Klondike is the solitaire most people picture when they hear the word: seven columns, a stock pile and the quiet satisfaction of four neat stacks running from Ace to King. A deal puts 28 cards into seven columns, one to seven cards deep, with only the top card of each column face up; the other 24 wait face down in the stock. Your goal is to move all 52 cards onto four foundations, one per suit. Press Play now above to deal a solo game right here. With a free account you can also race bots or other players on the same deal.
Mobile gameplay: Classic Solitaire
See the game board, controls and moves on a mobile screen.
How to play
- Build foundations from Ace to King in the same suit.
- On the table, place a lower card on a card one rank higher and of the opposite colour. A valid face-up sequence can move together.
- Only a King or a sequence beginning with a King can fill an empty column.
- Draw from the stock when you need another card. Draw 1 turns one card at a time and is the default; solo play also offers Draw 3. Only the top waste card can be played, and you may go through the stock three times in total.
Example
A black seven goes onto a red eight. A red seven does not, however much you want it to. And an Ace that turns up can start its suit foundation straight away.
Playing tip
Face-down cards are the real opponent, so prefer the move that turns one over. And before you send a low card up to its foundation, check you will not need it as a stepping stone on the table: you can pull it back down later, but that costs 15 points.
Daily Solitaire
Play today’s classic Solitaire with one-card draws and three passes through the stock. Everyone receives the same deal, checked to have a solution under these rules.
Start daily challengeChoose a variant
Free Online Spider Solitaire: 1, 2 or 4 Suits
FreeCell Online: Free Solitaire Rules and Play
Pyramid Solitaire: Rules and Play
Free TriPeaks Solitaire: Play and Rules
Yukon Solitaire: Rules and Free Online Play
Russian Solitaire Online: Play Free and Learn the Rules
Alaska Solitaire Game: Play Free and Learn the Rules
Guides and tools
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Klondike online for free?
Yes. Press Play now at the top of this page and a solo game opens right here, with no download and no account. Solo games offer Draw 1 or Draw 3. A free account adds races against bots and players, and Daily Solitaire: one shared deal a day, checked to be solvable.
How do you set up solitaire with cards?
Use a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Deal seven columns containing one through seven cards, with only the last card in each column face up. Put the remaining 24 cards in a face-down stock and leave space for a waste pile and four foundations. This online version draws one card at a time by default, offers Draw 3 in solo play and allows three passes through the stock.
What is a complete turn in Klondike?
Move an exposed card or a correctly ordered sequence to a legal destination, then turn over any newly uncovered face-down card. You can move an Ace to an empty foundation and build that suit upwards. If no useful move is available, draw from the stock and consider the top waste card. You win when all four foundations reach King.
How many times can you go through the stock?
Three times in total. When the stock runs out you may turn the waste pile over to make a new stock twice. After the third pass the waste cards stay in play, but the stock cannot be rebuilt again. Races and Daily Solitaire use the same limit with one-card draws.
Why is it called Klondike?
Nobody knows for sure. The name is often linked to the Klondike Gold Rush, but there is no firm evidence for it. The earliest rules under that name appear in the 1907 edition of Hoyle's Games, and its place in Windows, from Windows 3.0 in 1990, did much to make it as popular as it is today: by 1994 Microsoft said it was the most-used application on Windows. In Britain it is often simply called Patience.
Can I undo a move?
Yes, in classic play. Undo restores the earlier board and its score. Live races do not offer undo.
Is every deal solvable?
No, and nobody knows exactly how many are. Researchers estimate that even a player who could see every face-down card would win only about 82% of Draw 3 deals, so the figure for ordinary play can only be lower. The mathematician Persi Diaconis called our inability to work it out "one of the embarrassments of applied probability". If you run out of useful moves, start a new deal. Daily Solitaire uses deals checked to be solvable with Draw 1 and three passes.