Klondike solitaire rules

General rules klondike solitaire

1. Klondike solitaire is a single-player card game.
2. Use one standard 52-card deck, without jokers.
3. Card order is Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.
4. The goal is to move all cards off the tableau to the foundations.

Deal

Set up the starting layout as follows:

1. Shuffle the deck thoroughly.
2. Place a single face-up card.
3. To the right, place a face-down pile of 2 cards. Turn the top card face up.
4. To the right, place a face-down pile of 3 cards. Turn the top card face up.
5. To the right, place a face-down pile of 4 cards. Turn the top card face up.
6. To the right, place a face-down pile of 5 cards. Turn the top card face up.
7. To the right, place a face-down pile of 6 cards. Turn the top card face up.
8. Finally, to the right, place a face-down pile of 7 cards. Turn the top card face up. These seven piles form the tableau.
9. Put the remaining 24 cards face down as the stock (draw pile).
10. An example of the starting layout is shown in the image below.

Gameplay

Your aim is to move all cards to the foundations.

1. Above the tableau there are four foundations. At the start they are empty.
2. Build each foundation by suit, from Ace up to King. By the end you will have four stacks, hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs, each Ace (bottom) through King (top).
3. You may move a face-up card within the tableau by placing it on another face-up card of the opposite color that is one rank higher (e.g., a red 9 on a black 10). You can then place a black 8 on that red 9, and so on. When a face-down card becomes exposed on top of a tableau pile, turn it face up. Note that the Ace is the lowest rank. You cannot place a King on an Ace.
4. You may move a sequence of face-up cards, or a partial sequence. For example, if a pile shows Jack-10-9-8-7-6, you can move the entire sequence onto a Queen of the opposite color, or you could take the 9-8-7-6 portion and move it onto a 10 of the opposite color.
5. If a tableau pile becomes empty, you may fill the space with a King or with a sequence starting with a King.
6. You may move an Ace to a foundation at any time, then continue building that foundation upward in the same suit (e.g., hearts Ace, 2, 3, etc.). You do not move cards back from the foundations to the tableau. Some variant rules allow it, but classic klondike does not.
7. When you have no further moves, draw from the stock. Depending on the variant, draw one (klondike solitaire turn 1) or three cards (klondike solitaire turn 3) at a time. If you draw three at a time, only the top card is available to play. Once that top card is played, the next card becomes available.
8. You may repeat turning over cards from the stock. Set aside any turned but unplayed cards face down. When the stock is exhausted, shuffle the set-aside cards and make a new face-down stock.
9. The game ends when all four foundations are complete from Ace through King. It’s possible to get stuck and be unable to finish the game.

Do you like playing klondike solitaire? Then you also will like playing double klondike solitaire.