of the base game.
Canberra Solitaire FAQ
When should I use the Canberra Solitaire redeal?
Wait until your first stock pass is exhausted and you have several suit chains partially built with known blockers. The ideal redeal trigger is: "I know which specific cards I need, and they were drawn early in my first pass, so they'll come out first on redeal." If you can't articulate a specific plan for the incoming cards, the board probably needs more tableau work before you redeal.
Is Canberra Solitaire easier than Australian Patience?
Yes, reliably. Win rates increase roughly 6-10 percentage points with disciplined redeal usage. The gain is largest when players use the redeal's predictable order to pre-stage tableau columns for the incoming sequence.
Canberra Solitaire best strategy for endgame?
Once foundations are above rank 7 in all suits, shift entirely to rapid foundation pushes on each converted stock card. Don't waste tableau moves on reorganisation at this stage - everything should funnel directly to foundations as fast as possible.
Does Canberra Solitaire require Kings for empty spaces?
No - in this implementation any card can fill an empty Canberra column, which gives more flexibility than strict Yukon-family rules. Use this to stage incoming redeal cards rather than leaving empty columns idle.
How do I increase Canberra Solitaire win rate?
The fastest improvement comes from treating the redeal as your main resource - not a safety net. During the first stock pass, mentally note the last 5-6 cards drawn (they'll come out first on redeal). Build toward receiving those specific cards. Most Canberra losses come from players who either waste the redeal too early or wait until the position is unrecoverable.
Other solitaire games you may enjoy
For the strictest challenge in this family, Australian Patience removes the redeal entirely. For maximum recovery options, Tasmanian Solitaire allows unlimited redeals. For a different opening geometry on the same rules, try Brisbane Solitaire.