How to Play Solitaire — Beginner Guide to Klondike
If you’ve never played Solitaire — or you’ve played but never won — here’s a beginner-to-competent guide to the most famous card game in the world. We’ll focus on Klondike Solitaire (the Windows-default version) since that’s what most people mean.
The setup
Use a standard 52-card deck. Deal 28 cards into the tableau (7 columns): column 1 has 1 card; column 2 has 2; column 7 has 7. Only the top card of each column is face-up.
Remaining 24 cards form the stock pile. Above the tableau, leave space for 4 foundations (where you’ll build by suit, A through K).
The objective
Move all 52 cards to the foundations, building each suit from Ace (low) to King (high).
The rules
Tableau: build down by alternating colour. A red 7 can go on a black 8. You can move single cards or sequences (a sequence is two or more cards already in correct alternating-colour, descending order).
Foundations: build up by suit. Ace first, then 2 of the same suit, then 3, etc. Once a card hits a foundation, it usually stays there.
Empty columns: only a King (or a sequence starting with a King) can be moved to an empty column.
Stock pile: when you can’t move on the tableau, flip stock cards. You can choose 1-card or 3-card draws; 1-card is much easier.
Strategy 1: Uncover face-down cards
Every face-down card in the tableau is information you don’t have. Prioritize moves that flip face-down cards over moves that just rearrange the visible ones.
Example: if moving a 7 to an 8 reveals a face-down card underneath the 7, that’s almost always the right move.
Strategy 2: Don’t auto-foundation
Beginners send every legal card to the foundations immediately. Sometimes you want a card to stay on the tableau — to receive a sequence on top of it.
Example: if your 4 of hearts goes to the foundation, you can’t put a 3 of spades on it later. Sometimes you need the 4 to stay.
Strategy 3: Empty tableau columns are gold
Empty columns hold Kings. Without an empty column, your Kings stay buried. Trade aggressively to empty a column.
Strategy 4: The 3-card draw vs 1-card draw
1-card draw (each click reveals 1 card from the stock): ~80% win rate with optimal play. Beginner difficulty.
3-card draw (each click reveals 3 cards; only the top of the 3 is playable): ~30-50% win rate even with optimal play. Some games are mathematically unwinnable.
Strategy 5: When stuck
If you’ve cycled through the stock 2-3 times and made no progress, the game is probably lost. Restart. Don’t sink an hour into a position that’s mathematically dead.
Practice
Play our Klondike Solitaire. Drag-and-drop with full undo, hint button, and auto-foundation toggle.
For more solitaire variants, see games like Klondike.
