How to Play Klondike Solitaire

Klondike is the classic single-player card game, the one bundled with computers for decades. It looks simple, and the rules are, but a single early choice can decide whether a deal opens up or grinds to a halt. Here is everything you need to start playing well.

The goal

You are trying to move every card to the four foundation piles. Each pile holds one suit and is built upward from the Ace to the King. Clear all four and you win. Not every deal can be solved, so a loss is not always a mistake on your part.

The board

A standard 52-card deck is spread across a few areas:

• Tableau: seven columns in a staircase of 1 to 7 cards. Only the bottom card of each column is face-up to begin with.
• Stock and waste: the 24 leftover cards sit face-down in the stock; drawing turns them onto the waste, where the top card is in play.
• Foundations: four piles across the top, one per suit, built Ace to King.

The moves you have

• Build a column downward in alternating colors, for example a black eight onto a red nine.
• Move a tidy run of face-up cards together, as long as it already alternates colors. Run length is not limited.
• Drop a card or run onto a foundation once it fits in suit order.
• Move a King, or a King-led run, into an empty column. Nothing else can go there.
• Click the stock to draw; recycle the waste when the stock empties.

Draw-1 or draw-3

You can set how many cards turn over per draw. Draw-1 flips one card and is the kinder option, so it is the default. Draw-3 flips three and only the top one is playable, which makes the stock harder to mine. Pick whichever suits your mood in settings.

Winning

The game ends when all 52 cards have climbed to the foundations, each suit complete from Ace to King. Get there and the board clears itself in a satisfying cascade.