Klondike Solitaire
Move cards between seven tableau columns, the stock, the waste, and four foundations. Build alternating-color descending runs, then stack each suit from Ace to King.
About Klondike Solitaire
Klondike Solitaire is a one-player card game played with a standard 52-card deck. Sort the tableau by alternating color and descending rank, then build four suit foundations from Ace to King.
Choose Draw 1 or Draw 3, recycle the waste when the stock is empty, and use Undo during a deal. Random deals may be unsolvable; the public Practice layout is a complete deal that can be finished with normal play.
There is no timer, casino scoring, or saved progress. New Game starts a shuffled deal, Restart repeats the current one, and Practice opens the fixed layout.
How to play Klondike Solitaire
- 01The game uses one standard 52-card deck. Seven tableau columns begin with one to seven cards; only each column’s top card is face up. The remaining 24 cards form the stock.
- 02On the tableau, place a card or a valid face-up sequence on a card of the opposite color that is one rank higher. You may move any legal face-up suffix, not only the top card. An empty column accepts a King or a sequence that starts with a King.
- 03Build each foundation upward from Ace to King in its matching suit. Only one card can move to a foundation at a time. A foundation’s top card may return to a legal tableau position.
- 04Draw 1 or Draw 3 cards from the stock to the waste. Only the top waste card can be moved. When the stock is empty, the next stock action turns the waste back over as the stock; click again to draw. Recycles can repeat without a pass limit.
- 05Each draw, recycle, or legal card move adds one action. Turning a newly exposed tableau card face up is automatic and adds no extra action.
- 06Undo restores up to 1,024 recent actions, including draws, waste recycling, automatic reveals, and a completed game. Restart repeats the current deal. New Game shuffles a fresh deal; Practice opens a fixed complete layout that can be finished with ordinary moves.
- 07Changing Draw 1 / Draw 3 restarts the current deal. Random deals are not guaranteed to be solvable. The game has no timer, casino score, or saved progress.
- 08Click or tap a face-up card, the top waste card, or the top foundation card to select a source, then choose a destination. A tableau column header targets that column, including an empty one. Keyboard users can focus cards, move focus with the arrow keys or Home/End, and press Enter or Space to select; Escape cancels, while R restarts and Z undoes when the board is focused.
Klondike Solitaire controls
- Select a source and destination
- Click or tap a face-up tableau card, the top waste card, or the top foundation card. Then select a tableau column or a foundation as the destination. Click a column header to target that column, including an empty column. An invalid target leaves the source selected.
- Keyboard
- All face-up cards and controls can receive keyboard focus. Use Left/Up for the previous board item or Right/Down for the next, Home/End for the first or last board item, and Enter or Space to activate. Escape clears the selection. With the board focused, R restarts and Z undoes.
- Deal and action controls
- Choose Draw 1 or Draw 3; changing the mode restarts the current deal. Restart repeats that deal, New Game shuffles a fresh one, and Practice starts the fixed full-deck layout. Undo restores up to 1,024 recent actions.
Klondike Solitaire: levels and progress
This game uses one tableau rather than numbered levels. Seven columns start with 1–7 cards and one face-up card each; the remaining 24 cards are in the stock.
Practice is a separate complete 52-card layout. It can be completed in 76 actions with Draw 1 or 60 with Draw 3, using ordinary tableau, stock, waste, and foundation moves.
Draw count changes how many cards one stock action reveals, not the deal itself. A random shuffle is not promised to have a solution.
Klondike Solitaire tips and strategies
Reveal hidden tableau cards
A legal move that uncovers a face-down card turns it face up automatically. Prefer moves that expose new options when they do not block a more useful sequence.
Move complete runs
A face-up suffix can move as one unit when every card descends by one rank and alternates red and black. Check the whole suffix before choosing its destination.
Use foundations with care
Foundations build by suit from Ace to King. A top card can return to the tableau, so consider whether keeping it there could help place another card.
Check the waste before drawing
Only the top waste card can move. In Draw 3, another card may become available after the current top is used; when stock is empty, recycling and drawing are separate actions.
- Turn over hidden tableau cards when a useful move is available. Exposing a new card can open another legal sequence or reveal a needed rank.
- Before moving a suffix, check both its first card and the whole run: ranks must descend one at a time and colors must alternate.
- Use empty columns carefully. A King can occupy one, but moving a King away from its current run may close another useful route.
- Compare the waste top with tableau moves before drawing again. In Draw 3, the card you need may be beneath the top waste card.
- A foundation card can sometimes help on the tableau again. Return its top card only when it fits a descending alternating-color run.
- Undo can restore the exact previous deal state, including a stock recycle or a card that was automatically turned face up.
Klondike Solitaire FAQ
Can I move more than one tableau card?
Yes. You can move a face-up suffix when every card in it is face up and the sequence descends by one rank while alternating red and black.
What can go in an empty tableau column?
A King can start an empty column. A longer sequence may move there when its first card is a King and the whole face-up run is legal.
How does Draw 3 work?
One stock action turns up to three cards onto the waste. Only the top waste card can move; after the stock is empty, one action recycles the waste and a later action draws again.
Can I move a card back from a foundation?
You can move the top foundation card to a tableau column when it fits there. The foundations otherwise build in suit order from Ace through King.
Does every random deal have a solution?
No. The shuffled game is not guaranteed to be solvable. The separate Practice layout is a complete deal that can be finished using ordinary draw and move actions.
Is there a timer or saved score?
No. This version has no timer, casino scoring, or progress saved between visits. Undo can restore up to 1,024 recent actions in the current deal.
How many cards can I move from the tableau?
You can move any face-up suffix that forms a descending, alternating-color sequence. Cards below that suffix stay in their column.
What happens after I draw the last stock card?
The next stock action recycles the waste into the stock without drawing. Use another action to reveal cards again; the cycle can repeat.
Can the foundation help on the tableau?
A foundation top can move back when it fits a tableau run. Only the top card of a foundation is available.
What does Undo restore?
Undo restores up to 1,024 recent actions, including draws, a full waste recycle, a newly revealed tableau card, or the completed state.
Does the game automatically detect an unwinnable deal?
No. Random deals are not guaranteed to be solvable, and this version does not automatically declare a loss when no obvious move remains.