Klondike Solitaire
The classic card game — build four foundations from Ace to King
Klondike Solitaire is one of the most iconic and widely played card games in history. It rose to global prominence in the 1990s when Microsoft included it as a built-in game in Windows 3.0, and since then hundreds of millions of people have spent countless hours dealing cards across the iconic green felt layout. Despite its simple premise — move all 52 cards to four foundation piles — Klondike Solitaire offers a satisfying blend of strategy, pattern recognition, and chance that keeps players coming back again and again. The game uses a standard 52-card deck shuffled and dealt into seven tableau columns. The first column gets one card face up, the second gets two cards with the top face up, and so on up to the seventh column which receives seven cards with only the top card revealed. The remaining 24 cards form the stock pile, ready to be drawn one or three at a time to a waste pile. Your goal is to move all cards onto the four foundation piles — one per suit — building each from Ace up through King. Tableau play follows two essential rules: cards must be placed in descending rank order, and they must alternate between red and black suits. A red 7 can only be placed on a black 8, a black Queen on a red King, and so on. These alternating-color sequences give Klondike much of its visual clarity and strategic depth. When a face-down card is at the bottom of a stack and all cards above it have been moved away, it automatically flips face up, revealing new options and often unlocking cascading sequences of moves. Empty tableau columns are precious real estate. Only a King (or a sequence led by a King) may be placed in an empty column, making it important to think carefully before clearing an entire column. Misuse of an empty column is one of the most common reasons a game becomes stuck, so experienced players treat empty columns as valuable resources to plan around. The stock pile adds an element of controlled uncertainty. In Draw 1 mode, one card is turned face up onto the waste pile per click. In Draw 3 mode, three cards are revealed at once — only the topmost is playable, making the game significantly harder. When the stock is exhausted, the waste pile is turned over to form a new stock, and you can cycle through it again. This implementation supports both modes, with Draw 1 recommended for casual players and Draw 3 for those seeking a tougher challenge. This implementation offers two scoring systems. Standard scoring follows the classic Windows rules: moving a card from the waste pile to the tableau earns 5 points, flipping a hidden card earns 5 points, and moving any card to a foundation earns 10 points. Moving a card back from a foundation costs 15 points, and recycling the stock in Draw 3 mode costs 20 points. Winning awards a 100-point bonus. Vegas scoring simulates a casino bet: you start with a -$52 balance (one dollar per card in the deck) and earn $5 for each card successfully moved to a foundation, with a maximum profit of $156 if you complete the game. Auto-complete is a fan-favorite feature that triggers once all cards are face up and the stock is empty. At that point the game can be solved mechanically, so the system automatically moves cards to the foundations one by one with a short delay between each move, giving you the satisfying visual of all cards marching home. You can also double-click any top card to instantly send it to the correct foundation if one is available. The hint system highlights a valid move whenever you feel stuck — press H or the Hint button and the source and target will pulse in amber. Pressing it again cycles to the next available hint. The unlimited undo stack lets you experiment freely with alternate lines of play without fear of losing progress. A full-game statistics panel tracks your wins, losses, win percentage, current streak, best streak, best time, and best score across all sessions using local storage. Every deal is assigned a numbered seed so you can share a specific deal with friends or replay a game you found particularly interesting. The game supports keyboard shortcuts: Space or D to draw from stock, U or Ctrl+Z to undo, H for hint, and N to start a new game.
Understanding Klondike Solitaire
What Is Klondike Solitaire?
Klondike Solitaire is a single-player card game also called Patience in the United Kingdom. It is played with a standard 52-card deck divided across seven tableau columns, four foundation piles, and a stock with a waste pile. The objective is to move all 52 cards onto the four foundations, sorted by suit from Ace to King. The name 'Klondike' likely refers to the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, though the exact origin is debated. It became the world's most recognized solitaire variant after being bundled with Microsoft Windows starting in 1990, with the game going on to be played billions of times worldwide.
How Does the Game Work?
Cards are dealt into seven tableau columns at the start. Each column receives a specific number of cards — column 1 gets one card, column 7 gets seven — with only the topmost card face up. Remaining cards form the stock. On each turn you may draw from the stock, move the top waste card to a foundation or tableau, move face-up tableau cards onto another column following alternating-color descending rank rules, or place a King in an empty column. When a face-down tableau card is exposed, it flips up automatically. Foundations build upward by suit from Ace to King. The game is won when all four foundations hold 13 cards each.
Strategy and Tips
Experienced Klondike players follow several strategic principles. First, always uncover hidden cards when possible — revealing face-down cards gives you more options and is almost always the highest priority move. Second, build foundations evenly; having one suit far ahead of others can limit tableau maneuverability. Third, treat empty columns as valuable — only use them to place a King that will help unblock hidden cards, not just to park any available King. Fourth, draw through the stock before making irreversible moves, since knowing what cards are available helps you plan longer sequences. Fifth, use undo freely to experiment — exploring alternatives is part of the enjoyment.
