Wasp Solitaire
How to play Wasp
Wasp is a one-deck solitaire in seven piles where cards build down in suit and any face-up card moves with every card lying on it, until four runs from King to Ace have left the table.
One deck in seven piles built down in suit, where any face-up card moves with every card lying on it.
The goal of Wasp
Build four runs of thirteen cards, one for each suit, from King down to Ace. A finished run leaves the table at once, and the game is won when all four are gone.
How to set up Wasp
Wasp is played with one deck of 52 cards, 49 of them dealt into seven piles of seven. The first four piles each have three face-down cards under four face-up ones, and the last three are face up all the way down. The other 3 cards are the stock.
Wasp rules
A card can be laid only on the card one rank higher in its own suit, so the Seven of hearts goes on the Eight of hearts.
Any face-up card can move onto a pile whose top card it builds on, and every card lying on it moves with it, whether or not those cards are in order.
An empty pile takes any face-up card, together with every card lying on it. When a move leaves a face-down card on top of its pile, that card is turned face up.
Press the stock to deal its three cards face up onto the first three piles. It deals only once, and it deals even while piles are empty.
While the stock still holds its three cards, a whole pile may move into an empty one, since which piles hold cards decides what the three dealt cards land on. Once the stock is dealt, that move is refused, as it would leave the board as it was.
When thirteen cards of one suit run from King down to Ace on top of a pile, they leave the table at once for a foundation, whether a move or a deal completed them.
Moving a group can complete a run while other cards still lie on its Ace. The finished run then stays until those cards are moved off, and leaves the table with that move.
Click a face-up card to move it with every card lying on it onto the first pile it builds on, else into the first empty pile that takes it. Drag a card to choose its place yourself.
How to win at Wasp
You win when all four runs are off the table. There is no redeal and no auto complete, since finished runs already leave on their own.
Wasp strategy tips
A card does not have to be on top of its pile to move. If the card you need is buried, move the card lying directly on it, and everything above goes along.
37 of the 52 cards start face up, with 12 face down and only 3 in the stock, so you can plan nearly every move from the first deal.
A dealt card that covers one you need does not trap it: when the covered card moves, the dealt card goes with it.
Free the face-down cards under the first four piles early. They are the only cards you cannot see, twelve in all.
An empty pile takes any card in Wasp, so use it to lift a long group off a buried card you need.
With one deck built in suit, every card but a King can be laid on exactly one card: the one a rank higher in its own suit. When that card is buried, dig it out, or park the card waiting for it in an empty pile.
The stock's three cards land on the first three piles, empty or not. Before you press it, look at what lies on top of those three, since a dealt card covers it and may have to be moved off again.
Wasp questions and answers
How do you play Wasp solitaire?
Deal one deck into seven piles of seven, with three face-down cards in each of the first four, and keep the other 3 as the stock. Build down in suit, moving any face-up card with every card lying on it, and deal the stock onto the first three piles once. You win when four runs of thirteen, one for each suit from King down to Ace, have left the table.
What is the difference between Wasp and Spider?
Wasp is played with one deck and builds only in suit, and any face-up card moves with every card lying on it, in order or not, the way cards move in Yukon. Its stock is three cards, dealt once onto the first three piles.
Can every Wasp deal be won?
No. The game's solver has found Wasp deals that are lost, though most are not: of 563 shuffled deals it searched, at up to a million positions each, it proved 89% can be won. Deals it did not prove are not in that share, so 89% is a floor rather than the odds. Of 100 fresh deals searched as deep as the Hint looks, 250,000 positions, 82 were won, 13 proved lost and only 5 left unsettled. With Winnable on, in the menu beside New deal, every new board is a deal the solver has proved can be won. Hint asks the same solver for a winning line before it suggests a move.
Is there a daily Wasp game?
Yes. Wasp has a daily board, the same deal for everyone that day, dealt the way a Winnable board is. You need to be logged in to play it.