Solitaire guide: play to uncover cards

The rules

This is Klondike with 52 cards and 7 tableau columns, dealt in increasing lengths with only the top card of each column face up. Build 4 foundations by suit from Ace to King. Tableau cards descend by one rank and alternate colors.

Choose draw-one or draw-three. Only the top waste card is playable, even when several are visible. Recycle the waste when the stock runs out; there is no pass limit. An empty tableau column accepts a King or a legal run starting with one.

Getting started

Look first for a move that uncovers a card. Besides moving Aces to foundations, check whether transferring a face-up run reveals something below. A new support card or King can change your options. Then inspect the stock for usable cards.

When two cards serve the same role, compare what remains after moving each. Two red eights may both fit a black nine, but only one may expose a card. Drag to specify a destination rather than accepting the click’s available move. The diagrams show only the relevant columns or foundation tops.

Uncover a deep column

Move the left 8♥ onto the middle 9♠ to uncover a card. The red eight is one rank below the black nine, and the newly exposed card flips automatically. Checking deep columns helps release buried cards. After a reveal, inspect its new destination and the connections it opens before returning to the stock.

Have a King in mind

Choose a King before emptying a column. The K♠ can occupy the middle empty column, while the Q♥ alone cannot. After moving the King, a red Queen can follow. Plan which run the new space will accept and what that transfer reveals, rather than creating space without a use for it.

Do not rush to the foundations

Check a card’s tableau role before promoting it. The 5♥ can go onto the foundation’s 4♥, but it can also support the tableau’s 4♣. If moving that four exposes a card, keeping its support serves that goal. This game permits legal transfers back from foundations; checking where the card could return avoids unnecessary trips.

Move an ordered run

Transfer a correctly ordered face-up run together. The 8♠–7♥ run alternates colors and descends by one, so it can move onto 9♥. Both the leading card’s connection and the internal sequence must be legal. If moving only part, check whether the remaining face-up cards still conceal a covered card.

Common mistakes

Check what changed on the tableau before cycling the stock again. An unchanged position simply shows the same cards. Draw-three still permits only the waste’s top card to move; inspect what becomes available when that top is removed.

Treat a hint as a current legal move, not a complete winning plan. Ask whether it reveals information, creates space or advances foundations. All tableau cards being face up is not completion: every card must reach the foundations. Check the actual completion indication during automatic play.

Records and challenges on this site

The current catalog allows 5 hints, each adding 30 seconds to the ranked time. Submission rounds are valid for 120 minutes. The server reconstructs the deal and replays transfers and undo to verify completion. Draw-one and draw-three have separate rankings, ordered by shorter time including penalties.

When all tableau cards are face up, automatic play proceeds if the solver finds a completion route. An auto-complete button also appears in that state, but does not guarantee a finish in every position. When daily challenges are enabled and Solitaire is selected, players share the deal and draw mode; dates use UTC. Ordinary rounds start from deals proved solvable within a bounded search, but not every subsequent choice preserves a win.

Frequently asked questions