Guide · Solitaire
Klondike Solitaire: rules and winning strategy
By exhaustive analysis most Klondike deals are solvable, yet typical players win one or two in ten. The gap is strategy: what to flip, who gets the empty column, when to build foundations. This guide covers it.
The rules in one minute
- Seven tableau columns; column n holds n−1 face-down cards under one face-up card.
- Tableau stacks alternate colours and descend; empty columns take only a K and its followers.
- Four foundations build up per suit from Ace to King.
- The stock flips one card at a time to the waste; the top waste card may enter play (unlimited passes here).
- Fill all four foundations and you win.
Never played? Open the online version and read along.
Three strategies that decide the win rate
1. Flip before you foundation
Face-down cards are the only bottleneck of information; every card you turn increases your options. So: postpone any foundation move that is not blocking a flip. Low cards especially — a red 2 or black 3 may need to come back down to seat a 3 or 4. Aces and twos are the exception: always send them up.
2. Empty columns are the scarcest resource
The empty column is the only transfer station on the board — every tricky manoeuvre runs through one, and its only legal tenant is a King. Two corollaries:
- Do not break out a King just to "have" an empty column — a stuck King occupying it is worse than no column at all.
- When a King does open a column, move the longest pile it can (usually that seventh-column stack) — maximum information per move.
3. The stock is not a slot machine
With unlimited passes, a second or third stock run often reveals the line a dead position was hiding. But flip with intent — before each pass, name what you are looking for. Three blind recycles are not a strategy.
So how often can you actually win?
Computer analysis: about 80–90% of Klondike deals are solvable with perfect play and full information. Real players see partial information and make errors, so typical win rates sit at 10–20%. Strong strategic play reaches a stable 40%+ — the difference is discipline, not luck: keep empty columns, delay foundations, run the stock twice before declaring a dead position.
Try it now
Ten reads are worth less than three honest games. Open Solitaire online and deliberately play one game "flip first, foundation later" — compare the move count and result with your usual style; the difference shows immediately.