How to Play Klondike Solitaire Turn 1
Objective
Win by moving all 52 cards to the four foundation piles, building each one by suit from Ace to King.
Rules
- Move cards to the foundation piles in ascending order by suit. For example, the A♠ should be followed by the 2♠, 3♠, 4♠, and so on.
- Sequence cards in descending order, alternating color. For example a 6♥ can go on a 7♠.
- Move a single card or descending, alternating sequence in the tableau. For example the 7♠ and 6♥ can be moved onto an 8♦.
- Flip one card at a time from the stockpile to the waste. You can play the top waste card to the tableau or foundation.
- Move a King or a sequence that begins with a King into an empty column.
- Cycle through the stockpile as many times as needed. When you reach the end, flip the waste pile to reuse it.
Remember, you win when all cards are moved to the foundations in order. If you reach a point where no moves are possible (and the stock is empty or cycling it doesn’t yield new moves), the game is over and you’ve hit a dead end. You can try playing the same game again or play a new hand. If you’re new to the game, our complete Solitaire rules guide covers how to play in detail.
Tips and Strategies
These Solitaire strategies will help you make smarter decisions and improve your chances of winning.
- Reveal hidden cards when you can. Your first priority should be to expose face-down cards in the tableau. The more hidden cards you flip face-up, the more potential moves you’ll have.
- Always check for moves in the tableau before drawing from the stock.Using the cards already in play might reveal new cards or open spaces. Only draw from the stock when you run out of moves on the board.
- Focus on the largest piles first. If you have multiple face-down cards across different columns, try to clear the pile with the most hidden cards first. Bigger stacks of face-down cards are holding back more potential moves, so it pays to free those up earlier if possible.
- Don’t clear a tableau column unless you have a King ready to move into it. Leaving a space empty with no King to place doesn’t help and might even limit available moves.
- Hold off on moving cards to the foundation if they’re helping you create sequences. Aces and 2s can be moved right away, but higher cards need to be used more strategically. For example, if you move all your black 6s (6♠ and 6♣) to the foundation too early, your red 5♥ and 5♦ can’t be played onto anything. That blocks you from stacking black 4s on top of them, and so on. Suddenly, your whole tableau stalls because the building chain is broken. Instead, try to build foundation piles evenly by rank.
Ready for a challenge? Play classic Solitaire online and try to top our leaderboard! If you need a more challenging game, you can also try Klondike Turn 3.
