Solitaire for Beginners: How to Play and Win Your First Game

What Is Solitaire?

Solitaire (also called Klondike Solitaire or Patience) is a single-player card game using a standard 52-card deck. The goal is to move all 52 cards into four foundation piles sorted by suit from Ace to King.

It is the most-played card game in the world — largely because Microsoft bundled it with Windows in 1990, introducing it to hundreds of millions of people. The version this guide covers is Klondike, which is what almost everyone means when they say "solitaire."

What You Need

• A standard 52-card deck (no jokers)
• A flat surface large enough to lay out seven columns of cards

If you are playing online, everything is set up automatically. You can play Klondike Solitaire here without any download.

How to Set Up the Game

1. Shuffle the deck.
2. Deal cards into seven columns (the "tableau"):
   • Column 1: 1 card
   • Column 2: 2 cards
   • Column 3: 3 cards
   • Column 4: 4 cards
   • Column 5: 5 cards
   • Column 6: 6 cards
   • Column 7: 7 cards
3. Turn the top card of each column face-up. All other cards remain face-down.
4. Place the remaining 24 cards face-down in a pile — this is the stock.
5. Leave space above the tableau for four foundation piles (currently empty).

Total: 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 28 tableau cards, plus 24 stock cards = 52.

The Goal

Move all 52 cards to the four foundation piles in the top right. Each foundation pile represents one suit (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades). Build each one from Ace up to King, in the same suit.

Win condition: all four foundations complete (A→2→3→...→Q→K).

The Three Areas of Play

Tableau — The seven columns you deal at the start. This is where most of the action happens.

Foundation — Four piles above the tableau. Each starts empty and must be built Ace→King in one suit.

Stock and Waste — The remaining 24 cards in the stock pile. You draw from the stock when you cannot make any other move. Cards drawn go to the waste pile; you can play the top card of the waste.

Legal Moves

On the tableau:

• Move a face-up card (or a sequence of face-up cards) onto another face-up card of the opposite color and one rank higher.
• Example: A red 6 can go on a black 7. A black 5 can go on a red 6.
• Only a King (or a sequence starting with a King) can be placed on an empty tableau column.
• When you move a face-up card, the face-down card beneath it flips face-up.

To the foundation:

• Move an Ace to an empty foundation to start a pile.
• Then build the pile up by suit in order: A→2→3→4→5→6→7→8→9→10→J→Q→K.
• You can always move a card to the foundation if it is the next needed card for that suit.

From the stock:

• Flip cards from the stock to the waste pile (one at a time in Draw One mode, three at a time in Draw Three).
• Play the top card of the waste pile onto the tableau or foundation if it fits.
• When the stock is empty, flip the waste pile over to form a new stock and keep drawing.

Your First Game: Step by Step

When you start, you have 7 face-up cards and 21 face-down cards. Here is how to approach the first few moves:

1. Scan the face-up cards. Look for any Aces — move them to the foundations immediately. An Ace on the tableau is always your highest-priority move.

2. Look for valid tableau moves. Can any face-up card be placed on another? For example, if you see a black 8 and a red 9, the black 8 can go on the red 9. Moving cards reveals the face-down card underneath.

3. Prioritize revealing face-down cards. Moving cards to uncover face-down cards is almost always better than making random moves. More revealed cards = more options.

4. Draw from the stock when stuck. If no tableau moves are available, draw from the stock. Play any drawn card that fits; otherwise it goes to the waste.

5. Repeat until you win or get stuck. The game is won when all foundations are complete. If the stock is exhausted and no moves are possible, the game is unwinnable.

5 Beginner Strategies That Actually Help

1. Always move Aces and Twos to the foundation immediately. Aces and 2s sitting in the tableau do nothing for you. Move them to the foundation as soon as they appear.

2. Favor revealing face-down cards over making neat sequences. Beginners often try to build beautiful sequences on the tableau. Resist this — your main goal is to uncover hidden cards. A move that reveals a face-down card is almost always better than a move that does not.

3. Don't empty a column unless you have a King ready. An empty column can only be filled with a King (or a sequence starting with a King). If you create an empty column and have no Kings available, you have wasted a valuable space.

4. Try not to bury Aces or 2s. If you place a card on top of an Ace or 2, you have blocked cards that need to reach the foundation. Try to sequence cards in a way that keeps low cards accessible.

5. Use undo when you realize a move was a mistake. Online solitaire has an undo button — use it. If you make a move and immediately see it was wrong, undo and try something else. Learning when moves are mistakes is part of getting better.

Common Beginner Mistakes

Moving cards to the foundation too early. This seems counterintuitive, but sometimes keeping a low card in the tableau is useful for building sequences. For example, if you have a red 3 and need it to extend a tableau sequence, moving it to the foundation locks it away. This is rare but worth knowing.

Cycling through the stock repeatedly without making progress. If you have cycled the stock twice with no new moves, the game may be unwinnable. Take stock of the position before cycling a third time.

Ignoring suits when building sequences. In Klondike, tableau sequences must alternate colors (red-black-red-black). Putting a red card on a red card is not a legal move. New players sometimes miss this.

What Is a "Winnable" Game?

Not every Klondike deal is winnable. Research suggests roughly 79-82% of deals are theoretically solvable, but even experienced players win only 30-40% of games in practice because the hidden face-down cards make perfect play impossible.

If you play a full game and cannot make any moves, the game is over — that is normal. Start a new game and try again.

What to Play After Klondike

Once you are comfortable with Klondike, these variants are good next steps:

• FreeCell — All 52 cards are face-up from the start. No hidden information. 99.999% of deals are solvable. Great for learning to think ahead.
• Golf Solitaire — Simple rules, very fast games. Good for short breaks.
• TriPeaks — Clear three card peaks. Faster-paced than Klondike with streak-based scoring.

---

Play Now

Ready to put this into practice? Start a game of Klondike Solitaire — free in your browser, no download:

• Play Klondike Draw One — recommended for beginners
• Play Klondike Draw Three — harder, draws 3 cards at a time
• How to Play Klondike (full guide)