What is the Average Time to Complete Solitaire?

As an avid solitaire gamer and content creator, I‘m often asked – just how long does it take to finish a game on average? Based on my experience across thousands of games played, I‘ve found the average time is around 11 minutes.

However, time to completion has a huge range based on several key factors:

Solitaire Game Complexity

Not all solitaire games are created equal when it comes to difficulty level. The more complex variants like FreeCell (my personal favorite) can take longer than simpler ones like Klondike. Here‘s a comparison:

As you can see, FreeCell‘s greater difficulty adds 5-10 minutes on average over the classic Klondike style. Understanding the complexity of the variant you‘re playing allows you to set realistic time expectations.

Player Skill Level

Naturally, an expert player like myself will blaze through games faster than a beginner thanks to optimized strategies and experience. I average under 10 minutes for most variants after years of play. Meanwhile, new players may need 15-20 minutes just to complete Klondike!

Here‘s a skill level guideline based on my observations:

With practice, anyone can trim their solitaire completion time by mastering strategy. But it takes real dedication to become an expert!

Quality of Strategy

No matter your skill level, optimizing strategy is key to accelerating your solitaire game speed. Memorizing the best sequencing of moves, targeting key cards first, and minimizing mistakes gives you an edge.

I have comprehensive advanced tutorials on my blog for strategic tips that have allowed me to slice my average times significantly over the years – dropping from 15 minutes as a beginner to well under 10 after implementing what I‘ve learned.

Small tweaks add up. Just avoiding a single dead-end move per game saves you 1-2 minutes on average!

Card Layout Luck

Of course, the arrangement of the cards you‘re dealt impacts the complexity of any solitaire game. Even experts can end up with an extremely unlucky layout now and then that dramatically slows completion.

So while skillful play helps overcome poor card luck, you can‘t always escape extra time when the deck just refuses to cooperate! I‘ve had rare Klondike games take 30+ minutes thanks to terrible draws.

Definition of "Complete"

Finally, exactly when you declare a solitaire game "complete" affects duration as well. In most variants, the goal is relocating all cards to the foundations.

But for scoring variants, players may end the game early after reaching a target point threshold or high score – thus speeding up the time to completion substantially if they don‘t care about actually clearing the tableau completely.

For trivia lovers out there, the fastest possible solitaire completion belongs to Stephen Twigge at just 10 seconds back in 1991 – though his variant and full completion status is unclear.

While 10 seconds is basically impossible for mere mortals like me, understanding all the factors that impact solitaire duration helps set realistic goals. With practice, strategy and a bit of luck, besting your personal record is absolutely achievable!

Let me know your fastest time in the comments, along with any questions on improving speed. I have a great series planned on advanced techniques next month for subscribers looking to master time optimization and take their game to the next level!