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How to Play Solitaire
The full rules of Klondike solitaire, written for beginners. You will be playing in a few minutes.
Solitaire is a card game for one player. In Klondike, the version almost everyone knows, you sort a shuffled deck into four ordered piles. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.
The goal
Move all 52 cards to the four foundation piles. Each foundation is built in a single suit, starting with the Ace and going up in order: Ace, 2, 3 and so on to the King. When all four foundations are complete, you win.
The layout
- Tableau. Seven columns in the main area. The first column starts with one card, the second with two, and so on up to seven. Only the last card in each column is face up.
- Stock. The face-down pile in the top-left. The 24 cards not dealt to the tableau start here.
- Waste. The pile next to the stock where drawn cards land, face up. Only its top card can be played.
- Foundations. The four empty slots in the top-right, where you build each suit from Ace to King.
How cards move
In the tableau
Build columns downward, alternating colours. A red 7 (hearts or diamonds) can go on a black 8 (spades or clubs). A black 6 can then go on that red 7. You can move a whole run of face-up cards together, as long as the top card of the run fits on its new column.
Turning over cards
When you move away the last face-up card in a column, the card beneath it turns face up and is now in play. Getting the hidden cards into play is the main thing to work towards.
Empty columns
If a column becomes empty, only a King (or a run that starts with a King) can fill it.
To the foundations
Start a foundation with an Ace. After that it must be the next card up in the same suit: Ace of hearts, then 2 of hearts, then 3 of hearts. You can take a card from the waste or from the bottom of a column. You can also move a card back down from a foundation if it helps, though it costs points.
Drawing from the stock
Click the stock to turn cards over onto the waste. When the stock is empty, click it again to turn the whole waste back over and go round again.
Draw 1 or draw 3
With draw 1 each click turns over a single card. With draw 3 each click turns over three, but only the top one is playable. Draw 3 is a harder game. Read more on the solitaire turn 3 page.
Scoring
This game uses the standard scoring most players know from Windows solitaire. The score never goes below zero.
| Move | Points |
|---|---|
| Waste to a column | +5 |
| Waste to a foundation | +10 |
| Column to a foundation | +10 |
| Turn over a hidden card in a column | +5 |
| Foundation back to a column | −15 |
| Turn the waste back into the stock, draw 1 | −100 each time |
| Turn the waste back into the stock, draw 3 | −20 each time after the third pass |
Controls on this site
- Drag and drop. Pick up a card, or a run of cards, and drop it on the column or foundation you want.
- Click to move. Click a card and it goes to the foundation if it can, otherwise to a column where it fits. If it has nowhere to go, it gives a small shake.
- Undo. Steps back one move at a time. Press U as a shortcut.
- Hint. Highlights a sensible move. Press it again to see the next best one. Shortcut: H.
- Auto-complete. When every remaining card can be sent straight to the foundations, a button appears to finish the game for you.
- Restart this deal. In Settings. Plays the same shuffle again from the beginning.
- Sound. The speaker button or M switches sound effects on and off. Volume, table colour and card back are in Settings.
- Full screen. The corner button makes the table fill your whole screen.
Ready? Head back to the game and play a few deals. Come to the strategy tips once you know the rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the goal of solitaire?
To move all 52 cards onto the four foundation piles, each built from Ace up to King in a single suit.
Can I move more than one card at a time?
Yes. Within the columns you can move a run of face-up cards that is in descending order and alternating colours, as long as the first card of the run fits on its new column.
What can go in an empty column?
Only a King, or a run of cards that starts with a King.
What happens when the stock runs out?
Click the empty stock to turn the waste back over. You can do this as many times as you like, although scoring takes points off for it.
Why did my score go down?
Moving a card back from a foundation to a column costs 15 points, and turning the waste back into the stock costs points too. Your score never drops below zero.