Solitaire

How to play Solitaire

Klondike is the solitaire most people know. The goal is to move all 52 cards to the four foundations at the top right, one pile per suit, starting with the Ace and ending with the King.

The seven columns below are the tableau. Build down in alternating colors: a red 6 can go on a black 7, then a black 5 on the red 6. You can move a whole run of face-up cards at once. When you move the last face-up card off a column, the card underneath turns over. Only a King, or a run that starts with a King, can fill an empty column.

When you run out of moves, tap the stock at the top left to turn cards onto the waste pile. In Draw 1 one card turns at a time; in Draw 3 three cards turn and only the top one can be played. When the stock is empty, tap it again to turn the waste back over and go through it again. There is no limit on passes.

Controls

Tap or click a face-up card and it moves to the best legal spot: a foundation first, then a column where it builds. Drag a card or a run if you want to choose the column yourself. On a keyboard, Tab moves between cards, Enter plays the focused card, Space draws and Ctrl+Z undoes a move.

Undo works as many times as you need. Hint highlights a useful move, or the stock when drawing is the best option. When the stock and waste are empty and every card is face up, Auto-finish sends the rest of the cards home for you.

Solitaire scoring

• Card from the waste to a column: 5 points.
• Any card to a foundation: 10 points.
• Turning over a face-down card in a column: 5 points.
• Moving a card back off a foundation: minus 15 points.
• Turning the waste back into the stock: minus 20 points.

Winning adds 500 points plus 2 points for every second under ten minutes. The clock starts when the cards are dealt, and the Streak counter shows how many cards in a row you have sent to the foundations.

The daily deal

The daily deal is a Draw 1 game with the same shuffle for every player on the same date, so you can compare times with friends. Your first win of the day is saved on this device and shown on the home page. A new deal arrives at midnight.

Solitaire strategy and tips

1. Turn over face-down cards early. The columns hold most of the hidden cards, so a move that reveals one is usually better than a move from the waste.
2. Empty a column only when you have a King ready to fill it.
3. Do not rush low cards to the foundations if you may still need them in a column to hold a card of the other color.
4. When you have a choice between two columns, take from the one with more face-down cards.
5. In Draw 3, think about which cards a play will bring to the top of the waste on the next pass.

Common Solitaire mistakes

• Playing every waste card as soon as it fits. A stock card comes round again on the next pass; a face-down card in a column does not, so moves that reveal column cards usually come first.
• Emptying a column with no King to fill it. Only a King, or a run that starts with one, can go into an empty column.
• Sending low cards home too early. A black 4 on its foundation can no longer hold a red 3 in a column, which can block a later move.
• Taking from the wrong column. When two columns offer the same card, take it from the one with more face-down cards underneath.
• Recycling the stock without checking the columns. Each pass costs 20 points, so look for column moves before you draw again.

History of Solitaire

Klondike is the patience game most people simply call solitaire. Its name is usually linked to the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada’s Yukon in the late 1890s.

It became the world’s best-known computer card game in 1990, when Microsoft included Solitaire with Windows 3.0. The Windows version was written by Wes Cherry, then an intern, and it is often credited with teaching millions of new computer users to drag and drop with a mouse.

This version keeps the classic rules: Draw 1 or Draw 3 from the stock, unlimited passes through the deck, and points for revealing cards and building the foundations. The daily deal gives every player the same shuffle on the same date, so finishing times can be compared fairly.

Solitaire: questions and answers