How to play Klondike Solitaire: the rules step by step
Klondike is the best-known one-player card game in the world. The rules fit on one page; winning often takes a little method.
· 2 min read
Play Solitaire1. The deal
It is played with a standard 52-card deck. Seven columns are dealt: the first with one card, the second with two and so on up to seven. Only the last card of each column is face up.
The remaining 24 cards form the stock. At the top are four empty spaces, the foundations, one per suit.
2. The goal
You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations, sorted by suit from Ace to King. Each foundation starts with an Ace, then the 2, the 3… of the same suit.
3. What you can move
- In the columns, a card goes on one that is one rank higher and the opposite colour: a red 9 on a black 10.
- You can move a single card or a whole run of face-up cards already in order.
- When a face-down card is uncovered at the end of a column, it turns over.
- Only a King, or a run starting with a King, can go into an empty column.
- A card on a foundation can come back to a column if it fits there.
4. The stock: Draw 1 or Draw 3
Tapping the stock turns cards over onto the waste, and only the top waste card is playable. When the stock runs out, the waste turns back into the stock; on Vexply there’s no limit on passes.
With Draw 1 one card turns over at a time and you can reach them all. With Draw 3 three turn over and only the top one is available: that’s classic Klondike, and it’s a good deal harder.
5. On Vexply
Tap a card to send it to its best spot, or drag it. You can undo moves and, once every card is face up and the stock is empty, the auto-finish button plays the rest onto the foundations. If no useful move is left, the game tells you.