The solitaire everyone means when they say solitaire.
The patience everyone means when they say solitaire, and the one that came with every computer for thirty years. Roughly one deal in three is winnable.
Seven columns. One card in the first, two in the second, up to seven in the seventh — 28 cards in all, with only the last card of each column face up. The remaining 24 cards are the stock.
Above the columns, four empty spaces wait for the foundations.
Build all four foundations from ace up to king, one per suit.
Onto a column, play a card one rank lower and of the opposite colour: a red six onto a black seven. Move a face-up sequence between columns as a single unit, provided it stays in order. When a face-down card is uncovered, turn it up. An empty column may only be filled by a king, or by a sequence headed by one. Play any available card up to its foundation.
Turn cards from the stock to a waste pile, one at a time or three at a time. Only the top card of the waste is playable. When the stock runs out, turn the waste over and go again.
One at a time with unlimited redeals is the forgiving version. Three at a time with three passes is the standard one, and it is much harder.
The advice that wins most games: always turn a face-down card if you can, and think twice before filling an empty column, because a column with nothing in it is worth more than most kings.