Playable solitaire
Klondike Solitaire
Klondike Solitaire is the classic Patience game: seven tableau columns, four suit foundations, a stock, and a waste. On SolitaireVP this page uses draw one and unlimited redeals — the same rules as our homepage Solitaire table, presented under the Klondike name for players who search for it that way.
You win by building each foundation from Ace to King in suit while using the tableau to rearrange cards in descending, alternating-color sequences. Face-down cards flip when exposed; empty columns hold Kings. The stock feeds the waste one card at a time, and you may turn the waste back into the stock as often as needed.
If you want a tougher stock challenge, switch to Klondike Turn 3. For a quick start without the Klondike label, play Solitaire on the home route.
How to play Klondike Solitaire
- Move Aces to the foundations, then continue each suit up to the King.
- On the tableau, place cards descending and alternating color (e.g. black 9 on red 10).
- Move whole face-up runs when they stay in legal order.
- Fill empty columns with a King or a King-led sequence only.
- Draw one from the stock to the waste; play the waste top when it fits.
- Recycle the waste into the stock anytime it empties — no redeal limit.
- Use Undo freely; trigger Auto finish when the board is fully face-up and clearable.
Click a card for the best legal target (foundations preferred), or drag for full control.
Setup
- Tableau: columns of 1 through 7 cards; tops face-up, the rest face-down.
- Stock: 24 remaining cards.
- Waste: empty until you draw.
- Foundations: four empty Ace-to-King suit piles.
Rules
- Single deck (52 cards); draw count = 1.
- Foundations: up by suit, Ace through King.
- Tableau: down by alternating color.
- Empty columns: Kings only.
- Unlimited stock recycles.
- Win when all 52 cards sit on the foundations.
Strategy
Treat every deal as a reveal puzzle. The face-down cards under each cascade are the real bottleneck; moves that flip them usually beat moves that only tidy the surface.
- Prioritize uncovering face-down cards.
- Keep at least one path to free a King before emptying a column.
- Send low cards to foundations when they unblock the tableau — not merely because they “can” go up.
- With draw one, the entire stock will cycle; still avoid painting yourself into a color bind on the board.
- Build balanced foundation heights so Auto finish unlocks cleanly.
- Use Undo to compare two candidate lines on the same seed.
When stuck between two legal plays, ask which one creates more future Kings spaces or flips. Klondike rewards flexible cascades over greedily clearing a single suit early.
FAQ
Is this the same as the Solitaire homepage game?
Yes — same Klondike Turn 1 engine: draw one, unlimited redeals. Only the page name and URL differ.
Turn 1 vs Turn 3?
This page draws one card per stock click. Turn 3 draws three; only the top of the waste fan is playable, which lowers the win rate and changes stock planning.
How winnable is Klondike?
Many draw-one deals are solvable with careful play, but not all. Skill, Undo exploration, and luck of the shuffle all matter. Turn 3 is substantially harder.
Can I undo?
Yes — Undo walks back moves on the current deal.
What is Auto finish?
When every tableau card is face-up and remaining cards can go safely to foundations, Auto finish plays those foundation moves for you.
Are empty columns only for Kings?
Yes, in standard Klondike — only a King (or King-led run) may start a new column.
Trivia
Klondike took its popular name from the Gold Rush era and became the default “solitaire” across North America. British players often still say Patience for the whole family of single-player card games; Klondike is one layout among many, but it is the layout that stuck in living rooms and later on PCs.
Microsoft’s Windows Solitaire (1990) cemented Klondike’s green-felt iconography worldwide. Online versions kept the same bones — seven columns, Ace foundations, stock and waste — while adding undo, timers, and draw-three variants. SolitaireVP’s Klondike table is that classic digital lineage: draw one, recycle freely, and chase the clean foundation finish.