How to play Klondike Solitaire
A practical guide to the objective, legal flow, and decisions that matter in this playable version.
Objective
Klondike Solitaire asks you to move all 52 cards to four suit foundations, beginning with each Ace and building upward to the King. The tableau is built downward in alternating colours, while empty columns accept only a King or a King-led sequence.
How a turn works
Turn cards from the stock to the waste, move the exposed waste card or an available tableau card, and reveal face-down tableau cards whenever a move uncovers them. Tableau runs may move together when they already follow the alternating-colour descending rule. A foundation card can return to the tableau if that creates a necessary route to a hidden card.
Strategy that changes the outcome
Prioritise moves that reveal a face-down card or open a column. Before sending a low card to a foundation, check whether it is still needed to support an opposite-colour card in the tableau. When several Kings could fill an empty column, choose the one whose sequence exposes the most useful cards and preserves access to both colours.
First decision: Expose hidden tableau cards before committing useful low ranks to the foundations.
A common mistake to avoid
Automatically moving every Ace and Two is usually safe, but pushing higher cards to the foundations too early can remove the only support for a blocked tableau sequence.
Three useful table habits
- Scan every tableau column before drawing from the stock.
- Prefer uncovering a card over making a move that changes nothing.
- Track stock passes so an essential waste card is not missed.
A question players ask
Can every Klondike Solitaire deal be won?
No. Some shuffled deals are impossible, and others become unwinnable after a poor choice. A loss is still useful: restart the same deal to test a different sequence, or begin a new deal for a fresh layout.
About this guide
We compare the rules shown in the game with the implemented legal moves, complete representative deals, and review desktop and mobile presentation. If a house rule changes play, the in-game How to play panel takes precedence. Read How games are researched and tested.