Klondike Solitaire is the patience game most people learn first. Twenty-eight cards are dealt into seven columns, and the rest wait in a stock pile. Your job is to free every card and stack each suit from Ace to King. This version comes from Christopher Müller’s PaperGames project. It uses the gentle draw-one rule with unlimited trips through the stock, and its high-contrast cards were designed to stay readable even on an e-reader.
How to Play Klondike Solitaire
Column one starts with a single card, column seven with seven, and only the top card of each column is face up. You can place a face-up card on a card one rank higher of the opposite color, such as a black 6 on a red 7. A neat run in that order can move as a single unit. When a move uncovers a face-down card, it flips over by itself.
Only a King can fill an empty column. Tap the stock to turn up one card onto the waste pile, then play that card if it fits. Once the stock is empty, a tap on its spot gathers the waste back into the stock so you can go through it again.
Aces start the four foundation piles, and each pile grows by suit up to the King. There is no score and no timer, only a move counter. You win when all 52 cards sit on the foundations.
Klondike Solitaire Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pick up a card or face-up run | Tab to the card, then Enter or Space | Click the card | Tap the card |
| Place the selected cards | Tab to a column or foundation, then Enter | Click a column or the matching foundation | Tap a column or the matching foundation |
| Draw a card or turn the waste back over | — | Click the stock pile | Tap the stock pile |
| Take back moves | — | Click "Undo" | Tap "Undo" |
| Deal a fresh game | — | Click "New game" (open "Menu" if it is hidden) | Tap "New game" (open "Menu" if it is hidden) |
Tips and Strategies
- Dig into the tall columns first. Columns six and seven hide the most face-down cards, so moves that uncover them are usually worth more than moves from the waste.
- Hold back on empty columns. A space only takes a King, so clear one when you have a King ready to drop in.
- Keep low cards on the board a little longer. Sending a 4 to a foundation too soon can leave a red 3 with nowhere to go.
- Cycle the stock with a plan. The order stays the same on every pass, so note which buried card you need next.
- Use Undo to test a line. If a move looks risky, try it, look at what turns up, and step back if it leads nowhere.
Features
- Tap, then tap: select a card, then choose where it goes, with no dragging needed.
- Multi-step undo: take back as many moves as you like during a session.
- Saved progress: the current deal and move count stay in your browser.
- Readable settings: three text sizes, a high-contrast mode and three spacing levels.
- Quick rules card: a three-line summary appears the first time you open the game.
Tested and updated:
