Body: <p>Are there heuristics that play <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Klondike Solitaire</a> well?</p>
  <p>I know there are some good <strong>exhaustive search solvers</strong> for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Klondike Solitaire</a>. The best one that I know of is <strong>Solvitaire</strong> (2019) which uses DFS, (see <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.12314" rel="nofollow noreferrer">paper</a>, <a href="https://github.com/thecharlieblake/Solvitaire" rel="nofollow noreferrer">code</a>).</p>
  <p>I searched the web for heuristics that plays as a human would play, with no backwards moves, however, I found only one.  In that paper, they report on a win-rate of <strong>13.05%</strong>.  In comparison, human experts reach 36.6% win-rate in <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)#Probability_of_winning" rel="nofollow noreferrer">thoughtful solitaire</a></em> which is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Klondike Solitaire</a> where the location of all the cards is known. Source: <a href="https://statweb.stanford.edu/%7Ecgates/PERSI/papers/solitaire.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Solitaire: Man Versus Machine (2005)</a>.</p>
  <p><strong>Are there any other published heuristics for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Klondike Solitaire</a>?</strong></p>
  <p>When determining if a heuristic is interesting, I would consider its win-rate and the similarity to how humans are playing.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-04-17T18:57:38.610Z
Comments.Text: Does [The complexity of Solitaire](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcs.2009.08.027) interest you?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Rodrigo de Azevedo
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-04-17T21:26:29.320Z
Comments.Text: While this paper is interesting, my interest in Solitaire is from a practical point of view.  I wish to estimate the difficulty of different setups.  One way is by getting the output of a DFS solver and the solution of an ID-DFS optimal-solution solver.  Second way is to examinee the win-rate of heuristics.  The third option is to examinee the win-rate of human.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Cohensius
Tags: <reference-request><heuristics><games-of-chance><card-games>
Title: Are there heuristics that play Klondike Solitaire well?
UserDisplayName: Cohensius
ThreadText: # Are there heuristics that play Klondike Solitaire well?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-24)
  
  Are there heuristics that play [Klondike Solitaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)) well?
  
  I know there are some good **exhaustive search solvers** for [Klondike Solitaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)). The best one that I know of is **Solvitaire** (2019) which uses DFS, (see [paper](https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.12314), [code](https://github.com/thecharlieblake/Solvitaire)).
  
  I searched the web for heuristics that plays as a human would play, with no backwards moves, however, I found only one. In that paper, they report on a win-rate of **13.05%**. In comparison, human experts reach 36.6% win-rate in *[thoughtful solitaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)#Probability_of_winning)* which is [Klondike Solitaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire)) where the location of all the cards is known. Source: [Solitaire: Man Versus Machine (2005)](https://statweb.stanford.edu/%7Ecgates/PERSI/papers/solitaire.pdf).
  
  **Are there any other published heuristics for [Klondike Solitaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_(solitaire))?**
  
  When determining if a heuristic is interesting, I would consider its win-rate and the similarity to how humans are playing.
  
  **Tags:** reference-request, heuristics, games-of-chance, card-games
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Does [The complexity of Solitaire](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcs.2009.08.027) interest you?  
  > **username_0**: While this paper is interesting, my interest in Solitaire is from a practical point of view.  I wish to estimate the difficulty of different setups.  One way is by getting the output of a DFS solver and the solution of an ID-DFS optimal-solution solver.  Second way is to examinee the win-rate of heuristics.  The third option is to examinee the win-rate of human.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 0 answers
  
  