Solvability, Draw Modes, and Scoring Variants
Not every Klondike deal is solvable. Research suggests approximately 79% of games are theoretically winnable, but determining solvability during play requires looking ahead many moves. Draw 1 (one card at a time from stock) is the most popular and accessible form with roughly 33% practical win rates for average players. Draw 3 (three cards at once, only the top playable) is harder with around 11% win rates and is more traditional. Vegas scoring — where you pay $52 and earn $5 per foundation card — adds a financial framing that makes each card more meaningful. Standard scoring rewards speed and efficiency, making it ideal for competitive play and high score chasing.
How to Play Klondike Solitaire
Choose Your Mode and Deal
Select Draw 1 (easier, one card at a time from stock) or Draw 3 (harder, three cards at once with only the top playable). Choose Standard or Vegas scoring. A numbered deal is automatically assigned — you can share this number to replay the same shuffle. Click New Game at any time for a fresh deal.
Build the Tableau in Alternating Colors
Click a face-up card to select it (it highlights with a border glow), then click a destination column to move it. Cards must be placed in descending rank and alternating colors — red on black, black on red. You can move entire face-up sequences at once. Only a King can fill an empty column. Face-down cards flip automatically when exposed. Double-click any top card to instantly send it to the correct foundation.
Draw from Stock and Use the Waste Pile
Click the face-down stock pile in the top-left (or press Space/D) to draw cards to the waste pile. The top card of the waste pile is always available — click it to select, then click a destination. When the stock is empty, click the recycle arrow to turn the waste pile over. In Draw 3 mode, three cards are drawn at once with only the topmost playable.
Move to Foundations and Win
The four foundation piles in the top-right must each be built for one suit, starting with the Ace and ending with the King. Double-click any top card on the tableau or waste to auto-send it to the correct foundation, or select it and click the foundation. Once all cards are face up and the stock is empty, auto-complete takes over and moves remaining cards automatically. Use Undo (U / Ctrl+Z) to reverse moves, and Hint (H) if you get stuck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every Klondike Solitaire game winnable?
No — roughly 79% of Klondike deals are theoretically solvable, but many require perfect play that most humans would not find. The remaining 21% cannot be won no matter how you play. In practical terms, player skill determines whether a winnable deal is actually won, which is why real-world win rates for average players are much lower than 79%: around 33% for Draw 1 and 11% for Draw 3. If you reach a state where no legal moves exist and the stock is exhausted, the game is stuck and a new game is your best option. The numbered deal system lets you retry the same shuffle if you want to find a better line of play.
What is the difference between Standard and Vegas scoring?
Standard scoring awards points for specific actions: +5 for moving a waste card to the tableau, +5 for flipping a hidden card, +10 for moving any card to a foundation, -15 for moving a card back from a foundation to the tableau, and -20 per stock recycle in Draw 3 mode. Winning awards a 100-point bonus. Vegas scoring simulates a casino bet: you start at -$52 (a dollar per card in the deck) and earn $5 for each card that reaches a foundation. A perfect Vegas game earns +$208 in placements, leaving a net profit of +$156. Vegas scoring makes every card feel more significant and is a popular high-stakes variant favored by experienced players.
What is the difference between Draw 1 and Draw 3?
In Draw 1 mode, clicking the stock pile reveals one card at a time to the waste pile. You have access to every stock card over successive passes through the deck, making it easier to find useful cards. In Draw 3 mode, three cards are drawn simultaneously and only the top card of the three is playable — the other two are buried until they reach the top. Draw 3 is significantly harder because many cards stay inaccessible during a given pass, and cycling through the stock is less productive. Most online Klondike implementations default to Draw 1 for better accessibility, though Draw 3 is considered the more traditional and strategic variant.
How does the hint system work?
Press H or click the Hint button to highlight a valid move. The source card pulses in amber, and the destination column or foundation also pulses to show where the card should go. If you press Hint again, it cycles to the next available hint in a priority order: waste-to-foundation moves come first, followed by tableau-to-foundation, then tableau-to-tableau rearrangements. Hints do not cost points in this implementation and are unlimited. If no hint is available, the button has no effect — this usually means you need to draw from the stock to find new possibilities.
How does auto-complete work and when does it trigger?
Auto-complete activates automatically when all cards in the tableau are face up and the stock pile is empty. At this point the game is mechanically determined — every card is visible and all remaining moves go to the foundations in the correct suit order. The game detects this condition and begins moving cards to the foundations one at a time with a brief delay between moves, giving you the satisfying visual of all cards arriving home. Auto-complete cannot trigger while any face-down cards remain in the tableau or while cards are still in the stock, because those hidden cards might require tableau rearrangement before going to the foundations.
Can I move a stack of cards at once?
Yes. Clicking any face-up card in a tableau column selects it along with all face-up cards above it in the same column (the complete sequence below the selected card). For example, if a column contains black 8, red 7, black 6 from bottom to top, clicking the red 7 selects the red 7 and black 6 as a two-card sequence. Clicking a valid destination — in this case a red 9 on another column — moves both cards together in one action. This is standard Klondike behavior and is essential for rearranging the tableau efficiently. Only face-up cards can be selected; face-down cards below them remain in place until all cards above are moved away.