Solitaire

How to play

This is Klondike, the game most people simply call Solitaire. Twenty-eight cards are dealt into seven columns with only the top card of each face up; the rest form the stock. The goal is to move all 52 cards to the four foundations, building each suit from Ace up to King.

• Columns: a card can go on a card one rank higher of the opposite colour, such as a red 6 on a black 7. An ordered group moves together.
• Empty columns: only a King, or a group starting with a King, can go there.
• Stock: click it to turn cards onto the waste; the top waste card can be played. When the stock is empty, click again to turn the waste over. Passes are unlimited.
• Foundations: a card can also come back down from a foundation onto a column.
• Keys: D or Space turns the stock, H shows a move, Ctrl+Z undoes.

Draw 1 and Draw 3

In Draw 1 the stock turns one card at a time, so every card is reachable on each pass. In Draw 3 it turns three and only the top one can be played, which makes the game much harder. Best times and streaks are kept separately for each.

Strategy

1. Turn over face-down cards first. A move that uncovers a card usually beats one from the waste.
2. Start with the longest columns. The rightmost column hides six cards; freeing it opens the most options.
3. Don’t empty a column without a King to put there. Only a King can fill it.
4. Choose which King goes into a space. Pick the one whose colours match the cards you are waiting for.
5. Don’t rush cards to the foundations. A low card may still be needed to hold a card of the other colour.

Origins

Klondike’s rules first appeared in print in 1907, in Hoyle’s Games, as “Seven-Card Klondike”. The name is often linked to the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, but there is no evidence for that. In America the game was long called Canfield, a name that now belongs to a different patience.

Windows made it famous: for years it was the most used application on Windows. Wes Cherry, a Microsoft intern, programmed Solitaire in the summer of 1988, with cards designed by Susan Kare, and it shipped with Windows 3.0 in 1990. It was meant to make people comfortable with the new graphical system, and dragging cards taught a generation to use a mouse. In 2019 it entered the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

History

Why it’s fun

• Familiar in seconds. Almost everyone has played it, so it feels like home.
• Hidden cards, real choices. Which column to open next changes the whole game.
• Short. A deal takes a few minutes, which suits a break.
• Two games in one. Draw 1 is relaxed; Draw 3 is a serious challenge.

What it trains

Klondike rewards planning with incomplete information: working out which hidden cards matter most, keeping options open, and not spending a resource (an empty column, a low card) before you need it.

FAQ

Can every game be won?

No. Some Klondike deals cannot be solved whatever you do, especially in Draw 3. Hints, undo and restart let you try different lines.

Is this the same as Windows Solitaire?

It follows the same Klondike rules, with Draw 1 and Draw 3. The deals are our own.

Is there a leaderboard?

No. Deals are random, so times can’t be compared between players. Your best time and fewest moves are kept on this device.

This version

• Klondike with Draw 1 and Draw 3, unlimited passes through the stock.
• Tap a card to send it to the best spot, or drag it; the game finishes itself once every card is face up.
• Unlimited undo, Restart and hints.
• Win streak, best time and fewest moves for each mode, kept on this device.

Updates

1. September 29, 2026First version on Zippi: Draw 1 and Draw 3, auto-finish, hints and undo.

Page last reviewed September 30, 2026.

Sources

• Klondike (solitaire), Wikipedia
• Microsoft Solitaire, Wikipedia