How to play Yukon Solitaire

Yukon is a close cousin of Klondike with one big difference: you can move any face-up card, together with every card on top of it, even if those cards aren't in order. There's no stock, so all 52 cards are on the table from the start. Your goal is to build four foundations, one for each suit, from Ace to King.

The layout

Seven columns (the tableau). The first column has a single card. The other six have one to six face-down cards, each with five face-up cards on top.
Four foundations at the top, where you build each suit from Ace up to King.
There is no stock or waste. Every card is dealt into the columns.

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 pick up any face-up card, wherever it is in its column, and every card on top of it comes along. The cards on top don't have to be in order. Only the card you picked up has to fit where it lands.
When you move the last face-up card off a face-down card, that card turns over.
Only a King, or a group headed by a King, can go into an empty column.
Foundations build up by suit, starting with the Ace. You can move the top card of a foundation back to a column if you need it.

Classic or Russian

Classic Yukon builds down in alternating colors, as in Klondike. Russian Solitaire has the same deal and the same group moves, but builds down in suit: only the 6 of hearts can go on the 7 of hearts. That makes it much harder. To switch, tap New and pick a mode.

Scoring

Move	Points
Card to a foundation	+10
Turning over a face-down card	+5
Foundation card back to a column	−15

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

Controls

Drag any face-up card onto a column or a foundation. The cards on top of it come along, and 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. When no single move helps, it looks several moves ahead and shows the first one.
Undo takes back as many moves as you like.
When every card is face up and the rest is a matter of time, Finish game plays it out for you.
On a keyboard, H shows a hint, Ctrl + Z undoes a move, N starts a new game, and Space finishes the game once that's possible.

Tips for winning more games

Dig out the face-down cards. Start with the column on the right, which hides six cards. Every card you turn over gives you more choices.
Free the Aces early. An Ace buried under a pile of cards holds up a whole suit. Getting the Aces and Twos up is worth a lot.
Reach deep. You can grab a card from the middle of a column, with everything on top of it, to get at the card underneath.
Save empty columns for Kings. Only a King can fill one, so before you empty a column, know which King and which group will go there.
Keep the foundations level. If one suit races ahead, its cards can't hold the lower cards of the other color in the columns.
Use Undo to explore. Try a line of play, and if it goes nowhere, take it back. It costs nothing.

Questions

How is Yukon different from Klondike?

Klondike keeps 24 cards in a stock and lets you move only runs that are in order. Yukon deals every card into the columns and lets you move any face-up card with whatever is on top of it. There's no luck of the draw: everything you need is somewhere in the columns.

Can every game be won?

No. This game never deals you a hand that's blocked from the very first move, but face-down cards can still block a game later, however well you play. Pretty Good Solitaire, a long-running solitaire collection, rates Yukon's odds of winning at about 35%, and unlimited Undo helps you beat that. Russian Solitaire, which builds in suit, is much harder.

Where does the name come from?

Yukon is a cousin of Klondike, and the names go together: the Klondike gold fields are in Canada's Yukon territory. The game first appeared in print in 1949, in The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games by Albert Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith.

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.