- Base card
- Some games feature the base card. This is the first card dealt in the game and usually determines the first card from which the foundation piles are built.
- Building down
- Pile building, usually on the tableau, when a card can only be placed on one rank higher value card. For example, 10 can only be placed on Jack, Jack can only be placed on Queen and so on.
- Building in alternating colors
- Pile building when a card can only be placed on a card in opposite color (red on black and black on red). For example, if a pile is built down in alternating colors, 10 diamond can be placed on Jack spades or Jack clubs. If a pile is built up in alternating colors, 10 diamond can be placed on 9 spades or 9 clubs.
- Building in any other suit
- Pile building when a card can only be placed on a card in any other suit but the same. For example, if a pile is built down in any other suit, 10 diamond can be placed on Jack spades, Jack clubs or Jack hearts. If a pile is built up in any other suit, 10 diamond can be placed on 9 spades, 9 clubs or 9 hearts.
- Building in same color
- Pile building when a card can be placed on a card in same color (red on red and black on black). For example, if a pile is built down in same color, 10 diamond can be placed on Jack diamond or Jack hearts. If a pile is built up in same color, 10 diamond can be placed on 9 diamond or 9 hearts.
- Building in suit
- Pile building when a card can only be placed on a card in same suit. For example, if a pile is built down in same suit, 10 diamond can only be placed on Jack diamond. If a pile is built up in same suit, 10 diamond can only be placed on 9 diamond.
- Building regardless of suit
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Pile building when a suit doesn't matter. For example, if a pile is built down regardless of suit, 10 diamond can be placed on Jack clubs, Jack hearts or Jack spades. If a pile is built up regardless of suit, 10 diamond can be placed on 9 clubs, 9 hearts or 9 spades.
- Building up
- Pile building, usually on the foundations, when a card can only be placed on one rank lower value card. For example, 10 can only be placed on 9, 9 can only be placed on 8 and so on.
- Cell
- A pile in FreeCell type games that acts as a temporary storage for holding card (maneuvering space). Cell can hold only one card. Any card can be placed on a cell.
- Continuous Ranking
- Continuous ranking means that Aces are both ranked higher the Kings and lower than Twos. If the pile is builted up, Aces may be moved on Kings. If the pile is builted down, Kings may be moved on Aces.
- Deal
- After shuffling the deck, according to rules of individual game, distributing of cards from the deck to piles. After the deal, player may begin playing the game.
- Deck
- A set of playing cards. One deck consists of 52 cards, 13 cards in each of four suits (diamond, hearts, clubs and spades).
- Faced down
- Turned down. Face of a card is not visible to a player.
- Faced up
- Turned up. Face of a card is visible to a player.
- Fan
- Pile that initially consists of three or four cards. Only the top card in the fan is completely visible. the other cards are partially hidden.
- Foundations
- In most solitaire games reffers to a pile or group of piles to which player has to move all the cards in order to win the game. Usually foundation piles are built up in suit from Ace to King, but some games have different rules.
- In multiples
- Pile building in which cards can only be placed on the card two, three or four higher or lower. Modular arithmetic is applied. For example, if a pile is built up in multiples by two, an Ace can be placed on a Queen.
- Pack
- See Deck.
- Packed sequence
- Sequence that is in correct suit and rank, according to rules of the game.
- Patience
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Any variation of card games played by single user. Patience is a term from British English. In American English game is reffered to as Solitaire.
See Wikipedia article about Patience.
- Pile
- A predefined place in a game for holding card or batch of cards.
- Rank
- Value of individual card. In most games Ace is ranked 1, Jack is ranked 11, Queen 12 and King 13. Other cards are ranked according to number on them. Jack is ranked higher than 10, and 10 is ranked lower than Jack.
- Redeal
- After the stock is emptied, act of moving the cards from the waste back to stock.
- Reserve
- A pile or group of piles where building is usually not allowed. Card from reserve may be moved to the foundations or to the tableau.
- Sequence
- Whole group of faced up cards in a pile, no matter if they are ordered in suit or rank. In some games it is possible to move entire sequence of cards as a unit, while others allow only packed sequence to be moved together or just the top card.
- Solitaire
- See Patience
- Stock
- A pile of cards that remains after the deal (a pile of undealt cards). Cards in stock are usually faced down. From stock cards are usually dealt to the waste pile or to the tableau.
- Tableau
- Main area of the game, consists of group of piles which are usually builted down. Cards are reordered in tableau until it is possible to move them to the foundations.
- Waste
- Pile on which cards from stock are discarded. Usually, only the top card is available for play to other piles.
- Wrapping
- Building through the Ace, so you may move Ace on King and then Two on Ace. See also Continuous Ranking.