Can every deal be won?

By default, yes: a solver has played each deal through to a win before you see it. The solver sees the face-down cards and you don't, so you can still get stuck; undo, or start a new game. Any deal in Options gives plain shuffles from the next deal on, and some of those can't be won.

How much harder is Draw 3 than Draw 1?

Much harder. A computer player that won about 1 Draw 1 deal in 5 won only about 1 Draw 3 deal in 17. In Draw 3 only every third card in the stock is in reach until you play one off the waste.

How is the score counted?

5 points for a waste card onto a column, 10 for any card onto a foundation and 5 for turning a face-down card over. A card taken back off a foundation costs 15, and in Draw 1 each turn of the waste costs 100. The score never goes below 0, and the clock adds nothing.

Why did a card go up by itself?

Because no card left on the table could ever need it. An Ace or a Two goes up as soon as it can, and any other card once both cards one lower in the other color are up. Aces dealt face up go home before your first move, and Undo does not bring them back.

Is my game saved if I close the tab?

Yes, on this device and in this browser. Draw 1 and Draw 3 each keep their own unfinished game and their own best score.

Klondike Solitaire

Draw 1Draw 3

Play Klondike Solitaire Online for Free

Move all 52 cards onto four foundations, one per suit, from Ace up to King.

How to play

Pick Draw 1 or Draw 3 and press Play. The cards are dealt into 7 columns of 1 to 7 cards, the last card of each face up. The other 24 are the stock.

Build down on the columns in alternating colors: a red 6 on a black 7. A face-up card moves with every card on it. When a face-down card is left on top, it turns over.
Only a King, or a run that starts with one, goes into an empty column.
Tap the stock to turn 1 or 3 cards onto the waste. Only the top waste card plays. When the stock is empty, tap it again to turn the waste back over, as many times as you like.
Start each foundation with its Ace and build up by suit.

Undo takes back your last play and any card that went up after it, as far back as you want.

Controls

Action	Touch	Mouse	Keyboard
Draw, or turn the waste over	Tap the stock	Click the stock	D, or Enter on the stock
Move a card or a run	Drag it, or tap it and then where it goes	Drag it, or click it and then where it goes	Arrow keys to it, Enter; arrow keys to where it goes, Enter
Choose where a run starts	Tap that card	Click that card	Up and Down within a column
Send a card to the best place	Tap it twice	Click it twice	Enter twice
Undo a play	Undo	Undo	Z
Pause or resume	Pause button	Pause button	Esc

The best place is the card’s foundation first, then a column it fits on, then an empty column for a King.

Tips and strategy

The numbers here come from a simple computer player that can’t see face-down cards, playing the same winnable deals each way.

Send cards up as soon as they fit

The computer player won about 1 Draw 1 deal in 5 this way, and 1 in 14 when it held column cards back. If a column needs a card back later, move it down again.

Turn a face-down card over before you play from the waste

Say the waste shows the 9 of clubs, column 4 has the 9 of spades over two face-down cards, and column 2 ends in the 10 of hearts. Both 9s fit on that 10. Move the 9 of spades: it turns a card over, and the 9 of clubs can wait for a later pass. Playing from the waste first won about 1 Draw 1 deal in 6.

In Draw 3, turn the waste over and go again

Turning the waste over is free in Draw 3, and the computer player’s wins turned it over about 3 times. Each card you play off the waste changes which cards come up on the next pass.

About Klondike

Nobody knows where the name comes from. Some link it to the gold rush in Canada’s Klondike region in the 1890s, but there is no evidence for that. The rules as played today first appear in print in a 1907 book of card games. In Britain the game is often just called Patience.

Frequently asked questions

Can every deal be won?: By default, yes: a solver has played each deal through to a win before you see it. The solver sees the face-down cards and you don't, so you can still get stuck; undo, or start a new game. Any deal in Options gives plain shuffles from the next deal on, and some of those can't be won.
How much harder is Draw 3 than Draw 1?: Much harder. A computer player that won about 1 Draw 1 deal in 5 won only about 1 Draw 3 deal in 17. In Draw 3 only every third card in the stock is in reach until you play one off the waste.
How is the score counted?: 5 points for a waste card onto a column, 10 for any card onto a foundation and 5 for turning a face-down card over. A card taken back off a foundation costs 15, and in Draw 1 each turn of the waste costs 100. The score never goes below 0, and the clock adds nothing.
Why did a card go up by itself?: Because no card left on the table could ever need it. An Ace or a Two goes up as soon as it can, and any other card once both cards one lower in the other color are up. Aces dealt face up go home before your first move, and Undo does not bring them back.
Is my game saved if I close the tab?: Yes, on this device and in this browser. Draw 1 and Draw 3 each keep their own unfinished game and their own best score.