How to Play Klondike Solitaire
Two minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. The rules below apply to both Draw 1 and Draw 3 modes.
1 · Objective
Move all 52 cards onto the four foundation piles in the top row. Each foundation collects one suit and is built upward from Ace to King: A, 2, 3, … J, Q, K. Solve all four and you win.
2 · Starting Layout
Seven tableau columns are dealt left to right. Column 1 has 1 card, column 2 has 2 cards, and so on up to column 7 with 7 cards. The top card of each column is face up; the rest are face down. The remaining 24 cards form the stock pile (top-left). The waste pile and the four foundations all start empty.
3 · Legal Moves
There are three types of legal moves:
- Tableau → Tableau: place a face-up card (or a run of face-up cards) onto another column where the destination's top card is one rank higher and the opposite colour (red on black or black on red). Only a King may be placed onto an empty column.
- Tableau or Waste → Foundation: place a card onto its suit foundation when it is exactly one rank higher than the current top (or an Ace onto an empty foundation).
- Whenever you move the bottom face-up card off a column, the new top card automatically flips face-up.
4 · Drawing and Recycling
Click the stock pile to flip cards onto the waste. Draw 1 mode reveals one card per click; Draw 3 mode reveals three at a time but only the top card can be played. When the stock empties, click it again to recycle the entire waste back into a fresh stock.
5 · Winning
When all four foundations show Kings on top, the game is won. The Win modal will show your moves count and elapsed time. Hit Play Again for a fresh deal with a new server-issued seed.
Worked Example · Your very first move
You just clicked New Game. The board looks like this — every column shows its top card face-up, everything else is face-down. Walk through the four foundations top-right and ask: which card can move up there right now?
Lookup table · Which card can reach the foundations?
| Pile | Top card visible | Can it reach a foundation? |
|---|---|---|
| Stock (24 face-down) | — | No. Stock only flips into Waste via Draw 1 / Draw 3. To reach a foundation a card must first sit face-up on Waste or on top of a tableau column. |
| Waste (empty) | — | No (nothing there yet). |
| Column 1 | 9♣ | ✗ Foundations are empty → they only accept an Ace. |
| Column 2 | 8♦ | ✗ Same. |
| Column 3 | K♥ | ✗ Same. |
| Column 4 | K♦ | ✗ Same. |
| Column 5 | 5♥ | ✗ Same. |
| Column 6 | J♠ | ✗ Same. |
| Column 7 | 8♠ | ✗ Same. |
Conclusion: right this second, NOT a single card can reach a foundation. All four Aces are still hidden — 24 in the stock plus 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21 face-down across the tableau.： right this second, NOT a single card can reach a foundation. All four Aces are still hidden — 24 in the stock plus 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21 face-down across the tableau.
Closed-loop playbook (in this order)
- ① Click Draw 1 → a card flips from the stock onto the waste. If it's an Ace, drag it straight to the matching foundation.
- ② Reorganise face-up tableau cards by the legal-move rule (alternating colour, descending rank) so that the face-down cards behind them flip face-up. As soon as an Ace shows, send it.
- ③ Once an Ace sits on a foundation, build that suit upward 2 → 3 → … → J → Q → K. All four foundations capped with Kings = you win.
Remember
- Foundation source = the top of any tableau column OR the top of the waste — never the stock directly.
- Empty foundation accepts only Aces. Non-empty foundation accepts the same suit, exactly one rank higher.
- Tableau follows a different rule: alternating colour, descending rank. Empty columns only accept Kings. Don't mix the two.
Strategy Tips
- Free face-down tableau cards as early as possible — they're the main bottleneck.
- Don't rush sending low cards (2-5) to the foundations; you may need them to receive others later.
- Empty a column quickly so you have a flexible landing spot for any King.
- Use Undo strategically — only 3 per game in free mode (Premium has unlimited).
- Use Hint when stuck; it prefers moves that unflip a hidden card.