Solitaire: the rules of Klondike, and how to win more often

The layout

A shuffled pack of 52 cards is dealt into seven columns (the tableau): one card in the first, two in the second, and so on up to seven. Only the top card of each column lies face up. The other 24 cards form the stock, face down at the top left; cards dealt from it go face up onto the waste beside it. At the top right are four empty foundations, one for each suit.

The rules

• The goal: move all 52 cards onto the foundations, each suit in order from ace to king.
• Columns build down in alternate colours: a card goes onto one a rank higher of the other colour, for example a black 6 on a red 7.
• Runs move together: a face-up card can be moved with all the cards lying on it, as long as it fits where it goes.
• Empty columns take kings: only a king (with the cards on it) can go into an empty column.
• Face-down cards turn up: when the last face-up card leaves a column, the card under it turns face up by itself.
• The stock: tap it to deal onto the waste; the top card of the waste can be played. When the stock runs out, tap it again to turn the waste over and deal through it again, as often as you like.

Draw 1 or draw 3

Choose on the home screen how many cards the stock deals at a time. With draw 1 every card of the stock can be reached on each pass, and most deals can be won. With draw 3 three cards are dealt at once and only the top one can be played, so the cards under it come round only on a later pass: harder, and a favourite of experienced players. Your choice is kept for the next game.

Every new game is a deal that can be won: the game checks it before dealing it, for draw 1 and draw 3 alike. If you would rather take your chances, set Deals to "random" in Settings: then any deal can come, and some of them cannot be won by anyone.

Scoring

The score follows the long-standing standard for Klondike:

The score never goes below zero. Beside it the game counts your moves and the time, from your first move until the last card is home. Your home screen keeps how many games you have won, your fastest win, your fewest moves and your best score.

Prefer Vegas scoring? Choose it in Settings → Scoring. Each new deal then costs a stake of $52 and each card put on a foundation brings back $5 (all 52 home: $260, a gain of $208). Your Vegas total runs on from game to game and shows at the top. Vegas is a way of counting only: the stock can still be dealt through as often as you like. The daily deal keeps the standard score. Settings → Clock hides the time if you would rather play without it.

The daily deal

Every day there is one deal, the same for everyone in the world, played with draw 1. Each daily deal has been checked by the game itself and can be won, so it is a fair puzzle rather than luck. Your best moves and time on it are kept, and the home screen ticks it once you have won it. A new deal comes at midnight UTC.

"Share" in the box that comes up when you win sends your moves to friends, with a link to the game; a shared daily deal's link opens the daily deal, so on the same day they get the same cards.

The calendar button beside "Daily deal" shows the month: every day whose deal you have won has a crown, and the days in a row with a crown are your daily streak. A day you missed can still be played from the calendar, from October 2026 on, and earns its crown too; only today's deal goes on the hall of fame's list.

In Halloween week, 26 October to 1 November 2026, each day's crown is a pumpkin. The first pumpkin unlocks the Halloween theme (a night table and a card back of pumpkins) in Settings → Theme, and it stays yours after the week is over.

In Christmas week, 21 to 27 December 2026, each day's crown is a present. The first present unlocks the Christmas theme (a frosty table and a red card back with snowflakes) in the same place, and it stays yours too.

Hints, undo and finishing

• Hint shows a move worth making: the cards blink and the place they go is outlined. If the best thing to do is deal from the stock, the stock blinks. Whenever the game knows a way to win from where you are, the hint follows it: take the hint each time and you will win.
• Undo takes moves back, as many as you like (also with Ctrl+Z or Backspace).
• When nothing useful is left to do, the game says No more moves. It then looks back through your game for the last point from which it can still be won and offers Go back to it (for example "Go back 6 moves"); from there, Hint shows the way. It also offers to undo, deal again or go to the menu.
• Once every card in the columns is face up, Finish takes the place of Hint: press it and the game plays the rest out for you. Once every card is face up and the stock is empty, the game finishes itself, sending the cards home one by one.

Achievements and statistics

There are 16 achievements to collect: from your first win to a hundred, winning with draw 3, wins in a row, the daily deal, a win in three minutes or less, one in 110 moves or fewer, wins without undo or without a hint, three pumpkins in Halloween week and three presents in Christmas week. "Achievements" on the home screen lists them all, with how far along you are. They are kept on your device.

"Statistics", beside it, shows your games played and won, your win rate, your current and longest streak, and your best time, fewest moves and best score: for all your games together, or for draw 1, draw 3 and the daily deal apart.

The hall of fame

Sign in with Google and join the hall of fame with a name of your choice and your country, and your wins of the daily deal go on today's list, ranked by the fewest moves to win it, for the whole world or one country. Every game is checked on our server by playing it again move by move, so the list holds wins that were really played. Nothing is shown until you join, and you can change your name or leave at any time. The same Brookmoon account works in Block Puzzle and Tower Defence.

Tips for winning

• Turn up face-down cards first. Of two moves, prefer the one that frees a card in a column, especially in the columns with the most cards still face down.
• Play aces and twos at once. They are never needed in the columns.
• Do not rush higher cards to the foundations. A 5 or 6 may still be needed in a column to hold a 4 or 5 of the other colour.
• Empty a column only when a king can use it. An empty column is worth most when a king is waiting to move into it and free the cards beneath.
• Choose the right king. When two kings could fill an empty column, pick the one whose queen and jack you can see, so the run grows.
• Deal from the stock last. Make every useful move on the table first; the stock is your reserve.
• Stuck? Undo and try another line. Undo is unlimited: it costs moves, not points.

Controls

Drag a card (and the cards on it) with the mouse or your finger and let go over where it should go. Or simply tap a card: it goes where it best can, a foundation first, then another column (Settings → Tap to move turns this off, if you would rather only drag). Tap the stock to deal. On a computer, Ctrl+Z or Backspace undoes and Esc goes back to the menu (the game is kept).

Questions and answers

Is Solitaire free?

Yes. It is free to play, with ads in the browser version. There is nothing to buy.

Do I need to download anything?

No. It plays in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer. If you like, you can install it as an app: on Android and in Chrome on a computer, choose "Install app" on the home screen; on an iPhone or iPad, use Safari's "Add to Home Screen". Once installed, it starts even without a connection.

Is my game saved?

Yes. The game in hand and your records are kept on your device, without an account. Leave in the middle of a game and "Continue" on the home screen picks it up again. Sign in with Google to keep them in your account as well and carry them to your other devices.

Can every game be won?

Not every Klondike deal can be won, even by perfect play, though most draw-1 deals can. Here every new game, and every daily deal, is one that can (unless you set Deals to "random" in Settings). A wrong move can still leave the cards locked; then "Go back" in the No more moves box takes you back to where the game can still be won.

Who is the dealer who comes on after a win?

That is Jack, the game's card dealer. He hops in beside the box at the big moments: he cheers a win (your first, a new best time or fewest moves, a run of wins), tips his eyeshade at your first win at draw 3 and at the daily deal won, and when there are no more moves he points you to "Go back". He comes less often after the first few times, never while you play, and goes after a few seconds or when you tap him. Settings → Jack turns him off.

Which languages does it speak?

41, from English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish to Turkish, Swahili and Vietnamese. It starts in your browser's language when it has it, and you can change it on the home screen.

Something is wrong, or I have an idea

Write to support@brookmoon.com.