Everything You Need To Know About Klondike Solitaire

Klondike solitaire is a widely popular form of the single-player card game, offering simple gameplay with just the right touch of skill required. Using one deck (or two in the Double Klondike variation), the aim of the game is to send all of the cards to four foundation piles, through the skilful moving of sequences of alternating colours and numbers, all while taking into account a number of rules. Find out how to play for yourself, here:

The Set-Up

The set up for Klondike is relatively simple. You will deal out 28 cards into seven piles, with the first column holding one card, the second holding two, and so on. The card at the top of the pile will be face-up, with the rest face down. The remaining cards will be placed in a stock pile to the side, which can be turned over either one, or three cards at a time depending on the complexity and difficulty of the game. This pile can be used in play as with any other card in the field.

The Rules

Whether you're setting the game up yourself, or you've taken to Klondike online variations, the rules remain relatively similar across the board. The standard rules are:

• You can only move a card to another column if the card being placed is one lower and a different colour to the existing card in the column. (e.g. a red four, onto a black five)
• You can move columns of alternating coloured cards to higher numbers in the sequence (e.g. red 2, black 3, red 4 onto a black 5)
• Ensure you turn over any face-down cards as soon as they are available
• Aces must be moved to one of the four spaces above as soon as they become available.
• You can only move a King, or a sequence beginning with a king, to an empty column.

The Play

While the idea behind Klondike solitaire is relatively simple, it can take a considerable amount of skill to complete the game fully. Throughout play, the goal of the game is to create four resulting piles, ascending in order from Ace, to King, as the cards become available. Aces must immediately be placed into the pile, but other cards may be kept in play if necessary. Ultimately, however, cards should fill the foundation piles in sequences of the same suit in order to complete the game.

In order to move cards around and make the face-down cards available, the player should move any cards to the next-highest number of the opposing colour.

In some variations, you will only be able to go through the 'stock' pile three times, however, most players tend to ignore this rule in order to make the game a little easier and improve the chances of winning.