Will o' the Wisp Solitaire
How to play Will o' the Wisp
Will o' the Wisp is a one-deck Spider solitaire played with 52 cards in seven piles and a stock of 31, where four runs of one suit, King down to Ace, must leave the table.
Spider with one deck dealt into seven piles, two cards face down under one face up.
The goal of Will o' the Wisp
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 Will o' the Wisp
Will o' the Wisp is played with one deck of 52 cards. 21 of them are dealt into seven piles of three, two face-down cards under one face-up card. The other 31 cards are the stock.
Will o' the Wisp rules
A card can be laid on any card one rank higher, whatever its suit, so the Seven of hearts may go on the Eight of clubs. A King is never laid on an Ace.
A pile's top card can always move. A face-up card lower down moves together with the cards above it only when they run down from it in one suit, each one rank below the card under it. An empty pile takes any card or any run that may move.
Press the stock to deal one card face up onto every pile, seven cards at a time, four times; the fifth and last deal puts the three cards left onto the first three piles. The stock will not deal while any pile is empty. Whenever a face-down card is left on top of its pile, it is turned face up.
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.
Click a face-up card to move it with the run above it onto a pile whose top card is one rank higher, of its own suit first, else into the first empty pile. Drag a card to choose its place yourself.
How to win at Will o' the Wisp
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.
Will o' the Wisp strategy tips
Turn up the face-down cards early. 14 cards start hidden, two under every pile, and each one turned gives you another card to build with.
Every card is the only one of its kind, so there is just one card of its own suit for it to go on, against two in Spider. When that card is buried, plan to uncover it rather than wait for a second copy that does not exist.
Most of the deck starts in the stock: 31 cards against 21 on the table. Each of the first four presses covers all seven piles, so join what runs you can before you deal, and expect the last press to land only on the first three.
Piles start only three cards deep, against five or six in Spider, so one can be emptied in a few moves. Fill it again before you deal: even the last deal of three, which lands on the first three piles only, is refused while any of the seven is empty.
Will o' the Wisp questions and answers
How do you play Will o' the Wisp solitaire?
Deal one deck into seven piles of three, two cards face down under one face up, and keep the other 31 as the stock. Lay a card on any card one rank higher, move runs of one suit together, and press the stock to deal a card onto every pile. 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 Will o' the Wisp and Spider?
Will o' the Wisp is played with one deck instead of two: seven piles of three cards, a stock of 31 that deals seven cards at a time with a last deal of three, and four runs to finish instead of eight. Building and moving are the same as in Spider.
Can every Will o' the Wisp deal be won?
Not necessarily, though most of them can. Of 606 shuffled Will o' the Wisp deals the game's solver searched, at up to a million positions each, it proved 83% can be won. Deals it gave up on are left out of that figure, so 83% is the least it showed, not the true share. Searched at the 250,000 positions a hint may use, 100 fresh deals gave 75 wins, no losses and 25 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 Will o' the Wisp game?
Yes. Will o' the Wisp 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.