Are you fond of playing card games on your phone? Solitaire King is a skill-based classic solitaire card game that lets you play for real money prizes. It’s one of my favorites because it lets me earn money for fun. Plus, the gameplay is both entertaining and mentally stimulating.
However, I recognize that you might have misgivings about the game, especially how players can win cash rewards. That’s why I thought to put together this app review based on my own experiences, and then you can decide if it's worth checking out.
So, without further ado, let’s look at this popular solitaire game — how to play, earn money, and withdraw your cash winnings with ease.
What is Solitaire King?
Solitaire King is a fun, free-to-play solitaire card game developed by Acerena Inc. This skill-based mobile game follows Klondike solitaire rules (also known as classic solitaire) but with a couple of tweaks to the regular gameplay to keep it more interesting and, of course, to facilitate events and game modes that payout real money earnings.
For instance, Solitaire King features asynchronous play, meaning you don't have to play simultaneously when competing in multiplayer tournaments. You can still play the game against real opponents in real-time, so it’s ultimately up to you. Also, there are no annoying ads to interfere with your gaming experience.
Users of iPhones and iPads rejoice — Solitaire Fire by Acerena Inc. is only available on the Apple App Store. Your device must have iOS 12.0 or later to run the game. There’s a Solitaire King by Mobirix on the Google Play Store, but that’s not the same. Android users may be able to install the APK version of the game.
Is Solitaire King legit?
It’s certainly not a scam if that’s what you mean. But to give you a short answer, yes, Solitaire King is a legit game app. But don’t just take my word for it.
You can do a few things to ascertain whether a mobile game offering real money rewards is legit. The first thing you’ll want to look at is its user reviews. This lets you get a better feel of the game by reading through other people’s experiences. On the App Store, Solitaire King is rated 4.8/5 from over 3.6K reviews. Most of the comments have been positive, but there have also been complaints about functionality issues.
Another thing to check out is the game mechanics. If a mobile game app allows people to win cash prizes and other rewards, the money must come from somewhere. It’s not like the developers just want to give away free money.
So before playing, you’ll want to know how the game can generate the cash it pays out to players. In this case, it’s through entry fees and prize pools for online multiplayer battles and cash tournaments. All participants stake their own money into the prize pool, and the event winner takes the cash. This means there’s a chance you’ll lose money, too, especially if your solitaire skills are not up to par. But don't worry, the game emphasizes fair matching, so you’ll only be matched against players with a similar skill level.
Solitaire King gameplay
When you first download Solitaire King, you’ll be taken through a helpful tutorial that walks you through all you need to know about playing the game.
If you know how to play classic Solitaire, you shouldn't have problems playing Solitaire King. However, for those who are not too familiar with the gameplay, let me try to give you a quick walkthrough.
In Solitaire King, you aim to clear all the cards off the tableau and into the four foundation piles at the top left of the board. Cards can only be transferred to the piles in a specific order — from Ace to King.
Each foundation pile accommodates one suit of cards, so let’s say you have an Ace of Spades card and tap it to go into its designated foundation box. The next card must be a 2 of Spades, then a 3 of Spades, and so on until you get to the King of Spades. No Joker cards are in the deck, so every card on the tableau has a place in the foundation piles.
Now, that’s the goal of the game. The main part of the gameplay itself is all about stacking the cards on the tableau in a specific order, this time from King to Ace and in alternating colors. For example, if you have a Red King at the top of the stack, it must be followed by a Black Queen, then a Red Jack, then a Black 10, all the way to a Red Ace.
Understanding the Tableau Arrangement
The tableau comprises seven columns with random value face-up cards on each stack. In the first column, there’s only one card; in the second, there are two cards — one face-up card on top of one face-down card; in the third, there are three cards — one face-up card on top of two face-down cards… and so on it goes in that order until the seventh column, which has one face-up card on top of six face-down cards.
Next is the stockpile located at the top right of the board. Tapping on this stockpile will uncover three random cards you can use to help build your stacks.
One of the most important things to understand about playing solitaire is to focus on uncovering the face-down cards and using them to build your stacks rather than relying too often on your stockpile.
You’ll need to be fast and think carefully about how you build your stacks because you’re racing against the clock. Plus, if you run out of moves, the game is over.
How to make money on Solitaire King
With Solitaire King, you can turn your card game skills into real cash by participating in multiplayer cash tournaments and, of course, winning. You’ll compete against real players worldwide, so you better know what you’re doing before committing your money to the prize pool.
You can also win crowns in Cash Mode, which you can use to improve your ranking on the global leaderboards. The more games you win, the higher your ranking on the leaderboards, which means access to even bigger rewards. Higher-ranked players can compete for prize pools worth over $10,000. All you need to do is win a spot in the top three on the leaderboard, and you get a share of the real cash prizes.
Each round only takes five minutes, and you can win additional points for finishing the game early. To win in cash tournaments, you must be the player with the highest score. This means racking up those points during your turn and hoping that your opponents have less luck and skill when it’s their turn.
Take note of this disclaimer, though — there’s a chance you’ll lose the money you staked in the prize pool, so only stake what you can afford to lose on the off-chance that your opponent(s) plays better.
Cashing out
All your cash winnings will be sent to your game account. This is the same account where your cash deposits will be stored. You can cash in using your PayPal or credit card. When it’s time to cash out, the withdrawal process is secure and straightforward, and the funds will be transferred to your PayPal account after a few business days.
Fair matching
Solitaire King uses a proprietary algorithm to ensure fair gameplay and automatically match players with a similar skill level in tournaments. Your skill level is determined based on your win rate and the skill level of the opponents that you defeated. In other words, the more games you win, your skill level will be higher. Conversely, the more games you lose, the lower your skill level.
Another aspect of fair matching in cash tournaments is that all players will play using the same deck and time limit.
The bottom line
If you’ve been looking for a legitimate way to make money playing cards from your mobile device, Solitaire King is worth checking out. Remember, it’s not just a cash app that’s just cranking out free money, but a fun solitaire card game where you have to prove your skills against fellow real gamers. Overall, I rate the gameplay highly and wholeheartedly recommend it for people looking for a casual way to make some extra cash anytime, anywhere.
If you’re excited about winning real money on Solitaire King, you’ll be happy to know that there are several other legit, free-to-play
Solitaire game apps that also let you win cash, Amazon gift cards, and other tangible rewards.