True Solitaire

How to play Solitaire

Klondike is simple to begin and surprisingly deep to play well. This guide explains the board, legal moves, and the decisions that matter.

The Klondike layout

The game uses a 52-card deck. Twenty-eight cards form seven tableau columns. The first column contains one card, the second two, and so on. Only the last card of each column begins face up. The remaining cards form the stock.

Your objective

Move every card to four foundations, one per suit, beginning with an Ace and ending with a King.

Legal moves

  1. Build tableau cards downward in alternating colors.
  2. Move a correctly ordered face-up sequence as one unit.
  3. Fill an empty tableau column only with a King or a sequence beginning with a King.
  4. Turn stock cards to the waste and play the top waste card when legal.
  5. Build each foundation upward by suit.

A good first scan

Before touching the stock, inspect every face-up tableau card. Look for a move that exposes a face-down card, releases an Ace, or creates a useful empty column. Those changes produce information and mobility.

Important: not every random Klondike deal is necessarily solvable. A hint identifies a legal move; it is not a promise that the deal can be won.