How to Play Standard Klondike Solitaire

Klondike solitaire is the most iconic single-player card game in the world. This page explains the official standard rules.

Objective

The goal is to move all 52 cards into four foundation piles at the top right of the board, building each pile up in suit from Ace (low) to King (high).

Setup

The game uses a standard 52-card deck. The cards are dealt into seven tableau columns:

• Column 1 — 1 card
• Column 2 — 2 cards
• Column 3 — 3 cards
• Column 4 — 4 cards
• Column 5 — 5 cards
• Column 6 — 6 cards
• Column 7 — 7 cards

Only the top card of each column is dealt face-up. All other cards in the tableau are face-down. The remaining 24 cards form the stock pile, placed face-down.

The Playing Areas

• Tableau — The seven columns where most of the game action happens. Cards are arranged here in descending order, alternating colors.
• Stock — The face-down pile of leftover cards. You draw from the stock to get new cards into play.
• Waste — Cards drawn from the stock are placed face-up in the waste pile. The top card of the waste is available to play.
• Foundation — The four home-cell piles where you build up each suit from Ace to King.

Rules for Moving Cards

Building in the Tableau

Cards in the tableau must be stacked in descending order (King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, etc.) and with alternating colors (red on black or black on red). You may move a card or a sequence of cards (if they are in valid descending alternating order) from one column to another.

Empty Tableau Columns

When a tableau column becomes empty, only a King (or a sequence starting with a King) may be placed into the empty space.

Building the Foundation

The four foundation piles are built up in suit from Ace to King. Start each foundation with an Ace. Once a card is placed in the foundation, it can only be moved back to the tableau if the game variant allows it (standard scoring allows pulling cards back; Vegas scoring does not).

Drawing from the Stock

In Draw 1, you flip one card at a time from the stock to the waste. In Draw 3, you flip three cards at a time. Only the top card of the waste is available to play. When the stock is empty, you may recycle the waste back to the stock. There is no limit on the number of passes.

Winning the Game

You win when all 52 cards are moved to the four foundation piles — one complete Ace-through-King stack for each suit — and the tableau and stock are both empty.

Scoring (Standard)

• Moving a card to foundation — 10 points
• Moving a card from the waste to the tableau — 5 points
• Turning a face-down card face-up in the tableau — 5 points
• Moving a card from foundation back to tableau — −10 points
• Passing through the stock (recycling) — in Draw 1 mode, −100 points each pass after the first, in Draw 3 mode, −20 points each pass after the third

Play Sneaky Solitaire

Ready to play? Try Sneaky Solitaire — a free spreadsheet solitaire that follows standard Klondike rules, disguised as a work spreadsheet so you can play discreetly at the office.