The goal
You win Klondike by moving all 52 cards onto four foundation piles, one for each suit, built in order from ace up to king. Everything else in the game is about freeing the cards you need, in the right order.
The layout
- The tableau is the seven columns across the table. The first column gets one card, the second two, and so on up to seven cards in the last, 28 cards in all. Only the top card of each column is face up.
- The stock is the face-down pile of the other 24 cards.
- The waste is where cards from the stock are turned face up. Only its top card can be played.
- The foundations are four spaces, empty at the start, where the suits are built from ace to king.
How to play solitaire: the moves
- Build down in alternating colors. A card can go on a tableau column when it is one rank lower and the opposite color: a red 9 on a black 10, a black 4 on a red 5. Aces are low and kings are high.
- Move runs together. Any face-up run that is already in order and alternating in color can be moved as one, starting from any card in it, onto another column.
- Kings go in empty columns. When a column is empty, only a king, or a run that starts with a king, can be moved into it.
- Build the foundations up by suit. An ace starts a foundation. After that comes the 2 of the same suit, then the 3, and so on up to the king.
- Turn over hidden cards. When the last face-up card leaves a column, the card underneath is turned face up. On Arena13 this happens by itself.
- Take a card back. The top card of a foundation can be moved back onto a tableau column where it fits. Some rule sets forbid this; the Arena13 version allows it, and it can free a stuck card now and then.
The stock and the waste
When the table has no useful moves left, tap the stock to turn its top card onto the waste. The top waste card can go onto a tableau column or a foundation. When the waste is empty, the game turns the next stock card for you. Once the stock is used up, tap the empty stock space to turn the waste back over into a new stock and go through it again.
Draw one or draw three?
Solitaire rules vary between tables in two ways: how many cards you turn from the stock at a time, and how many times you may go through it. In draw three, three cards are turned at once and only the top one can be played, which makes the game much harder. Some tables also limit how many passes through the stock you get.
The Arena13 version uses the friendlier rules: you draw one card at a time, with no limit on how many times you go through the stock. That makes each game more about planning than about the order of the stock. Not every deal can be won, though, even with perfect play.
Moving cards on Arena13
- Drag a card, or a run of cards, onto the column or foundation where you want it.
- Double-click a card, or double-tap it on a phone, to send it straight to its foundation.
- Tap the stock to draw, and tap the empty stock to turn the waste over.
Low cards also move to the foundations on their own: a card goes up by itself when it is no more than two ranks above the lowest foundation. At the start of a game that means aces and 2s, so you never have to move them by hand.
How you win
The game is won the moment all 52 cards are on the foundations. The counter on the table shows how many games you have won out of the games you have played, with your win percentage. Your game is saved in this browser after every move, so you can close the page and pick it up later.
Klondike strategy
- Turn over face-down cards first. A move that reveals a hidden card is almost always better than one that doesn't. The more cards you can see, the more choices you have.
- Start with the longest columns. The columns on the right hide the most face-down cards. Freeing them early opens up the game.
- Don't empty a column without a king to fill it. An empty column only takes a king, so clear one when a king is ready to move in, or when it frees a card you need.
- Pick the right king. If two kings could fill an empty column, choose the one whose next cards you can follow up with. A red king needs a black queen, then a red jack.
- Don't rush cards to the foundations. Cards on the table are places to put other cards. A black 6 sent up too early can leave a red 5 with nowhere to go.
- Use the stock freely. With unlimited passes, a card you skip now will come round again, so there is no need to play a stock card just because it can move.
Undo, redo and new games
The New Game, Undo and Redo buttons are in the bar at the bottom of the game. On a keyboard, Ctrl+Z undoes a move, Ctrl+Y redoes it and N starts a new game. Undo is there to use: if a line of play gets stuck, step back and try another. When you are ready, play Klondike Solitaire, or learn the Pyramid Solitaire rules and Spider Solitaire with 2 suits next.
