How to Play Klondike Solitaire: A Step-by-Step Guide for Complete Beginners
Klondike Solitaire is the version of Solitaire most people mean when they say the word. It’s the one that came bundled with Windows, the one you’ve probably watched someone play, and the one that anchors Situs YYPAUS card game catalog. If you’ve never actually learned the rules — or learned them and forgot — this guide will get you playing in five minutes.
The setup
Klondike uses a single 52-card deck. Seven columns are dealt out in a staircase pattern. The first column has one card, the second has two, the third has three, and so on, up to seven in the last column. Only the top card in each column is face-up; the rest are face-down. The remaining 24 cards form the stockpile in the corner.
The four foundations
Above the seven columns, four empty spaces hold the foundation piles. Your goal is to build these piles up by suit, from Ace at the bottom to King at the top. Win the game by getting all 52 cards onto the foundations.
How cards move in the tableau
Cards on the seven columns (the tableau) can be moved by following two rules. You build descending sequences. And you alternate colors — red on black, black on red. So a black 7 can go on a red 8, then a red 6 can go on that black 7. When you move a face-up card, any face-up cards below it move with it as a stack.
Uncovering face-down cards
When you move the last face-up card off a column, the face-down card beneath it flips over and becomes available. This is the main engine of progress in Klondike. Every face-down card you flip gives you new options.
Using the stockpile
Click the stockpile to flip cards from it. Most versions flip them one or three at a time. The flipped card sits in the waste pile and is available to play onto either the tableau or the foundations. When the stockpile empties, you can usually flip the waste pile back over to start again.
Empty columns
If you clear an entire column, the empty space can hold any card or stack starting with a King. Empty columns are valuable — they give you maneuvering room — so don’t waste them on small cards.
Two beginner tips that matter
Don’t send Aces and Twos to the foundation too quickly. They’re useful for building tableau sequences. And always uncover face-down cards before building neat sequences. Hidden cards are your real obstacle.
That’s the whole game. Play a few rounds on YYPAUS and the rhythm becomes automatic. Klondike has been entertaining people for over a century — now you’re one of them.