How to play
Klondike is the classic patience game for one player, played with a standard 52-card deck. Your goal is to move every card onto the four foundations in the top right corner, building each suit in order from Ace up to King.
At the start, 28 cards are dealt into seven tableau columns: the first column has one card, the second two, and so on up to seven. Only the top card of each column is face up. The remaining 24 cards form the stock in the top left corner. Turn cards from the stock onto the waste pile next to it and use them to build on the tableau or the foundations. Free the hidden cards in the columns one by one until every card can go home.
Rules
- Tableau: build down in alternating colours, for example a red 6 on a black 7. You can move a single face-up card or a whole face-up sequence together.
- Empty columns: only a King, or a sequence that starts with a King, can be moved into an empty column.
- Hidden cards: when you move the last face-up card off a column, the card underneath is turned over automatically.
- Foundations: each one starts with an Ace and is built up in the same suit: A, 2, 3 … Q, K. The top card of a foundation may be moved back to the tableau if you need it.
- Stock and waste: each click on the stock turns one card (Draw 1) or three cards (Draw 3) onto the waste. Only the top waste card can be played. When the stock is empty, click it again to turn the waste over. There is no limit on passes through the stock.
- Winning: you win when all 52 cards are on the foundations.
Controls
- Mouse: drag a card, or a face-up sequence, and drop it on a column or a foundation. It lands on the nearest pile where the move is legal and snaps back otherwise. A single click moves a card automatically: to a foundation if possible, otherwise to the best column. If there is no legal move, the card shakes.
- Touch: the same on a phone or tablet. The cards follow your finger while you drag, and a tap works like a click.
- Keyboard: press Tab to move between the stock and the face-up cards, then Enter or Space to draw or to play the focused card. U or Ctrl+Z undoes a move, H shows a hint and D draws from the stock.
- Buttons: Undo takes back moves one at a time with no limit. Hint highlights a useful move. Restart plays the same deal again from the beginning, and New game deals fresh cards. When every card is face up and the stock is used up, an Auto-complete button appears and sends the cards home for you.
Tips and strategy
- Uncover hidden cards first. Moves that turn over a face-down card are usually the most valuable, especially in the long columns on the right.
- Do not rush to the foundations. Aces and twos are always safe to play, but moving a 5 or 6 up too early can leave you with nowhere to put a 4 or 5 of the other colour.
- Treat empty columns as precious. Only empty a column when a King is ready to take the space, and before you choose which King goes there, look at which Queens and Jacks are waiting.
- Plan the stock in Draw 3. Playing a card from the waste shifts the order of the cards that come up on the next pass, so sometimes it pays to wait.
- Experiment freely. Undo is unlimited, so you can try a line of play and take it back. A hint shows one sensible move, not always the best one.
Frequently asked questions
Can every game be won?
No. Every deal is random, and some cannot be solved however you play. If the game finds no useful moves left, it tells you, and you can undo, restart the deal or start a new one.
What is the difference between Draw 1 and Draw 3?
Draw 1 turns one card at a time, so you can reach every card in the stock on every pass, which makes it easier. Draw 3 turns three cards and lets you play only the top one, which makes planning harder. Statistics are kept separately for each mode.
How are moves and time counted?
Every card move, every draw from the stock and every turn of the waste counts as one move, and Undo takes a move back. The timer starts with your first move and pauses while the page is hidden.
Is my game saved if I close the page?
Yes. The game in progress, your Draw 1 or Draw 3 setting and your statistics are stored in this browser on this device, so you can continue where you stopped. Nothing is sent to a server.
Does it work on phones and offline?
Yes. The table resizes to fit small screens, all seven columns stay visible, and once the page has loaded it needs no internet connection.