How to Play Patient Pairs Solitaire

Patient Pairs asks you to clear the whole tableau by matching up cards of equal rank, two at a time, using only the cards left uncovered at the top of each pile. The goal: Remove all 52 cards by clearing pairs of equal rank.

Setup

1. Deal all 52 cards face-up into 13 piles of 4 cards each
2. Only the top card of each pile is playable initially
3. Removed cards go to a discard pile (not shown)

How to play

• Look for two uncovered cards of the same rank (2-2, 7-7, K-K, etc.)
• Drag one uncovered card onto its matching partner to remove both
• As cards are removed, the cards beneath them become uncovered and playable
• Only the top card of each pile can be moved
• Once a pile is emptied, it stays empty—no card can be placed there
• Continue until either all cards are removed or no more pairs are available

How to win

Objective: Remove all 52 cards by clearing pairs of equal rank.

You win when all cards are removed. You're stuck when no matching pairs remain uncovered.

Tips

• Expose buried cards by removing pairs that cover them; think several moves ahead
• Scan every pile before moving—an available pair is easy to miss once a few cards are gone
• Look for chains where removing one pair will uncover another needed pair

Play Patient Pairs free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Patient Pairs alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the Pairing family:

• Pile Up — A puzzle-style game where you organize cards into same-rank runs.
• Shuffle — A clever pairing game based on Neptune where you remove pairs of cards one rank apart.
• The Wish — A relaxing memory game using only high cards (7 through Ace).
• Doublet Cell — A pairing game with four temporary cells (like FreeCell) to help maneuver.
• Doublets — A straightforward pairing game where you remove any two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit.