Classic Solitaire

How to Play Klondike Solitaire

Klondike is the solitaire everyone pictures when they hear the word. The deck is dealt into a tableau of seven columns, with one card in the first column, two in the second, and so on up to seven. The top card of every column is face up and the rest are face down. The 24 cards left over form the stock, which you turn over into a waste pile as you play.

Your goal is to build the four foundations — one per suit — upward from Ace to King. To free the cards you need, you rework the tableau: build columns downward in alternating colors(a red 6 goes on a black 7, a black 5 on a red 6, and so on). You can move a single card or a correctly ordered run of cards together. When you turn over the last face-down card in a column, it flips face up and joins the game. Empty a column entirely and only a King — or a run led by a King — may fill it.

Play the stock by clicking the deck. In Draw 1 you flip one card at a time, so every card is reachable. In Draw 3 you flip three at once and may only play the top of the three, which makes deep cards far harder to reach. You win the moment all 52 cards reach the foundations.

Strategy Tips for Klondike Solitaire

• Uncover face-down cards first. Every hidden card is locked information. Prioritize moves that flip them over — that is where wins are made or lost.
• Don't rush cards to the foundation. Aces and 2s go up right away, but keep some low and mid cards in the tableau as landing spots for the opposite color.
• Empty a column for a King. An empty space is gold — hold it for a King that unburies a stubborn stack rather than filling it with the first King you see.
• Play the stock before you're forced to. Cycle the waste early to learn what's coming, especially in Draw 3 where position matters.
• Think before every foundation move. Ask whether that card is still doing work in the tableau. If it is, leave it.
• Use undo to learn. Back up and try a different order when a line stalls — Klondike rewards planning two or three moves ahead.

Fancy a change of pace? If you want a version where every FreeCell deal is solvable with no luck involved, or a quick round of add-to-13 Pyramid Solitaire, they're all free to play right here.