About Solitaire
This is Klondike, the patience game most people simply call Solitaire. You turn cards from the deck one at a time and work the seven tableau columns until all four suits are built up from Ace to King. There is no opponent; the challenge is the deal and the order in which you play it.
How to play
- A standard 52-card deck is dealt into seven tableau columns of 1 to 7 cards, with only the top card of each column face up. The rest form the stock.
- Tableau columns are built downwards in alternating colours, for example a black 6 on a red 7. A face-up card can be moved together with all the cards on top of it.
- Only a King, or a run starting with a King, can be moved into an empty column. When a face-down card is uncovered, it turns face up automatically.
- The four foundations are built up by suit from Ace to King. Foundation cards can be moved back down to the tableau if needed.
- Clicking the stock turns over one card at a time onto the waste. When the stock is empty, clicking it turns the waste back over as a new stock, with no limit on passes.
- You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations. Every draw and every card move counts towards the Moves total, and a win scores 1000 minus two points per move, with a minimum of 10.
Controls
- Click or tap a face-up card to select it, then click the column or foundation where it should go. The selected card is outlined in yellow.
- Double-click the top card of a column, or the waste card, to send it straight to a matching foundation.
- Click the stock to draw. The circular arrow shows when it is empty and ready to recycle the waste.
- Use New deal at any time to abandon the current game and shuffle a fresh one.
Tips and strategy
- Turning over face-down cards matters more than anything else. Prefer moves that uncover a hidden card, especially in the longer columns on the right.
- Do not empty a column unless you have a King ready to fill it; an empty column only accepts Kings.
- Be careful about rushing low cards to the foundations. A red 5 that is still on the tableau might be the only place to put a black 4.
- Look at the whole tableau before drawing from the stock; every unnecessary draw lowers your score.
- When choosing between two cards of the same rank to move, take the one that frees a face-down card or the one from the longer column.
Background
Klondike is one of many patience games for a single player that became popular in the nineteenth century. Its name is usually linked to the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada in the late 1890s. It became familiar to millions when Microsoft included a version called Solitaire with Windows 3.0 in 1990, and today the word solitaire on its own usually means this game. Not every deal can be won, even with perfect play.
Questions
- Is every deal winnable?
- No. Deals are shuffled at random, and some Klondike deals cannot be solved no matter how you play. If you are stuck, New deal starts another one.
- Is this draw one or draw three?
- Draw one. Each click on the stock turns over a single card, and you can recycle the waste as many times as you like.
- Is there an undo button?
- No. Moves cannot be taken back, though you can move a card from a foundation back down to the tableau when the rules allow it.