Solitaire
Solitaire, also called Klondike, is a one-player card game played with a standard 52-card deck.
Your goal is to move all 52 cards to four finish piles, called foundations. Build each suit from Ace to King to win.
Understand the table
- 1. Stock
- The face-down pile at the top left. Select it to turn over cards.
- 2. Waste
- The face-up pile beside the stock. Only its top card is available to play.
- 3. Foundations
- The four finish piles at the top right, one for each suit.
- 4. Tableau
- The seven columns below. Move cards between these columns to uncover the face-down cards.
How to play Solitaire
Drag cards to choose where they go. With 1-Tap Move on, clicking or tapping a card moves it to an available place. Turn it off in Settings to select the card and then its destination.
With a keyboard, use the arrow keys to move around the board. Enter activates the focused card or space; Escape cancels a selection.
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Build downward in alternating colors.
In the tableau, place a card on one that is one rank higher and the opposite color. Hearts and diamonds are red; clubs and spades are black.
A red 7 can be placed on a black 8. -
Use the stock for more cards.
Select the stock to turn cards into the waste. You can move the top waste card to a column or foundation when it fits. When the stock is empty, select its space to turn the waste over and go through it again.
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Build each foundation one card at a time.
Start with an Ace, then add the 2, the 3, and so on in the same suit. For example, the 2 of hearts goes on the Ace of hearts.
A few more rules
- Use Kings for empty columns. Only a King, alone or with cards below it, can be placed in an empty tableau column.
- Turn over uncovered cards. A face-down card turns face up when it becomes the top card in its column.
- Move one card or a group. A valid run is a face-up group already arranged downward in alternating colors. You can move the whole valid run together or split it at any card.
- Move cards back when needed. A top foundation card can return to the tableau when it follows the downward, alternating-color rule.
What to do when stuck
- HintShows a suggested move or points to the stock. It does not move your cards.
- UndoTakes back the last move. Use it again to step back further and try a different choice.
- RestartOpen the Game menu and choose Restart to begin the same deal again. This replaces your progress on that deal.
- New GameReplaces your current deal with different cards. Choose it when you are ready to leave this deal.
Returning to the game only moves you back up the page. It does not restart or change your deal.
Three practical tips
Useful habits and common mistakes
- Reveal face-down cards first. When two moves are possible, prefer the one that uncovers a hidden tableau card, especially in a longer column.
- Keep useful cards within reach. A card can be ready for a foundation and still be useful in a column. Check whether another card needs it before moving it up.
- Plan for an empty column. Look for a King you can move there. Leaving a column empty without a King gives you no new place to put other cards.
Draw 1, Draw 2 or Draw 3
The draw mode controls how many stock cards turn over at once. In every mode, only the top waste card can be played.
- Draw 1: Turn over one card at a time, so each stock card is available in turn.
- Draw 2: Turn over up to two cards. Play the top card to reach the card beneath it.
- Draw 3: Turn over up to three cards. Playing waste cards can change which cards are on top on the next pass.
Check the Draw mode control above the game for your current mode. Each mode has its own saved game in this browser. The links below open that mode and resume its saved deal, or deal cards if no game is saved there.
Frequently asked questions
Does my game save automatically?
Yes. Your current game is saved in this browser as you play, provided browser storage is available. Return in the same browser to continue. Clearing this site’s browser data can remove that saved game.
When does auto-complete appear?
Auto-complete starts when every tableau card is face up and both the stock and waste are empty. The remaining cards then move to the foundations.
Do I need to finish before the timer runs out?
No. The timer counts how long you have played; it is not a deadline. You can take time to consider a move or leave and return to your saved game.
More about Solitaire
How scoring works here
Your score is shown when you win. Moving a waste card to the tableau adds 5 points. Moving a card to a foundation adds 10 points, with 5 extra points if it comes directly from the waste. Uncovering a face-down tableau card adds 5 points.
Turning the waste back into the stock costs 20 points in Draw 3, with no recycle penalty in Draw 1 or Draw 2. Moving a foundation card back to a column has no penalty. The score never goes below zero. Undo restores the previous score.
A brief history of Klondike
Single-player card games are often called patience in Britain and solitaire in the United States. Klondike is the name of this version. Microsoft included it with Windows 3.0 in 1990, introducing it to a much wider audience.
Other kinds of Solitaire
Spider uses two decks and asks you to complete same-suit sequences from King down to Ace. FreeCell shows every card and adds four temporary holding cells. Pyramid removes pairs that total 13, while Golf and TriPeaks clear cards one rank above or below the current waste card. You can find these games in the list below.
Learn Solitaire in 2 minutes: rules, setup and 5 tips
Watch the table setup, card moves and five practical playing tips.
Duration: 2 minutes 26 seconds.
In this video
English captions are available from the video player’s captions control.
