Rules
Klondike Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Deal seven tableau columns, increasing from one card to seven cards.
- Only the top card of each tableau column starts face up.
- Build tableau columns downward by alternating red and black cards.
- Move a single face-up card or a valid face-up descending sequence.
- Only a king or a king-led sequence may fill an empty tableau column.
- Build four foundations upward by exact suit from ace to king.
- Draw one card at a time from the stock to the waste.
- Recycle the waste into the stock when the stock is empty.
- Win when every card reaches the foundations.
Basics
What is Klondike Solitaire?
Klondike Solitaire is the seven-column solitaire game that many players simply call Solitaire. It combines hidden information, tableau building, stock timing, and four suit foundations. The board begins partly concealed, so the central problem is not just making a legal move. It is making the move that uncovers useful cards before the deal runs out of room.
This page uses draw-one Klondike with unlimited stock recycling. That means every stock card appears one at a time on the waste, and when the stock is empty, the waste can be turned back over for another pass. The waste is not shuffled, so the order still matters.
Setup
Klondike setup and layout
- Column 1: 1 card, face up
- Column 2: 2 cards, top card face up
- Column 3: 3 cards, top card face up
- Column 4: 4 cards, top card face up
- Column 5: 5 cards, top card face up
- Column 6: 6 cards, top card face up
- Column 7: 7 cards, top card face up
- Stock: 24 remaining cards
Objective
The goal: reveal, organize, and build foundations
A Klondike win means all 52 cards reach the foundations. Each foundation belongs to one suit and builds upward from ace to king. Aces are the starting gates, low cards keep the foundations moving, and kings finish them.
The tableau works in the opposite direction. It builds downward by rank, and the colors must alternate. This push and pull gives Klondike its shape: the tableau creates temporary order so hidden cards can be revealed, while the foundations remove cards from the table permanently once they are no longer needed.
Moves
Legal and illegal Klondike moves
A face-up tableau card may move onto another tableau card if it is exactly one rank lower and the opposite color. A black 9 can take a red 8. A red queen can take a black jack. A whole face-up run can move together if the run is already in correct descending, alternating-color order.
Foundations are more exact. An ace starts its suit foundation, the 2 of that suit goes on the ace, the 3 goes on the 2, and the sequence continues through king. Face-down tableau cards cannot be moved directly. They become available only after the cards above them have moved away.
Red 8 to black 9Legal tableau move because the card builds down by one rank and changes color.
Black 8 to black 9Illegal tableau move because tableau colors must alternate.
Queen to an empty columnIllegal unless the queen is part of a face-up sequence that begins with a king.
Ace to foundationLegal when it starts the matching suit foundation.
Waste card to tableauLegal only when the top waste card fits the destination column.
Face-down cardIllegal to move until the cards above it are cleared and it flips face up.
Stock
How the stock and waste work
The stock is the undealt part of the deck. Tap it to turn one card face up onto the waste. Only the top waste card is playable. You can move it to a foundation or tableau column when it fits, or you can draw again and cover it with the next stock card.
When the stock is empty, this version lets you recycle the waste back into the stock. The cards return in order, not as a fresh shuffle. That keeps the game friendly without removing the need to remember when a useful waste card will appear again.
Columns
Empty columns are king spaces
An empty tableau column is powerful because it can reorganize a crowded board, but it is not a general storage slot. In this version, only a king or a face-up sequence beginning with a king can move into an empty column.
Good king spaces reveal cards or unlock a blocked run. Poor king spaces trap a column with a king that does not help the rest of the board. Before moving a king, ask what the move exposes and whether another color king would do more work.
Ranks
Card order, colors, and suits
Klondike uses the normal rank order from ace through king, but different areas read that order in different directions. Foundations climb upward. Tableau columns step downward. This is why a card can be useful in one place and too early in another.
AStarts a foundation
2-10Build upward in foundations, downward in tableau
JSits between 10 and queen
QBuilds on a king in the tableau
KOnly rank that opens an empty tableau column
Suits are strict in the foundations and loose in the tableau. A foundation must stay in one suit. A tableau column only cares about alternating color, so hearts and diamonds behave as red cards while clubs and spades behave as black cards.
