Free Online Solitaire: Klondike
Play Klondike Solitaire free in your browser, the classic card game most people simply call solitaire. Cards come off the stock one at a time, every deal can be won, and there is nothing to download or sign up for. It works on phones, tablets and computers, and it keeps your game if you leave.
How to Play Klondike Solitaire
Klondike is a one-player card game played with a standard 52-card deck. You win by moving every card to four foundation piles, one per suit, in order from Ace up to King. On SolitairePlace this is the draw 1 version, often called Turn 1: you turn one card at a time from the stock. If you want the harder draw 3 version, play Klondike Solitaire Turn 3.
The layout
- Tableau: seven columns across the middle of the table. The first column has 1 card, the second 2, and so on up to 7 cards in the last one, 28 cards in all. Only the top card of each column starts face up.
- Stock: the other 24 cards, face down, in the top left corner.
- Waste: the pile next to the stock where the cards you turn over land. Only its top card can be played.
- Foundations: four empty spaces at the top right. Each one is built up in a single suit, starting with the Ace.
The rules
- Building in the tableau. You can place a card on a tableau card one rank higher and of the opposite colour. A red 9 goes on a black 10, then a black 8 on the red 9, and so on down.
- Moving runs. A run of face-up cards that is already in order can be moved as one, by dragging the top card of the run you want to move.
- Turning cards. When the last face-up card leaves a column and a face-down card is left on top, it turns face up and becomes playable.
- Empty columns. Only a King, or a run headed by a King, can go into an empty column.
- The stock. Tap the stock to turn its top card onto the waste. When the stock runs out, tap the empty space to turn the waste back over and go through it again. There is no limit on how many times you can do this.
- Foundations. Any Ace can start an empty foundation. After that, the next card of the same suit goes on top: 2, 3, 4, up to King.
- Taking a card back. You can move the top card of a foundation back down to the tableau when you need it to hold a lower card. It costs points, but it can save a game.
Controls
Drag a card to where you want it, or tap a card and the game moves it to the best place it can go. Undo takes back moves one at a time with no limit. Hint shows a move on a path that still wins; if you have already left every winning path, it offers to take you back to the last point where the game could still be won. When every card in the tableau is face up and the deal can be finished, Auto-Complete plays the rest for you, and Skip finishes it at once.
If you close the tab in the middle of a game, the deal is saved in your browser and comes back the next time you open SolitairePlace.
Scoring
SolitairePlace uses the standard Windows-style points. Your best score is kept in this browser.
| Move | Points |
|---|---|
| Card from the waste to the tableau | +5 |
| Card from the waste or tableau to a foundation | +10 |
| Turning a face-down tableau card face up | +5 |
| Card from a foundation back to the tableau | -15 |
| Turning the waste back into the stock | free the first time, -100 each time after |
The score never drops below zero, and undoing a move also undoes its points. There is no clock, so take as long as you like. The biggest lever on your score is the stock: a game you win on the first pass through the stock scores far better than one where you cycle it four or five times.
Klondike Strategy: How to Win More Often
Every deal on this page can be won, so a lost game always means there was a better line somewhere. These are the habits that make the biggest difference.
1. Uncover face-down cards first
The face-down cards in the tableau are the real problem in Klondike. Each one you turn over gives you a new option and +5 points. When you have a choice between two moves, pick the one that turns a card over. Moves that only shuffle face-up cards around rarely help.
2. Work on the biggest columns
The right-hand columns hide up to six face-down cards each. Getting into them early is what wins games. A move that frees a card from the 7-card column is usually worth more than the same move on a short column.
3. Don't empty a column without a King to put there
An empty column can only take a King. If no King is ready, the space sits there unused. It is often better to leave a single card in a column until you have a King, or a King with a run under it, to move in.
4. Choose your King with care
When two Kings could go into an empty column, look at the cards waiting for a home. If you have a red Queen ready to move, place the black King. The wrong colour can block a whole run.
