Klondike Rules

The Layout

When you start the game, you will see the basic layout of Klondike solitaire in the Game window: The deck in the upper left corner, the four foundations to the right of the deck, and the seven columns of the tableau below them (unless your Preferences call for Reverse Layout).

Klondike Layout

As the game begins, Klondike deals twenty-eight cards from the deck into the tableau. The number of cards in each column increases from one to seven from left to right. The top card of each column is face up, the rest face down.

The Game

The object of the game is to build all the cards face up on the foundations. Each foundation builds upward, in sequence, from the ace to the king. Only aces may be moved to an empty foundation, and only the next higher card of the same suit can be added to the foundation.

Build on the face-up cards in the tableau in descending sequence of alternating colors. For example, only the 9 of hearts or diamonds (red suits) may play on the 10 of spades (a black suit). The lowest card of a sequence is always available to play to a foundation.

Whenever the face-up cards in a column are moved, the uncovered face-down card becomes available to turn up. Only a king, or a sequence headed by a king, may be moved to an empty column.

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