← Blog · 8 min read · Updated May 2026

Klondike Solitaire Rules: Complete Beginner's Guide

Klondike is the solitaire game that ships with every Windows computer and has been the world's most-played card game for thirty years. If you've ever clicked the bouncing-cards win animation, you've played Klondike. This guide explains every rule from setup to scoring, including the bits that confuse newcomers and the variant differences worth knowing.

The Setup

Shuffle a standard 52-card deck. Deal seven tableau columns of increasing length: column 1 gets one card, column 2 gets two cards, and so on, up to column 7 with seven cards. The bottom card of each column is face-up; all others are face-down.

The remaining 24 cards become the stock. Place it face-down. Reserve four empty slots in the upper area for the foundations— one per suit. The space next to the stock where flipped cards land is the waste pile.

The Goal

Move all 52 cards to the foundations. Each foundation builds upward in suit from Ace to King. When all four foundations are complete, you win.

Legal Moves

Tableau moves

Build descending sequences of alternating colors: a red 9 goes on a black 10; a black Jack goes on a red Queen. Move single cards or move a properly sequenced group as a unit.

Empty columns

Only Kings can move to an empty column. A King moves alone or with everything properly sequenced on top of it.

Foundation moves

Aces start each foundation. Build up by suit: A, 2, 3… 10, J, Q, K. You can move a card from the foundation back to the tableau if needed (some variants ban this — check the version you're playing).

Stock and waste

Click the stock to flip cards to the waste. In Turn 1, one card flips at a time. In Turn 3, three cards flip and only the top is playable. The top waste card can move to any legal tableau or foundation position.

Re-dealing the stock

When the stock empties, take the waste, flip it over, and place it back as the new stock. In standard Turn 1 and Turn 3, this can happen indefinitely. In Vegas-rules Klondike, only one pass is allowed.

Turn 1 vs Turn 3

Turn 1 is much easier. Every stock card is reachable, and skilled players win around 33% of hands. Turn 3 hides two of every three stock cards behind whatever's on top, and the win rate drops to roughly 11%. Both are considered "real" Klondike — pick the difficulty that matches your mood.

Common Beginner Confusions

"Can I move multiple cards at once?"

Yes, but only if they form a proper alternating-color descending sequence. A red 7 on a black 8 with a red 6 on top can move as a three-card group to a black 9. Loose stacks cannot move together.

"Why won't this card go to the foundation?"

The foundation needs cards in strict suit order, starting from Ace. A 5 of hearts can only go up if the 4 of hearts is already there. A 2 of hearts can only go up if the Ace of hearts is there first.

"I sent an Ace up. Now what?"

The next card in that suit (the 2) becomes the new target. Build upward by suit until you reach King. Cards in the tableau can be moved up whenever their predecessor is already on the foundation.

Scoring

Standard Klondike scoring awards 10 points for each card moved to the foundation, 5 points for each tableau-to-tableau move that exposes a face- down card, and -2 points per stock cycle in some variants. Most modern implementations score by time only — fastest clear wins.

Variant Cheat Sheet

Common Klondike variants you'll encounter online:

• Turn 1: One stock card per click, infinite redeals.
• Turn 3: Three stock cards per click, top playable.
• Vegas: Turn 3, one redeal, scoring tied to foundation cards.
• Thoughtful Klondike: All cards face-up from move one — used by competition players for clean strategy comparison.

Ready to Play

Try Klondike on our Klondike page. The basic controls are point-and-click or touch-and-drag. Once you're comfortable, see our Turn 1 vs Turn 3 guide for picking a difficulty and 7 Klondike Strategies for moving from beginner to consistent winner.