Klondike Solitaire

What it is

Klondike is the solitaire most people picture: one deck, seven columns and a pile of cards you turn over one at a time. Your goal is to build four foundation piles, one per suit, from Ace up to King. When all four are complete, the deal is won.

The table starts with seven columns holding one to seven cards, and only the top card of each column is face up. The 24 cards that are left form the stock. Tap it to turn cards onto the waste pile, either one at a time or three at a time. You choose that when you start a new game, and the choice has its own statistics.

The game saves as you play, so you can close the tab and return to the same deal. It keeps a timer, a move count and a score, and works in portrait on a phone as well as on a wide desktop screen.

How to play

On the columns, build down in alternating colours: a red 6 goes on a black 7. You can move a whole run of face-up cards together. When a move uncovers a face-down card, it turns face up. Only a King, with any cards that sit on it, may move into an empty column. An Ace can go to a foundation as soon as it is free, and each foundation takes the next card of its suit.

Drag a card and it lifts slightly and follows your finger. Columns and piles that can take it are highlighted. You can also just tap a card: it goes to a foundation if it fits, otherwise onto a column that can take it, otherwise into an empty column. Tapping a card that sits on a foundation does nothing; drag it if you want it back on a column. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys to move a cursor, Space to pick up and drop, Enter to play the best move, D to draw, U or Ctrl+Z to undo, H for a hint and N for a new deal. The same list is in How to play in the menu.

Scoring follows the usual pattern. A card from the waste to a column earns 5, a card to a foundation earns 10, turning over a column card earns 5, and taking a card back from a foundation costs 15. Turning the waste back into the stock costs 100 points in draw 1. In draw 3 it is free for the first two times, and each time after that costs 20 points. The score never drops below zero, and a win adds a bonus that shrinks the longer you took.

Undo has no limit. Hint cycles through useful moves one at a time, and when the solver has an answer it shows that first. When every remaining card can go straight to the foundations, the game plays the rest for you. Auto-move, in Settings, also sends cards to the foundations on its own, but only when that cannot cost you a later move. You can turn it off.

Tips

• Free the face-down cards first. A move that turns over a card is usually worth more than a tidy column.
• Empty a column on purpose, but only when you hold a King to put in it. An empty column with no King available is a lost space.
• In draw 3, the order of the stock matters. Note which cards you skipped, because you will see them again on the next pass.
• Do not hurry cards to the foundations. A red 5 sent up can no longer host the black 4 you may need to place. Auto-move holds back for exactly this reason.
• When two columns could take the same card, look at what is underneath each one. Choose the move that uncovers more face-down cards.
• Use Hint when you are stuck rather than before every move. It cycles through the options, so you can decide whether you agree.

Questions people ask

Is every deal winnable? No. Some random Klondike deals cannot be won. With Winnable deals on, which is the default, a solver checks that a deal can be won before you get it. The solver sees the face-down cards, so a winnable deal can still take careful play. You can switch the setting off in New game for fully random deals.

What is the daily deal? Everyone gets the same deal on a given day for the draw setting you have chosen; the day changes at midnight UTC. Win it on consecutive days and your streak grows; a missed day simply starts the count again. The Daily entry in the menu shows your current streak.

What does draw 1 or 3 change? Draw 1 turns one card at a time and is easier. Draw 3 turns three and lets you reach only the top one, so you plan around the order of the stock. Each has its own statistics.

Can I change how the cards look? Yes. Settings has a four-colour mode where each suit has its own colour on top of its shape, and three card backs.

Does it cost anything, and does it need an account? No sign-up and no payment.

Where are my statistics? In the menu under Statistics, per setting: games played and won, win rate, best time, wins in a row and best run of wins. The daily streak is separate and appears next to Daily in the menu.