# How to Play Dragon Solitaire

Dragon Solitaire is similar to [Chinese Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/chinese), a game that's based off [Scorpion](https://solitaired.com/scorpion), but you build cards by suit. As a variation of Chinese Solitaire, the game is named Dragon because it represents good luck in Chinese culture. 

### Objective

The goal is to move all 52 cards from the stock pile and tableau into 4 foundation piles by suit in ascending order.

### The Setup and Play Area

**Tableau:** This is the area where there are 7 columns. The first 3 columns have 8 cards, and the last 4 columns have 7 cards, totaling 52 cards. The first column has 8 face-up cards, the second column has 7, the third has 6, the fourth has 4, and every subsequent column has one less face-up card. 

**Foundation piles:** These are the 4 piles at the top to the game where cards are placed by suit in ascending order from Ace to King.

![How to set up Dragon Solitaire](https://defbnszqe1hwm.cloudfront.net/images/Dragon-Solitaire-setup.png) 

### Available moves

* Only Aces can start in the foundation, and subsequent cards must be in ascending order by suit. For example, only a 2 of Diamonds can be played on an Ace of Diamonds, or a 5 of Clubs can be placed on a 6 of Clubs.
* Similar to [Yukon](https://solitaired.com/yukon-solitaire), a card and all the cards beneath it can be moved on top of the bottom card of a tableau column if it is one rank lower and of the same suit. For example, if you have a 5 of Hearts and an 8 of Spades underneath it, both cards can be moved together on top of a 6 of Hearts that sits at the bottom of the tableau.
* Tableau cards can be moved by sequencing them in descending order by the same suit. For example, a 5 of Spades can be placed on top of a 6 of Hearts.
* Face-down cards are turned face-up when there are no cards below them.
* If a tableau column is empty, a King can be placed there.
* You win when all cards are moved to the foundation.

## Strategy

* Prioritize moving cards to reveal the face-down cards and make them playable.
* Only deal cards from the stock pile when you have no other moves.
* Avoid having lower-ranking cards above higher-ranking cards in the same column. This will make sequencing these cards challenging.
* Free up columns. This way, you can move a King, start building new sequences, and free up cards in the process.
* Look out for deadlocks. If 9 of Spades, 7 of Spades, and 8 of Spades are in order, the game is lost, as you will never be able to sequence those cards. Similarly, if there is a 6 of Diamonds followed by a Jack of Spades in one column and a Queen of Spades followed by a 5 of Hearts in another column, the game is lost as you won’t be able to sequence those costs. Restart the game if you see this.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How difficult is Dragon Solitaire?

Dragon is a challenging game. We looked at 5,287 random games played. Of those, 425 were won, or 8.04%.

### What are some games similar to Dragon Solitaire?

[Chinese Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/chinese), [Spider Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/spider-solitaire), [Spiderette](https://solitaired.com/spiderette), [Big Spider](https://solitaired.com/bigspider), [Scorpion](https://solitaired.com/scorpion), and [Beetle](https://solitaired.com/beetle) have similar rules and setups.

### What are other popular Solitaire games to try?

* [Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/)
* [Yukon Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/yukon-solitaire)
* [FreeCell](https://solitaired.com/freecell)
* [Klondike Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/klondike-solitaire)
* [Russian Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/russian-solitaire)
* [Pyramid Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/pyramid-solitaire)
* [TriPeaks Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/tripeaks-solitaire)