Klondike Solitaire is probably one of the most popular solitaire card games online. Many people have played Klondike solitaire online or as an in-built game that comes free with Microsoft Windows computers. Klondike Solitaire is one of the most popular card games typically played by people of all ages. There are several versions of the Klondike card game, therefore, there are no such official rules to play by. But no matter which version you play, it is a game of patience.
Learn how to play the famous Klondike Solitaire card game with the help of this step-by-step tutorial.
If you have never played solitaire before, you can learn how to play solitaire here.
How to play the game Klondike Solitaire online?
Before jumping on to the rules of the game, let’s take a look at the specifications of the game.
Requirements
The allowed or recommended age is 13 years for the players. Besides, the number of players is 1 (it is a single-player game). A standard deck of 52 cards is used to play Klondike Solitaire. Now that we know what we need to play the game, let’s take a look at the objective of this solitaire game.
Objective
The goal of the Klondike Solitaire is to build four separate foundation piles all through aces to kings of the same suit. Now that the basics of the game have been covered, let’s delve into the gameplay.
How to Play Klondike Solitaire?
First, the cards have to be dealt after which the foundation will be set. The two processes have been explained one by one.
The Deal
In the classic version of Klondike Solitaire, in the beginning, 28 cards are dealt in seven piles (which is called a tableau) in the following manner: the first pile has only one card, the second pile contains two cards, the third pile will have three cards, and similarly, the next four piles contain four cards, five cards, six cards, and seven cards respectively. This way the tableau piles have been filled with the 28 cards.
The top card of each pile is dealt face up while the others below them are kept face down, and are set starting from the upper left and then moving to the upper right. Therefore, at a glance, there are seven face-up cards. The remaining cards are kept separately which form the draw pile.
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The Foundation
An ace forms the foundation and forms a separate stockpile of the same suit above the tableau. Therefore, four foundations are formed and each card of such a pile belongs to the suit corresponding to the suit of the ace.
Cards are placed on top of the ace in ascending order, starting from two (low in order) to the king (high in order) of each suit. For example, in the case of a diamond ace forming a foundation, only diamonds will be kept on top of that card. Similarly, clubs, spades, and hearts will form three other different foundations. When a card becomes available in the tableau, it moves to the foundation pile, it cannot be removed.
Playing on the Tableau
On each tableau, cards are played in descending order starting from a king to a two. The cards are played in alternating colors as well. For example, if the king of a tableau is of hearts, the next card has to be a queen (of a lower order than the previous card) of spades or of clubs, it cannot be of either diamonds or hearts. Opposite color cards are kept on top of each other in the tableau piles. Every card is kept slightly below the previous one in order for every card to be visible from the top of the pile. When moving a face-down card from one tableau pile to another, the moving cards have to be kept face up next which will then be available to be played or played upon. In case a tableau column becomes empty due to the movement of cards, any visible king (with or within additional cards) can be placed in that tableau column.
The Game Play
In Klondike Solitaire, there are two ways of playing this game depending on the movement of the draw pile: in the first case, cards are drawn from the draw pile one card at a time, and in the second case, three cards are drawn together from the draw pile. In the first type of play, a waste pile is used, while in the second type of play, a waste pile is not used. Both these cases have been elaborated for the gameplay.
One time over – In this type of gameplay, the limit of going through the entire draw pile is only one. Here, the cards are drawn one at a time starting from the top card. If the face-up card drawn is playable, it is played, if not it is moved directly to a discard (waste) pile in a face-up manner. The topmost card of the waste pile will always be available to be played.
Three times over – In this style of playing, three cards are drawn from the draw pile turned face up and laid on the table in such a way that only the third card is visible. If the visible card is playable, it is played accordingly. If it is not playable, the three cards are turned over, and then three more cards are taken from the draw pile. Upon reaching the end of the pile, the unused cards can be put back face down. Now, this pile can be used two times more. In some versions of this game, there are unlimited uses.
Note: In any case, the cards can not be shuffled before reusing from the pile.
Also Read: 3 Easy Card Games to Play Online
How to win the game?
In order to win Klondike Solitaire, you have to build all the four suits using all the cards from aces to kings in the four foundations. Klondike Solitaire is a fun game that requires a bit of patience. The odds of winning using physical cards are never a hundred percent but funnily enough, the chances of your winning in the computer version are always high. We hope that the rules of the game have been explained clearly. Now you can choose your mode of playing and win easily. Happy playing!
