Solitaire (Klondike)
Klondike is the game almost everyone means when they say solitaire — the one that came with every computer for thirty years. Seven columns, four suit piles to build from Ace up to King, and a face-down pile you turn over as you go.
How to play Solitaire (Klondike)
The goal is to build four piles at the top, one for each suit, from Ace up to King.
Cards in the seven columns are built downwards in alternating colours: a red 6 goes on a black 7, a black Queen on a red King. Only a King can be moved into an empty column.
Tap a card to pick it up, then tap where it should go. Tap the picked-up card again to send it to its suit pile at the top. You can also drag cards. Tap the face-down pile in the corner to turn over new cards; when it runs out, tap the empty space to go through it again.
A face-down card turns over as soon as it is uncovered. There is no timer and you can undo as many moves as you like.
You can play entirely with the keyboard: Tab puts a cursor on the table, the arrow keys move it, Enter picks a card up and puts it down, and S reads out everything on the table.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between turning one card and three?
Turning one card at a time is the gentler game: you can reach every card in the pile, and most deals can be won. Turning three is the traditional rule and much harder, because you only ever reach every third card. You can switch whenever you like in How to play, and each keeps its own game in progress.
Can every deal be won?
No, and that is not your fault. A good many Klondike deals are already lost before the first move, because of where the face-down cards happen to sit. That is why there is no timer here and why you can undo as many moves as you want.
What does the Hint button do?
It lights up a move that is legal and actually worth making. It never moves a card for you and never picks a destination on your behalf — and when there is genuinely nothing left, it says so instead of pretending.