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12 Board & Cards Solitaire: the complete wiki
Klondike Solitaire is the best-known one-player card game in the world: the one that came installed on your computer. It’s played with a standard 52-card deck and the goal is to sort every card by suit, from Ace to King. On Vexply it’s free in your browser, with a mouse or a finger.
How to play
Controls
- Move
- Tap a card to send it to its best spot, or select it and tap where it goes
- Drag
- Drag a card or a run onto a column or foundation
- To foundation
- Double-click a card to send it to its foundation
- Keyboard
- D to draw, U or Ctrl+Z to undo
Modes and options
- Draw 1
- One card turns over at a time, so every card in the stock is within reach. The easiest variant and the best one to learn with.
- Draw 3
- Three cards turn over and only the top one is playable: classic Klondike, harder and more strategic.
Modes with their own page
Rules
- 28 cards are dealt into seven columns: the first has one card and the last has seven, with only the top card face up. The other 24 form the stock.
- In the columns, a card goes on one that is one rank higher and the opposite color: a red 6 on a black 7.
- You can move a single card or a whole ordered run. When a face-down card is uncovered, it turns over.
- Only a King (or a run starting with a King) can fill an empty column.
- Foundations are built by suit, starting with the Ace and going up to the King.
- Tapping the stock draws 1 or 3 cards to the waste, depending on the mode; only the top waste card is playable. When the stock runs out, the waste turns back over, with unlimited passes.
- You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations.
Strategy
What makes Klondike interesting is that not every game can be won: some deals are impossible even with perfect play. When the game detects there are no useful moves left, it tells you, so you don’t cycle the stock for nothing and can start a new deal.
Once a game is solved (stock and waste empty and every card face up), the auto-finish button plays the rest for you. Your stats keep your best time, your fewest moves and your winning streak.
Go deeper
Tips
- Top priority: turning over the face-down cards in the columns. Every hidden card is a move you can’t see yet.
- Start with the longest columns: that’s where most of the hidden cards are.
- Don’t empty a column unless you have a King to put there.
- Send Aces and Twos to the foundations right away, but think before moving higher cards up: sometimes you need them in the columns.
- In Draw 3, check what’s coming in the stock before you commit to a move.
Common mistakes
- Emptying a column with no King to put there: an empty column only takes a King.
- Sending cards to the foundations as soon as possible: sometimes a low card is needed in the columns to move others.
- Always playing from the stock first: turning over the face-down cards in the columns is what opens the game up.
- Cycling through the stock without progress: if there are no new moves, undo to try another line or start a new deal.
Mechanics
The tags that describe Solitaire. Those with a page lead to similar games.
Glossary
- Foundation
- The four piles, one per suit, where cards are built from Ace to King. You win when all 52 cards are on the foundations.
- Tableau
- The seven columns of Solitaire. Cards stack in descending order with alternating colours, and only a King can go into an empty column.
- Stock and waste
- The cards not dealt to the columns. They are turned from the stock to the waste, one or three at a time depending on the mode, and only the top waste card can be played.
- Draw 3
- The Solitaire mode where the stock turns three cards at a time and only the top one can be played. Harder than Draw 1, because many cards stay buried.
- Seed
- A number that decides everything random in a game. With the same seed the dungeon (or the deal) is identical: that’s how the Daily Dungeon and challenge codes work.
FAQ
- What’s the difference between Draw 1 and Draw 3?
- In Draw 1 one card turns over at a time and you can reach any card in the stock: it’s easier. In Draw 3 three turn over and only the top one is playable, so many cards stay blocked: it’s the classic, and fewer games are won.
- Can every game be won?
- No: the cards are shuffled at random and some deals have no solution. When there are no useful moves left, the game tells you so you can start another.
- Is my game saved if I close the page?
- Yes: the game in progress waits for you in this browser, like your stats and achievements. Nothing is sent to a server.
- Can I undo moves?
- Yes, as many as you like, with the undo button or U or Ctrl+Z. There’s an achievement for winning without a single undo.
- What counts as a move?
- Every card or run you move, every draw from the stock and every time the waste turns over. Undoing doesn’t count.