Away from the screen
Play Klondike with a real deck
You need one standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed and enough table space for seven columns, a stock, a waste pile, and four foundations.
Deal the tableau
- Deal one face-down card to each of seven columns from left to right.
- Beginning with the second column, deal another face-down card across.
- Continue, beginning one column farther right each row, until the columns hold one through seven cards.
- Turn the bottom card of every column face up. Place the remaining cards face down as the stock.
Rules version 1.0.0
Klondike rules
Build the tableau down
Place a face-up card or packed run on a card exactly one rank higher and of the opposite color—for example, a black seven on a red eight.
Open spaces take kings
Only a king, alone or heading a valid descending run, may move into an empty tableau column.
Turn up exposed cards
Whenever a move exposes the top face-down card of a column, turn that card face up immediately.
Build foundations by suit
Start each foundation with its ace, then build upward in the same suit through king.
Draw one from the stock
Turn the stock over one card at a time onto the waste. Only the top waste card is available. When the stock empties, turn the waste over without shuffling and continue.
How to win
Move all 52 cards to the four foundations, with every suit ordered ace through king.
A more thoughtful deal
Klondike strategy
Prefer a move that uncovers a face-down tableau card. Hidden information is the game’s tightest constraint.
Sending every low card to a foundation can strand the opposite-color cards needed to build tableau runs.
An empty column is powerful. Fill it only when the king or king-led run creates room elsewhere.
Because this version draws one with unlimited recycling, remember which useful cards follow one another.
Before you move
Common mistakes
- Moving to foundations too quickly. A low card may still be needed as a bridge in the tableau.
- Filling an empty column automatically. A king move should usually uncover a card or free another column.
- Ignoring a longer movable run. Select any face-up card in a valid descending run, not only the top card.
- Assuming every deal is winnable. Klondike contains hidden information and some deals cannot be solved.