Draw 1 / Draw 3 · Solo cards
Klondike solitaire guide
Klondike Solitaire uses one 52-card deck. Your goal is to build four suit foundations from Ace through King. This free browser version includes Draw 1 and Draw 3, undo, hints, and reproducible deal numbers with no sign-up.
The guide below explains the layout, legal tableau moves, waste recycling, and practical ways to improve. Not every random deal is solvable, so use undo or restart the same deal number when you want to explore another line.
Seven columns receive one through seven cards. Only each column's top card is face up; the remaining 24 cards form the stock.
Face-up cards build downward in alternating colors. A correctly ordered run may move as one unit.
Only a King, or a legal run beginning with a King, may enter an empty tableau column.
Build each foundation upward in one suit from Ace to King. A foundation top card may return to a legal tableau position.
Draw 1 exposes each stock card in turn. Draw 3 exposes the top of each three-card packet and usually requires more planning.
You win when all 52 cards reach the foundations. Waste recycling is unlimited; this version has no Vegas scoring or real-money play.
When several moves are legal, favor the move that immediately turns over a face-down tableau card.
A low card can be a useful tableau connector. Keep it available when sending it up would block an alternating-color sequence.
An empty column is valuable only when you have a King or King-led run ready to use the space.
Moving one waste card changes which cards appear on the next pass. Scan a full cycle before committing a key card.
A deal number always produces the same layout. Restarting it and comparing branches is more useful for learning than immediately choosing a new random deal.
Yes. The Windows game commonly labeled Solitaire is Klondike. Microsoft now presents the variant as Klondike or Classic Solitaire inside Microsoft Solitaire Collection.
Klondike uses one deck, seven tableau columns, and four ascending suit foundations. Spider usually uses two decks and completes descending same-suit runs from King to Ace in the tableau.
Draw 1 is usually easier because every stock card becomes available in order. Draw 3 restricts access through the waste sequence and rewards planning.
No. Some random deals are impossible, while other winnable deals can be blocked by an early choice. Undo and reproducible deal numbers help you test alternatives.
Yes. This version lets you return the top foundation card to a legal tableau position when it is needed to continue building.
No. Klondike runs directly in the browser. Preferences and results stay in local browser storage and no account or real-money information is required.
Rules reviewed: