Klondike Solitaire Rules: How to Play and Scoring

Updated: Oct 18, 2026 · 🎮 Single player

Solitaire is the world's best-known single-player card game, and its classic form, Klondike, asks you to move all 52 cards onto four foundations, one per suit, from ace up to king. Zipi offers Klondike Draw 1, Klondike Draw 3, a Daily Deal and Spider Solitaire.

▶ Play Klondike Solitaire nowFree, no download, no sign-up.

The Klondike layout

Klondike uses a standard 52-card deck, dealt like this:

• Tableau: seven columns holding 1, 2, 3 ... up to 7 cards, 28 in total. Only the top card of each column is face up.
• Stock: the remaining 24 cards, face down.
• Waste: where cards turned from the stock go; only its top card is playable.
• Foundations: four empty piles, one for each suit.

How to play Klondike

1. Building columns: place a card on one that is one rank higher and of the opposite colour, red on black or black on red. A red 8 goes on a black 9.
2. Moving runs: correctly ordered face-up groups can be moved to another column in one go.
3. Turning cards: when a column's face-up cards are moved away, the card underneath turns face up.
4. Empty columns: only a king, or a run starting with a king, can fill an empty column.
5. Foundations: each starts with an ace and is built up in the same suit, 2, 3 ... to the king. The top foundation card can be moved back to the tableau if needed.
6. Drawing: when you run out of moves, turn cards from the stock. When the stock is empty, the waste becomes the new stock.

Draw 1 vs Draw 3

In Zipi every Draw 1 and Daily Deal is checked by a solver before it is dealt, so every deal has a winning line. In classic Klondike some deals cannot be won at all.

Klondike scoring

The score never drops below zero. Undo takes back a move and its points together.

Spider Solitaire rules

Spider uses 104 cards (two decks). There are ten columns: the first four hold 6 cards and the other six hold 5, with only the top cards face up. The remaining 50 cards form the stock.

• 1 suit: every card is a spade. 2 suits: spades and hearts.
• You may place a card on one a rank higher, regardless of suit.
• To move several cards together, the run must be the same suit and in order.
• Any card can go into an empty column.
• Dealing from the stock adds one card to every column, and is only allowed when no column is empty.
• A complete king-to-ace run in one suit is removed from the table. Clear eight runs to win.

Spider scoring: start at 500, −1 per move, +100 per completed run; a win adds 800 − seconds and +600 in two-suit mode.

Common mistakes

• Sending cards to the foundations too early: low cards may be needed on the tableau to move others.
• Wasting an empty column: in Klondike only a king can fill it, so clearing a column without a king ready gains nothing.
• Flipping the stock without thinking: make every tableau move first.
• Mixing suits in Spider: mixed runs cannot be moved together, so keep columns single-suited when you can.

Solitaire tips for beginners

1. Work on the longest hidden column: uncovering face-down cards is the key to Klondike.
2. Play aces and twos straight up: they rarely help on the tableau.
3. Choose kings wisely: which king you put in an empty column decides which queens can follow.
4. Build foundations evenly: racing one suit ahead can break useful links on the tableau.
5. In Spider, aim for an empty column: it is the most powerful tool for rearranging runs.
6. Use undo to learn: trying another line shows you which move was better.

Play Solitaire on Zipi

Solitaire plays in your browser on Zipi with no download or account. Drag and drop cards, tap to auto-move or double-tap to send a card to the foundations. Undo, hint and auto-finish buttons are ready, and time, moves and score are always visible. The Daily Deal is generated from the date so everyone plays the same game, and winning on consecutive days grows your streak. Solitaire is a single-player game with no online opponent, but the Daily Deal lets you take on the same deal as everyone else.

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