Klondike Solitaire Rules

Klondike—the original Solitaire and the reigning champion of all its variations. A perpetual fan favorite, its simple rules and challenging gameplay make it one of the most played card games around the world. Using this step-by-step guide, you’ll be playing Klondike Solitaire like a pro in no time. Let’s get into it!

The classic Klondike Solitaire layout consists of four components: 

• Stock: The shuffled deck from which cards are drawn, either one or three at a time. The added challenge of the three-card draw attracts experienced players, but beginners often opt for the one-card draw.  

• Foundations: Four suited piles are the final destination for all the cards in the deck. They’re organized according to suit and they’re built in ascending numerical order from ace to King.  

• Tableaus: Seven columns store cards until they can be moved to their final destination. The tableau on the left has one card that is face-up. Moving to the right from there, each column increases by an additional card. These cards are face-down, but the final card on each column is dealt face-up. Tableaus are built in numerical order opposite from the foundations, descending from King to ace. Within each column, the cards are organized in opposing color order with no regard to suit. Red cards can only be played on black cards and black cards can only be played on red cards.  

• Waste: Receives cards dealt from the stock that can’t be played on the tableaus or foundation piles. Once the stock is fully dealt, the waste pile is reused as the stock pile to continue the game.  

There are three things to cover before you can master this game: 

• The layout of the cards
• The instructions for game play
• The rules