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Klondike Solitaire

Players
1
Deck
52 cards, no jokers
Level
Easy

The classic one-player game. Sort the whole deck into four piles, ace to king, one suit each.

At a glance

Sort the deck, ace to king

Klondike is the solitaire most people know. You move cards around seven columns to free up aces, then build each suit from ace to king on the .

Setup

Just you and one deck

Use a standard 52-card deck without jokers, and a table with room for seven columns.

The deal

Seven columns

Deal 28 cards into seven columns: one card in the first, two in the second, up to seven in the last. Only the top card of each column is face up. This is the .

The other 24 cards are the . Leave space above for four foundations.

A turn

Build down, alternate colours

You may move a face-up card onto a card one rank higher of the opposite colour. The 6 of hearts goes on the 7 of spades.

Turn up what you uncover

When a column’s face-up cards are all gone, turn its top hidden card face up. Here it’s the 5 of clubs, which goes straight on the 6 of hearts.

You may move a face-up card together with all the cards on top of it, as one unit.

Turn three from the stock

Stuck? Turn three cards from the stock onto the . Only its top card may be played. The jack of spades fits on the queen of hearts.

When the stock runs out, turn the waste pile over, without shuffling, to make a new stock.

Easier version: turn one card at a time.

Check the tableau before the stock.

Special cards

Aces go up

Every ace you free starts a . Build it up in the same suit: ace, 2, 3 and so on to the king.

Only a king fills a gap

When a column is empty, only a king (with any cards on it) may move into the space.

An empty column is gold.

Scoring

Keeping track

Klondike has no official points. The number of cards on your foundations shows how close you came: 52 means you won.

Winning

All four suits home

You win when all four foundations run from ace to king. Not every deal can be solved, so shuffle and try again.

Point at a dot to see why it matters

Variants and house rules

Turn one
Turn one card at a time from the stock instead of three. It makes the game easier.
Limited passes
Allow only a set number of passes through the stock, for example three when turning one card, to make it harder.
Las Vegas scoring
You “buy” the deck at the start and win back a fixed amount for every card you get onto the foundations.

Tips from the table

  1. Turn up hidden cards first: favour moves that free a face-down card over moves from the waste.
  2. Only clear a column when you have a king ready to move into it.
  3. Don’t rush every card to the foundations: low cards may still be needed to hold a column together.

Klondike Solitaire: quick answers

  • How do you set up Klondike solitaire?

    Deal seven columns of 1 to 7 cards with only the top card face up. The remaining 24 cards form the stock.

  • What can go in an empty column in Klondike?

    Only a king, together with any cards stacked on it.

  • Do you turn one or three cards in Klondike?

    Most computer versions turn three at a time, and only the top one can be played. Many rule books, including Bicycle’s, turn one at a time, which makes the game easier.

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