Strategy
Klondike Solitaire strategy that actually changes the deal
The strongest Klondike moves usually reveal hidden cards. A move that flips a face-down card gives you new information, while a move that only rearranges visible cards may leave the real blockage untouched. When several moves are legal, look first for the one that exposes the deepest column or opens a useful king space.
Be conservative with foundations after the obvious aces and twos. A card moved to a foundation is no longer available as a tableau support unless you deliberately bring it back down. If a red 5 is the only landing place for a black 4 that could reveal a card, it may be better to keep that red 5 in play.
Use the waste pile with a purpose. Unlimited recycling means you can see the stock again, but cycling past a useful card may force you to wait through the whole waste order. Before drawing, check whether the current waste card can uncover a tableau card, start a foundation, or make room for a king.
Mistakes
Common Klondike mistakes
- Moving a foundation card too soon and losing a needed tableau landing spot.
- Filling an empty column with the first available king instead of the most useful one.
- Building tidy visible stacks while deeper face-down cards stay buried.
- Drawing through the stock before checking the current waste card.
- Moving a long sequence because it is legal, even when it blocks a better reveal.
- Forgetting that a face-down card is not playable until it becomes exposed.
Winnability
Is Klondike Solitaire winnable?
Klondike is not always winnable from a random shuffle. Hidden tableau cards can bury the exact rank or color you need, and even unlimited stock recycling cannot fix every order. This page does not use a winnable-only deal generator, so a lost deal can be a real feature of the shuffle.
Skill still matters. Many deals turn on timing: which hidden card you reveal first, which king gets an empty column, and whether a foundation move removes a card the tableau still needs. Undo is included so you can test a line and learn from the position.
This version
What this Klondike page includes
- Included: draw-one stock and one-card waste.
- Included: unlimited waste recycling with no shuffle between passes.
- Included: automatic flips when a face-down tableau card is uncovered.
- Included: undo, restart, hints, and a shared win or stuck result dialog.
- Included: legal movement from foundation back to tableau when the card fits.
- Not included: draw-three mode, Vegas scoring, daily deals, or winnable-only deals.
Variants
Draw one, draw three, Vegas, and house rules
The word Klondike covers several common rule sets. Draw-one is the most approachable version because each stock card becomes available in sequence. Draw-three is more demanding: cards appear in groups of three, only the top card is playable, and playing one waste card changes which cards are reachable on later passes.
Redeal limits also change the game. Some rule sets allow unlimited passes, some allow three passes, and some allow only one trip through the stock. Vegas scoring adds points, penalties, and often stricter redeal rules. Those details affect strategy enough that this page states its rule version clearly instead of treating every Klondike game as identical.
Names
Klondike, Solitaire, and patience
Solitaire is the broad family name for one-player card games. Klondike is the specific seven-column foundation game on this page. Because Klondike was bundled with popular computer systems for years, many players learned to call it simply Solitaire.
Patience is another name for the same wider family, especially in older books and in many British sources. The names can overlap in casual speech, but rule pages should be precise. Here, Klondike means one deck, seven tableau columns, alternating-color tableau building, foundations by suit, and a draw-one recyclable stock.
Tracking
How Klondike is tracked here
This page keeps the scorekeeping simple. The status bar shows foundation progress, stock count, hidden tableau cards, and moves. A win is complete only when every card reaches a foundation. There is no timer, no account, no leaderboard, and no penalty for undo.
New game starts a fresh random shuffle. Restart returns the same deal to its opening position. Undo restores the previous position, which is useful for learning why one reveal order works and another leaves the tableau stuck.
Nearby games
How Klondike compares with other solitaire games
Klondike balances luck and planning. FreeCell removes most hidden information and makes space management the main puzzle. Spider is longer and focuses on building descending runs. Canfield feels related to Klondike but adds a reserve pile and wrapping foundations, which makes the early game tighter.
If you like the reveal-and-build rhythm, Klondike is the natural home base. If you want shorter games, try Aces Up, Golf, TriPeaks, or Pyramid. If you want a more deliberate foundation puzzle, FreeCell, Canfield, or Forty Thieves will feel closer.