5. Don't rush cards to the foundations
Aces and 2s should go up straight away; nothing can be built on them in the tableau. With higher cards, think first. A black 5 on a foundation can no longer hold a red 4 in the tableau. A simple rule: play a card to its foundation when both cards of the opposite colour one rank lower are already up there, or when you don't need it as a base.
6. Go through the stock early
In draw 1 you see every card on each pass, so flip through the stock early to learn what is in it. Knowing that the red 8 you need is fourth from the top changes what you do in the tableau. The first pass back through the stock is free, so use it.
7. Keep columns even
One long column and six short ones gives you few places to put cards. Spreading your runs across several columns keeps more cards available to play on.
8. Use undo to look ahead
Undo has no limit and no cost, so use it to test a line. Make a few moves, see what turns up, and take them back if it led nowhere. That is how strong players learn to read a deal.
Turn 1 vs Turn 3 Solitaire
Klondike comes in two main forms, and the difference is how many cards you turn from the stock at once.
| Turn 1 (this page) | Turn 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards per turn | 1 | 3, only the top one playable |
| Every stock card reachable | yes, on every pass | no, some are buried in each pass |
| Deals on SolitairePlace | every deal can be won | some deals can't be won |
| Feels like | relaxed, a game you can win most of the time | harder, rewards planning and counting cards |
New to solitaire? Start here. Once you win most games, try Turn 3. For something quicker, TriPeaks takes a couple of minutes a round, and Mahjong Solitaire swaps cards for tiles.
A Short History of Klondike
Klondike is named after the Klondike region of the Yukon in Canada, scene of the gold rush of the late 1890s, and the story goes that prospectors played it in the camps. The name shows up in card game books in the early 1900s. In Britain the game was long known simply as Patience, and a version where you pay for the deck and earn money back per card is called Canfield, after a casino owner who is said to have run it in his gambling house.
The game became the world's best-known solitaire in 1990, when Microsoft put it in Windows 3.0. It was there partly to teach people to use a mouse: dragging cards is good practice for dragging windows. Since then "solitaire", with no other word, has mostly meant Klondike.
On SolitairePlace the deals are made by a solver that only hands out games that can be won, so you never sit through a hopeless deal. If you get stuck, the answer is in a different order of moves.
Klondike Solitaire FAQ
Is this solitaire free?
Yes. Klondike Solitaire on SolitairePlace is free to play with no download and no account. The site is paid for by ads around the game.
Can every game be won?
Yes, on this page. Every Klondike deal is checked by a solver before you get it, so there is always a way to win. The Turn 3 version does not have this guarantee.
Is this Turn 1 or Turn 3 solitaire?
This page is Turn 1 (draw 1): you turn one card from the stock at a time. Klondike Solitaire Turn 3, where you turn three at a time, has its own page.
How many times can I go through the stock?
As many times as you like. The first time you turn the waste back into the stock is free; each time after that costs 100 points.
Can I undo moves?
Yes, as many as you want, all the way back to the deal. Undoing a move also takes back its points.
How do hints work?
A hint shows a move on a path that still wins. If no winning path is left, the game offers to take you back to the last point where the deal could still be won. Each deal comes with 3 free hints.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. The game fits phones, tablets and computers in any modern browser. You can also install SolitairePlace as an app from your browser and play it offline.
What happens if I close the page in the middle of a game?
Your game is saved in this browser and comes back when you open the page again. Your best score is kept in the browser too.
What are the odds of winning Klondike?
Computer studies suggest about 9 in 10 random draw 1 deals could be won by someone who could see every card; real players win far fewer. Here every deal can be won, so your win rate depends on your play, not on the cards.
Why is it called Klondike?
After the Klondike gold rush in Canada in the 1890s, where the game is said to have been popular. Windows 3.0 made it the best-known solitaire game in 1990.
More Games Like Klondike Solitaire
- Klondike Solitaire Turn 3: the traditional draw 3 version of Klondike: three cards at a time, only the top one playable, a real test of planning.
- Mahjong Solitaire: match pairs of free tiles to clear a layered board; a new solvable layout every game.
- TriPeaks Solitaire: a fast solitaire where you clear three peaks by playing one rank up or down, and long streaks score big.