Klondike Solitaire Rules

Game Overview

Klondike is the best-known solitaire in the world — the game most people simply call "solitaire". It is played by one player with a standard 52-card pack, and Bicycle lists it as suitable for ages 13 and up. Nothing else is needed: a full deck and a table surface.

Objective

The goal is to build all four suits onto the foundations, each one running from the Ace up through the King. The foundations sit in a row above the tableau piles. Complete all four and the game is won.

Setup

Deal out 28 cards in seven piles:

• the first pile gets one card;
• the second pile gets two;
• and so on, up to seven cards in the last pile.

The top card of each pile is face up; all the others are face down. The remaining 24 cards form the stock, set to one side.

One common misconception is worth clearing up straight away: the four Aces are not dealt onto the foundations at setup. The Aces form the foundations, but each Ace has to become available in play first, and it is then played up to the row above the piles.

How to Play

Foundations

As soon as an Ace becomes available, it must be played to the foundation row. Cards of that same suit are then played on it in sequence — the two, then the three, and so on — as they become available.

Tableau

The tableau is built the other way round. Any movable card may be placed on a card next-higher in rank, of the opposite colour. Bicycle's own example: a black five may be played on a red six. If more than one card is face up on a tableau pile, all of those cards must be moved as a unit, never one at a time.

When a pile has no face-up card left, the top face-down card is turned up and becomes available. When a pile is emptied entirely, only a King may fill the open space.

Stock

Cards are turned up from the top of the stock in groups of three. The top card of the three may be used for building on the tableau piles or played to a foundation. If that card is used, the card below it becomes available for play. If the up-card cannot be used, the one, two or three cards of the group are placed face up on the waste pile, and the next group of three is turned up.

Scoring and End of Game

Bicycle's rules define no scoring system for Klondike: you either win or you don't. The game is won when all four foundations are built up through the Kings, and lost when no legal move remains — which happens often, since not every deal is winnable. Computer versions frequently add points or a timer, but those are additions made by those adaptations, not part of the tabletop rules.

Common Variants

Klondike sits in a wider family of patience games that are usually listed alongside it: generic Solitaire, Kings Corner, Nerts and Spider Solitaire, each with its own layout and building rules. Digital versions of Klondike itself also commonly offer a one-card-at-a-time draw instead of groups of three, which makes a deal considerably easier to win.

Why This Game Is So Popular

Klondike runs on a single, easily memorised building rule — descending rank, alternating colour — yet every deal presents a different puzzle. The satisfying moments come when a newly turned face-down card unlocks a whole chain of plays, or when a King finally frees a column that had been stuck since the deal. It also needs no opponent and no setup time, so it can be picked up and put down at will.

Where to Get the Game

Play it the traditional way with a deck of solitaire playing cards on Amazon. Any standard 52-card pack will do the job.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

1. Placing the Aces on the foundations during the deal — they have to become available in play first.
2. Building the tableau by suit: it is opposite colour, descending rank.
3. Trying to move a single card off a face-up run: the whole run moves as a unit.
4. Emptying a column with no King available to fill it, leaving the space unusable.
5. Rushing every available card up to the foundations when it was still needed to unblock the tableau.

FAQ

How many cards are dealt at the start?

28 cards in seven piles of one to seven cards; the remaining 24 form the stock.

What can I place a tableau card on?

A card of the next-higher rank in the opposite colour — for example, a black five on a red six.

What can go into an empty column?

Only a King.

How does the stock work?

Cards are turned up in groups of three; only the top card of the group is playable, and the card beneath it becomes available if you use it.

Is there a score in Klondike?

Not in the standard Bicycle rules — the game is simply won by completing the four foundations, or lost when you run out of legal moves.

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