Welcome to the court, where Klondike reigns as the classic solitaire — the game most people simply mean when they say the word. A single deck of fifty-two, seven tableau columns fanned before you, and one quiet ambition: march every suit up to the foundations from Ace to King.
It is a game of patience in the truest sense, blending luck of the shuffle with the judgement of when to draw and when to hold. Clear all four foundations and the crown is yours. Play free in your browser — no download, no signup — with unlimited undo, a hint on request and full-screen for an uncluttered table.
How to play Klondike
Klondike opens with twenty-eight cards dealt into seven columns: one card in the first, two in the second, and so on to seven in the last, with only the top card of each column turned face-up. The remaining twenty-four form the stock. Your task is to build the four foundations upward by suit, each beginning with an Ace and ending with a King.
Within the tableau you build downward in alternating colours — a red six settles onto a black seven, a black five onto a red six. Turning up a face-down card is always progress, so favour moves that expose them. When a column empties, only a King (or a King-led sequence) may take the vacant throne. Draw from the stock to the waste when the tableau stalls; in the classic three-card draw you turn three at a time, so plan for the cards beneath. Every move can be reversed with unlimited undo, and Hint will point out a legal play when the board looks locked. When you have mastered the march, try Spider or FreeCell.
Klondike strategy & tips
The royal standard of Klondike play is patience with purpose. Do not rush an Ace or Two to the foundation the instant it appears — a low card left in the tableau can serve as a landing spot for the colour you need next. Prioritise columns with the most hidden cards, since every face-down card you free opens fresh possibilities and shortens the game.
Empty a column early if you can, but spend the vacancy wisely: an empty space is worth more as a manoeuvring post than as a hasty home for the first King to wander by. When you have a choice of Kings, prefer the one that unblocks the longest buried sequence. Work the stock methodically and remember which cards have passed, so you know when a needed card is due to return. Above all, look a move or two ahead before committing — the difference between a stalled deal and a cleared one is usually a single well-timed decision.
A short history of Klondike
Klondike takes its name from the Yukon gold rush of the late 1890s, when prospectors are said to have passed long northern evenings dealing patience by lamplight. The game is known around the world simply as Solitaire, and in Britain as Patience — a fitting title for a pastime that rewards the composed over the hurried.
Its true coronation came in 1990, when it was bundled with a popular desktop operating system and introduced to millions who had never held a physical deck. Overnight it became the most-played card game on earth. At Duke of Solitaire we keep that heritage intact: clean cards, honest rules and a calm table fit for the court, whether you play a single hand over morning coffee or settle in for a longer session with FreeCell to follow.