How to play Solitaire (Klondike)

What you need

One standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed, and a flat surface about the size of a placemat and a half. Card rank runs king (high), queen, jack, 10 down to 2, then ace (low). In this game the ace is always low. If table space is tight, miniature cards help; the layout grows downward as you build columns.

Deal the layout

1. Shuffle well. Klondike punishes clumps of same-color cards, so give the deck several riffle shuffles.
2. Deal the first row of the tableau. Working left to right, deal one card face up to start column 1, then one card face down on each of columns 2 to 7.
3. Deal the second row. Skip column 1. Deal one card face up on column 2, then one face down on each of columns 3 to 7.
4. Keep going. Each pass starts one column further right with a face-up card and fills the rest face down. After seven passes, column 1 has one card, column 7 has seven, and each column has exactly one face-up card on top. That is 28 cards.
5. The stock. Put the remaining 24 cards face down above the tableau. Leave room beside it for a face-up waste pile.
6. Leave four spaces for foundations above the tableau. They start empty.

How to play

1. Start foundations with aces. Whenever an ace becomes available, move it to an empty foundation space. Build each foundation up in one suit: ace, 2, 3 and so on to king.
2. Build down in the tableau, alternating colors. You may move an available card onto a tableau card one rank higher of the opposite color: a black 5 on a red 6, a red jack on a black queen.
3. Move runs as a unit. In the Bicycle rules, if a column has more than one face-up card, those face-up cards move together as one unit onto a suitable card.
4. Turn up hidden cards. When a column has no face-up card left, turn its top face-down card face up. It is now available.
5. Only a king fills an empty column. A king alone, or a king with its run on top, may move into an empty space. Nothing else may.
6. Use the stock. Turn up the stock in groups of three onto the waste pile. Only the top card of the waste is available. If you play it, the card beneath becomes available. If you cannot use the top card, turn the next group of three.
7. Win by getting all 52 cards onto the four foundations. If no useful moves remain, the deal is lost and you shuffle up again.

Two points the Bicycle page leaves open: how many times you may go through the stock, and if a card may come back down from a foundation to the tableau. Many players and apps allow unlimited passes through the stock in draw-three, and many apps allow foundation cards to come back down. Decide your own rule before you start and stick to it, so your wins mean the same thing every time.

Playing to win more deals

1. Uncover hidden cards first. Every face-down card is a card you cannot plan around. Given a choice between a move that reveals a card and one that does not, reveal.
2. Work on the longest hidden columns. Columns 6 and 7 hold most of the hidden cards. Freeing them early opens more options than tidying the short columns.
3. Do not empty a column unless a king is ready. An empty space only accepts a king. If no king is available to move in, the space is wasted for now.
4. Choose your king carefully. If both a red and a black king could fill a space, look at what queens and jacks you can see. Pick the king whose color lets your waiting cards build on it.
5. Low cards to the foundation; middle cards can wait. Aces and 2s are always safe to move up. A 6 or 7 might be needed in the tableau as a place to park a 5 or 6 of the other color, so do not rush it up unless it frees something.
6. Play from the tableau before the stock. Tableau moves reveal hidden cards; stock moves do not. Turn the stock when the tableau is stuck.
7. In draw-three, think about the order. Playing a card from the waste changes which cards appear on the next pass. Sometimes leaving a playable card in the waste keeps a better card reachable later.

Misplays and rule confusion

"I'll put the queen in the empty column."

Only a king, or a run headed by a king, may fill an empty column.

"Red 6 on red 7 is fine, they're in order."

Colors must alternate in the tableau. Foundations are the opposite: same suit only, building upward.

"I'll just move the bottom two cards of that run."

In the Bicycle rules, all face-up cards in a column move as a unit. Many apps allow part of a run to move; if you play that way, say so when you compare scores.

"I turned three cards, so I can use any of them."

Only the top card of the waste is available. Each card under it becomes available only after the one above is played.

"Every deal can be won if you're good enough."

No. Some deals cannot be won however you play, especially in draw-three. Losing a deal is not always a mistake.

"Solitaire on my phone has the same rules."

It depends on the settings: draw-one or draw-three, the limit on stock passes, and whether partial runs or foundation take-backs are allowed all change the game. Note your settings when you compare results.

Popular variants and house rules

• Draw-one (common variant). Turn the stock one card at a time. Every stock card becomes available in order, so the game is noticeably easier. Bicycle's general Solitaire page describes turning the stock one card at a time.
• Limited passes (house rule). Allow only three passes through the stock in draw-three, or a single pass in draw-one. It makes each pass a real decision.
• Partial runs (common app setting). Let any face-up card in a run move together with the cards on top of it. More flexible than the Bicycle rule.
• Foundation take-backs (common app setting). Allow a card on a foundation to come back down onto the tableau. Useful for rescuing a stuck column.
• Thoughtful solitaire (house variant). Deal everything face up, including the stock. Pure planning, no luck, and a great way to learn how deals are won.
• Two-player race (house variant). Each player deals their own Klondike from their own deck. First to finish, or most cards on the foundations after 15 minutes, wins.

Showing someone Klondike in five minutes

Solitaire is a one-player game, but it is often taught by a grandparent at the kitchen table. Deal the layout while you talk.

1. "The goal is to get all the cards up here in four piles, one per suit, starting with the ace and going up to the king."
2. "Down here, you can stack cards going down, but colors have to switch: black on red, red on black."
3. "When you move a card and uncover a face-down one, flip it over. That's how you find the cards you need."
4. "If a column goes empty, only a king can go there."
5. "Stuck? Flip three cards off the stock pile. You can use the top one."
6. "Some games you can't win. That's normal. Shuffle and try again."

Then play the first deal together, with the learner making every move and you asking "Does that uncover anything?" before each one.

Ages and group size

Klondike is a one-player game. The site lists it for ages 7 and up, which suits children who know card order and the difference between red and black; Bicycle lists 13+ for its Klondike page, which reflects the patience it takes to finish draw-three deals. Younger players do well with draw-one and unlimited stock passes. For a group, use the two-player race above, or deal identical layouts to several people using two decks arranged the same way and compare results. A deal takes 10 to 30 minutes by hand.

Solitaire questions people search

Sources and edition notes

Bicycle Cards Klondike with draw-three stock. Some apps default to draw-one or allow different stock redeals; confirm the selected setting before comparing results. Deal, building, the move-as-a-unit rule, the king-only empty column and the three-card stock follow the Bicycle Klondike page; card rank and the one-at-a-time stock description come from Bicycle's general Solitaire page. Scoring by foundation count, strategy and the variants marked as house rules or app settings are common practice, not published rules.

Sources rechecked October 22, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.

• Bicycle Cards: Klondike rules
• Bicycle Cards: Solitaire overview and terms

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