How to Win More Games of Klondike Solitaire
Twelve practical tips for winning more Klondike solitaire games: which cards to free first, when to fill an empty column and how to play Draw 3.
Sunroom Games · Updated
Klondike is the solitaire most of us grew up with: seven columns, a stock pile in the corner, and four Aces waiting to be set free. Some of every game is luck — a few deals can't be won however carefully you play — but a handful of good habits will win you noticeably more of the rest.
Here are twelve that really make a difference, roughly in the order you'll use them. If you'd like a refresher on the basic rules first, see how to play Klondike.
Before you make a move
1. Take ten seconds to look at the whole layout
It's tempting to make the first move you see. Instead, look for three things before you touch a card: where the Aces and Twos are, which columns have the most face-down cards, and whether any King is already sitting on top of hidden cards. Those three facts shape almost every good decision in the game.
2. Work on the tallest pile of face-down cards
The column on the far right starts with six hidden cards; the one on the far left has none. A move that turns over a card in a tall column is usually worth more than one in a short column, because the tall columns are where most of the trapped cards are. When two moves look equally good, choose the one that digs into the bigger pile.
Choosing between moves
3. Play from the columns before the stock
Cards in the stock aren't going anywhere: in our game you can go through it as many times as you like. Cards in the columns are different — every one of them may be sitting on top of a card you need. So when you have a choice between moving a card from a column and moving one from the waste pile, the column move usually comes first.
4. Make every move earn its keep
A good move does at least one of these things:
- turns over a face-down card,
- frees a card you need for a foundation,
- gets a column closer to empty when there's a King waiting.
Moving a card from one column to another just because you can — without uncovering anything — often uses up the very spot you'll need later. If a move doesn't do one of the three things above, think twice.
5. Don't rush every card up to the foundations
Aces and Twos should go up as soon as they appear; nothing else can be built on them. Higher cards are different. A black 6 in a column might be the only place to put a red 5 later, and once it's on the foundation it can't help you.
A safe rule of thumb: a card can go up without worry when both cards of the other color one rank lower are already on the foundations. A black 6 is safe once both red 5s are up, because nothing will ever need to sit on it again. When in doubt, try to keep the four foundation piles roughly level.
6. When two cards can make the same move, pick the one that helps more
Often two 8s could go on the same 9 — say, the 8 of clubs and the 8 of spades both fit on a red 9. Choose the one whose move turns over a face-down card or empties a column. The other will usually find a home later.
Empty columns and Kings
7. Only clear a column when you have a King to put there
An empty column can only be filled by a King, or by a run of cards that starts with a King. That makes it valuable — but only if a King is ready to move into it. If there's no King in sight, the cards you shuffled around to clear the column may have been more useful where they were.
8. Choose the color of your King
When you do have a choice of Kings, look at the Queens. If a red Queen is free and waiting, put a black King in the empty column so the Queen has somewhere to go. If you can't tell yet, pick the King that's covering the most face-down cards: moving it uncovers them.
Playing Draw 3
9. Remember the stock changes when you play from it
In Draw 3, only every third card in the stock is playable on each pass. When you play a card from the waste, the cards behind it shift, and a different set of cards will come up next time around. Sometimes the right move is to play a waste card just to bring a buried card into reach on the next pass — and sometimes it's better to wait.
10. Look through the stock before you commit
Because you can go through the stock as often as you like, it costs nothing to turn through it once and see what's there before making big decisions in the columns. Knowing that the 4 of hearts is waiting in the stock can change which 5 you want to keep free.
When you're stuck
11. Use Undo to look ahead
Our Klondike has unlimited undo. That isn't cheating — it's the closest thing to thinking several moves ahead. If you're torn between two plans, try one. If it leads nowhere, undo back to where you chose and try the other.
12. Know when a deal is lost — and don't let it bother you
If you've been through the whole stock and nothing can move, the deal is over. It happens to everyone, and it isn't always your fault: some Klondike deals have no winning line at all. We explain how often that happens in can every game of solitaire be won? Start a new deal. Your record under Settings will count it as played but not won, and a win rate well short of 100% is normal for everyone, even with perfect play.
A good way to practice
Every deal on Sunroom Games has a number, and the same number always gives the same cards. When a deal beats you, note the number (it's shown under the game's title) and play it again later with a different plan. You can also try the daily deal, which is the same for everyone that day — a nice one to compare with a friend over the phone.