Klondike Solitaire

How to play Klondike Solitaire

Klondike is the classic solitaire most people first played on a computer. Your goal is to move all 52 cards onto four foundation piles, one for each suit, in order from Ace to King.

The layout

• Seven columns (the tableau). The first column has one card and the last has seven. Only the top card of each column starts face up.
• The stock holds the 24 cards left over after the deal, face down.
• The waste is where cards from the stock are turned face up.
• Four foundations, where you build each suit from Ace up to King.

The rules

• In the columns, build down in alternating colors. A red 6 can go on a black 7, and a black 6 on a red 7.
• You can move one face-up card or a whole run of face-up cards, as long as the run is in order.
• When you move the last face-up card off a face-down card, that card turns over.
• Only a King, or a run that starts with a King, can go into an empty column.
• Foundations build up by suit, starting with the Ace: Ace, 2, 3 and so on up to the King.
• Tap the stock to turn cards onto the waste. The top waste card can go to a column or a foundation. When the stock runs out, tap it again to turn the waste back over. You can go through the stock as many times as you like.

Draw 1 or Draw 3

In Draw 1, each tap turns over one card, so you can reach every card in the stock on every pass. In Draw 3, each tap turns over three and only the top one can be played, so many cards stay stuck behind others. Draw 3 is the harder, traditional game. To switch, tap New and pick a mode.

Controls

• Drag a card or a run onto a column or foundation. The places it can go light up while you drag.
• Tap or click a card to send it to the best place: a foundation if it fits there, otherwise a column.
• Hint shows a useful move. Press it again to see another one.
• Undo takes back as many moves as you like.
• When every card is face up, Finish game plays the rest for you.
• On a keyboard, Space turns over stock cards, H shows a hint, Ctrl + Z undoes a move and N starts a new game.

Scoring

Your score never goes below zero. Undo restores the score you had before the move.

Tips for winning more games

1. Turn over face-down cards first. A move that reveals a hidden card is almost always the best move on the table.
2. Start with the longest columns. The column on the right hides six cards. Uncovering them early gives you the most choices later.
3. Don't empty a column without a King ready. Only a King can fill the space, so an empty column with no King to move in does nothing for you.
4. Choose your King with care. If a red and a black King could both fill a space, pick the one whose Queen and Jack you can reach.
5. Don't rush cards to the foundations. Aces and Twos can always go up, but a 5 or 6 left in a column can be a place to park other cards.
6. Play the columns before the stock. The stock will still be there. A buried card in a column won't uncover itself.
7. Use Undo to explore. Try a line of play, and if it goes nowhere, take it back. It costs nothing.

Questions

Can every game be won?

No. Some deals can't be solved however you play. Researchers at the University of St Andrews estimated that about 82% of Draw 3 deals could be won by a perfect player who could see every card. With face-down cards in the way, real win rates are lower, especially in Draw 3.

Is it free? Do I need an account?

Yes, it's free, and there's nothing to download or sign up for. Your current game and your statistics are saved in this browser on this device.

What happens if I close the page?

Your game is saved after every move. Open the page again in the same browser and you'll pick up where you left off.

Can I play offline?

Yes. After your first visit the game works without an internet connection. On a phone, add it to your home screen to open it like an app.

Why is it called Klondike?

Nobody knows for sure. The name is often linked to the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s in Canada's Yukon, but there's no solid evidence for that. Rules for the game appear under this name in a 1907 edition of Hoyle's Games, and it became hugely popular after a version shipped with Windows 3.0 in 1990.

Is Klondike the same as Solitaire?

In the United States, "solitaire" usually means Klondike. Strictly speaking, solitaire (called patience in Britain) is the whole family of one-player card games, which also includes Spider, FreeCell and many others.