SolitaireKlondike

Goal of the game

Move all 52 cards onto the four foundations, one per suit, from Ace to King.

Everything else — the tableau, the stock, turning cards over — is only a means to that end. A game is won as soon as the four foundations are complete.

The layout

• The tableau: seven columns of 1 to 7 cards. Only the last card of each column is face up at the start.
• The foundations: four empty spots, filled in ascending order and by suit (♠ on ♠, ♥ on ♥…).
• The stock: the 24 remaining cards, turned over one or three at a time depending on the mode.
• The waste: the card just turned over, playable right away — and only that one.

Allowed moves

• On the tableau, you build down in alternating colours: a red 8 goes on a black 9.
• A sequence already built moves as one block, as long as its top card follows the rule on its new column.
• An empty column only accepts a King (or a sequence starting with a King).
• Turning over a face-down card is free and immediate as soon as the card covering it leaves.
• On the foundations, you build up in order: Ace, 2, 3… up to the King, never changing suit.

Priorities, move by move

• 1. Play Aces and 2s as soon as they appear: they are never useful on the tableau.
• 2. Turn over a hidden card. It is the only move that really brings new information. Between two possible moves, always choose the one that uncovers a card.
• 3. Empty the shortest column rather than the longest: a freed column is a spot for a King, so room to breathe.
• 4. Play from the waste rather than from the tableau when the effect is equal: the stock runs out, the tableau does not.
• 5. Only send to the foundations what you no longer need. This is the counter-intuitive advice, and the most important one: a red 7 moved up too early will stop you from placing the black 6 that would have unlocked a column.

Draw one or draw three

• Draw one: every card in the stock is reachable, in order. The vast majority of deals can be won.
• Draw three: only the first of the three cards is playable. You have to count passes to know when a card will be reachable again — clearly harder, and much more interesting.
• In draw three, every card you play shifts the whole pile: playing one card can be enough to make a previously blocked card reachable on the next pass.

The mistakes that cost the most

• Moving everything to the foundations as soon as possible. It is the number one cause of lost games. The foundations are an exit, not a storage shelf.
• Putting a King in the only free column without a plan. A King with no sequence behind it freezes that column for the rest of the game.
• Drawing by reflex. Before each draw, read the tableau again: a free move is often waiting there.
• Moving a whole sequence when moving only its lower part would have uncovered a card.

Not every deal can be won

• Roughly one deal in six in draw three is mathematically impossible, however you play.
• In draw one, the share of winnable deals is well above nine in ten — so the gap between the two modes comes mostly from access to the stock.
• Losing is therefore not always a mistake. But before calling a deal impossible, check the foundations rule first: nine times out of ten, cards went up too fast.

Controls

Keyboard and mouse

• Click the stock to turn cards over, click and drag to move a card or a sequence.
• Double-click a card: it moves up to its foundation automatically when possible.
• Undo takes back one move, as many times as you need.

Touch screen

• Tap a card then its destination, or drag it there directly.
• Double-tap to send a card to the foundations.
• Tap the stock to draw; when it is empty, tap it again to recycle the waste.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Solitaire, Patience and Klondike?

They are names for the same game. “Solitaire” (or “Patience” in British English) covers the whole family of one-player card games; “Klondike” is the precise name of this one, the most widespread since it started shipping with computers.

Can you put any card on an empty column?

No, only a King, or a sequence whose first card is a King. That is what makes empty columns valuable and hard to use well.

Should you move cards to the foundations as soon as you can?

No, and it is the classic trap. A card moved up too early never comes back down and can block a whole column. Only move up what you are sure you no longer need.

How many times can you go through the stock?

As many times as you like in the default mode. Some variants limit you to three passes, which makes the game considerably harder.

Does the game work offline?

Yes, entirely, with no account and no ads. The optional Pass only lets you pick up your progress on another device and appear on the leaderboard.

More classics, free as well

• Spider Solitaire — ten columns, sequences to build, three levels
• Sudoku — the 9×9 grid, four levels, pencil marks
• Sumito — fourteen marbles, push your opponent off the board