How to Play Solitaire (Klondike)

Solitaire Setup and Objective

Objective: Move all 52 cards to four Foundation piles (one per suit), built up from Ace to King (A, 2, 3... Q, K).

Setup — the Tableau:
Deal 7 columns of cards:
• Column 1: 1 card (face up)
• Column 2: 2 cards (1 face down, 1 face up)
• Column 3: 3 cards (2 face down, 1 face up)
...and so on to Column 7: 7 cards (6 face down, 1 face up)

The Stock: Remaining 24 cards placed face down as the draw pile.
The Waste: Cards flipped from the Stock that are not played go here.
Foundations: Four empty spaces where suits are built (starts empty).

Total piles: 7 Tableau columns + 1 Stock + 1 Waste + 4 Foundations = 13.

Basic Rules of Play

Tableau moves:
• Cards are placed on Tableau columns in descending rank and alternating colour (Red on Black, Black on Red)
• Example: Red 7 may be placed on Black 8
• Only Kings can be moved to empty Tableau columns
• Face-down cards are revealed when the card above them is moved

Foundation moves:
• Aces go directly to Foundations
• Build each Foundation up by suit: A♥, 2♥, 3♥...
• Cards on Foundations cannot be returned to Tableau (in standard rules)

Drawing cards:
• Flip cards from the Stock one at a time (Draw 1) or three at a time (Draw 3)
• In Draw 1: every card is accessible; easier, higher win rate (~1 in 3 games)
• In Draw 3: only top card of Waste is playable; harder, lower win rate (~1 in 10 games)
• When Stock is exhausted, flip Waste back to restart (unlimited redraws in standard Klondike)

Winning Strategy: Key Priorities

Priority 1: Uncover face-down cards first.
Every face-down card is unknown — uncovering them opens options. Always prefer moves that reveal a face-down card over moves that don't.

Priority 2: Build Foundations evenly.
Uneven Foundations cause problems — if ♥ is at 7 but ♠ is at 2, red 8s cannot go to Foundation because the black 7 is not available to follow them to Tableau. Keep all four suits within 2-3 ranks of each other.

Priority 3: Don't empty a column unless you have a King to fill it.
Empty Tableau columns can only be filled by Kings. An empty column with no King available is wasted space.

Priority 4: Move Aces and 2s to Foundation immediately.
These low cards rarely help in Tableau but always help in Foundation.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Moving cards to Foundation too early: A red 6 on Foundation cannot be used in Tableau. If a black 7 needs a red 6, having it on Foundation blocks the move. Keep lower cards in Tableau until their Tableau utility is exhausted.

Building on Tableau randomly: Moving cards without purpose shuffles the deck without progress. Every move should serve a goal: uncover a face-down card, build toward a Foundation card, or prepare for a King placement.

Emptying columns without Kings: An empty column filled with a non-King sequence is temporarily useful but locks that sequence into the column until a King frees it.

Ignoring the Stock: New players often exhaust Tableau possibilities before drawing from Stock. Draw regularly when Tableau moves become limited — new cards create new options.

Is Every Game of Solitaire Winnable?

No — not all Klondike deals are winnable. Estimates suggest 79-82% of Draw-1 Klondike games are theoretically winnable with perfect play, but players typically win 43% of Draw-1 games with strong strategy.

Draw-3 games are winnable approximately 1 in 10 times.

What affects winnability:
• Card positions that bury Aces under multiple face-down cards with no way to uncover them
• Required cards locked under each other in circular dependencies
• Early distribution of key cards in the Stock in inaccessible positions

Some games are won within minutes; others are unwinnable from the deal. Strong strategy maximises your win percentage — but luck of the deal determines the ceiling.