HomeKlondike Solitaire: How to Play
Klondike Solitaire: How to Play illustration: An alternating black king, red queen and black jack card sequence on emerald felt.
Klondike Solitaire: How to PlayIllustration inspired by the app’s Klondike artwork.

Klondike Solitaire: How to Play, Step by Step

Learning how to play Klondike Solitaire starts with two directions: build tableau columns downward in alternating colors, and build foundations upward by suit. The hidden cards and stock provide the puzzle between those two rules. Follow this guide for the draw-one game, then try the draw-three variation when you want a different stock challenge.

Deck: One standard 52-card deckTableau: Seven columnsWin: All cards on four foundations

Set up the seven-column deal

Deal one card into the first column, two into the second, and continue until the seventh column holds seven cards. Turn only the last card in each column face up. The remaining 24 cards form the stock. Leave room for a waste pile and four suit foundations. In the app, the deal and card turning happen for you.

Foundations begin with Aces. A two of hearts follows the Ace of hearts, then the three of hearts, continuing to the King. Keep each foundation in its own suit. Your aim is to move every card there, not simply arrange a tidy tableau.

Make legal moves and uncover cards

On the tableau, place a lower card on the next higher card of the opposite color. A black six can go on a red seven. Move a face-up sequence together when its ranks descend correctly and its colors alternate. If a move exposes a face-down card, turn that card face up.

An empty column accepts only a King or a run headed by a King. Before opening or filling that space, look for a King whose move will uncover a useful card. A vacant column without an available King may not immediately help, while the right King move can unlock another pile.

  1. Look for an Ace you can send to its foundation.
  2. Check whether a tableau move will uncover a face-down card.
  3. Compare available moves before turning another stock card.

Use the stock and finish the game

In draw one, turn a single stock card onto the waste. Only the top waste card is available. In draw three, turn up to three cards, with the top one available first; playing it may expose another. This collection allows repeated stock turn-overs in both Klondike modes. Other versions can use different limits.

Klondike Gold 24K is coming soon for iPhone and iPad with hints, Undo, and solvable warm-ups. A hint identifies a possible action, while Finish appears only after a legal completion path is verified. Full shuffled deals are not guaranteed solvable. If no useful route remains, starting another deal is part of the game.

Common questions

Can I put a red card on another red card?

Not in a Klondike tableau sequence. Colors alternate while ranks descend. Foundations instead keep one suit together and rise from Ace to King.

What should I do when there are no moves?

Check the stock and top waste card, then consider whether Undo could revisit an earlier choice. If no route remains, try a new deal; shuffled layouts are not always solvable.

When have I won?

You win when all 52 cards are on the four foundations, each completed in suit order from Ace through King.