Learn how to play classic Klondike Solitaire, including the setup, tableau rules, stock pile, foundations, legal moves, and beginner tips.
How to Play Solitaire
Solitaire is the quiet classic: one deck, one player, and a race to clear the board into four foundation piles. If you want to learn by doing, play classic Solitaire on Solitaire Arcade while you read.
When most people say "Solitaire," they mean Klondike — seven tableau columns, a stock, a waste pile, and four foundations. The rules click quickly; winning more often comes from patience, timing, and knowing when a card is better left on the tableau than shoved onto a foundation.
What you're trying to do
Build four foundation piles, one per suit, each running Ace, 2, 3… up through Jack, Queen, and King. The hand is won when all 52 cards sit on those foundations.
How the board is set up
Classic Klondike uses a standard 52-card deck split across four areas: the tableau (where most of the action happens), the stock, the waste, and the foundations.
The tableau
Seven columns form the main play area. Column one starts with a single card, column two with two, and each column adds one more until column seven holds seven cards. Only the top card of each column is face up at the deal; everything underneath stays hidden until you dig it out.
The stock
After the deal, 24 cards remain face down in the stock. Draw from it whenever the tableau has nothing useful left to move.
The waste pile
Drawn stock cards land on the waste. Only the top waste card is in play — if it fits a tableau build or a foundation, you can move it.
The foundations
The four foundations begin empty. Once an Ace opens a pile, that suit climbs Ace to King and never mixes with another suit.
Playing a hand, step by step
Scan the seven face-up tableau cards first — those are your immediate options. A face-up card can drop onto another if it is one rank lower and the opposite colour — black 9 on red 10, red Queen on black King — and that same pattern holds across the tableau.
Every time you lift a face-up card and expose a face-down one, flip it. Revealing buried cards opens new builds and is often worth more than a tidy-looking foundation move.
Uncover an Ace and park it on an empty foundation; then feed that suit upward whenever the next rank is free. When the tableau goes quiet, draw from the stock. In Draw 1, one card turns to the waste each time. In Draw 3, three turn at once, and only the top waste card can be played.
Empty a column and only a King (or a valid King-led sequence) can fill it. Once the rules feel familiar, play Solitaire online and work a few hands while the patterns are still fresh.
Rules worth remembering
Only face-up cards move; face-down cards stay put until something above them is cleared. On the tableau you build down in alternating colours; on the foundations you build up by suit.
A clean alternating sequence can travel as a block — for example a red 8, black 7, and red 6 can all shift onto a black 9. Empty columns still need a King (or a King-led run).
Aces and low cards usually belong on foundations early. Mid and high cards are different: sometimes they are more valuable left in the tableau, where they help you uncover hidden cards or keep a useful build alive.
Draw 1 vs Draw 3
The difference is stock access. Draw 1 turns one card at a time, so every stock card eventually sits on top of the waste in order — forgiving, and ideal while you learn.
Draw 3 turns three cards at once. Cards buried under the waste top stay locked until you clear what sits above them, so stock order and longer planning matter more. Start with Draw 1; switch to Draw 3 when the basics feel automatic.
For a deeper comparison, read Draw 1 vs Draw 3 Solitaire and Best Draw 3 Solitaire Strategies. Prefer a different layout after Klondike? Try our How to Play FreeCell guide, How to Play Spider Solitaire guide, or How to Play Tri Peaks guide.
Tips that actually help beginners
Prioritise flips. Every face-down card you turn up expands your options and often unlocks a chain you could not see a move earlier.
When you have a choice, work the longer columns — they hide more cards, so clearing them usually pays off faster than fussing with a short pile. Send Aces and 2s to foundations promptly; they almost never help once they are free to leave the tableau. Hold back on mid-rank foundation moves if that card still props up a useful build or protects a path to a buried card.
Treat empty columns as scarce tools, not automatic parking spots: open one only when you have a King (or King-led run) ready to use it well. And before you tap the stock, give the tableau one more look — a quiet move there can flip a card that reshapes the whole hand. For more on timing and tableau work, see Klondike strategy basics.
Mistakes that stall a hand
Auto-shipping every legal foundation move is the classic trap. Legal is not the same as helpful — a mid-rank card left on the tableau can be the bridge that frees half a column.
Filling an empty column with the first King you spot is another. Prefer the King that digs the deepest or keeps your strongest colour run intact. In Draw 3 especially, racing through the stock without watching waste order burns options; slow down and track which cards resurface after each pass. For Draw 3-specific habits, see Best Draw 3 Solitaire Strategies.
Quick Solitaire FAQ
Is Solitaire the same as Klondike?
Usually yes. "Solitaire" covers many types of Solitaire games, but the everyday tabletop and browser version is almost always Klondike.
How do you win Solitaire?
Move all 52 cards onto the four foundations, building each suit from Ace to King.
Can any card fill an empty tableau column?
No — only a King, or a sequence that starts with a King.
Is Draw 1 or Draw 3 easier?
Draw 1. You see every stock card in order. Draw 3 is tougher because waste-pile order controls what you can reach.
Should I always move cards to the foundation?
No. Aces and 2s are usually safe; higher cards often earn their keep on the tableau. Strong play is knowing when to bank a suit and when to keep a helper in the middle of the board.
Play Solitaire
Rules stick fastest at the table. Play a few hands of Solitaire, start on Draw 1, chase those face-down flips, and only push foundations when the timing helps rather than when the move merely looks tidy.
