Klondike Solitaire is a fun and exciting card game you can play online for free right now!
Briefly, Here are the Rules for Klondike Solitaire
Klondike Solitaire is a deceptively simple card game you can play online for free. It's easy to learn but takes a long time to master. Let's briefly go over the rules:
Getting Ready to Play
To play the game, you'll need a standard 52-card deck. Take out all the jokers and shuffle the remaining cards. You're going to create a 28-card tableau consisting of seven piles. However, each column will have a different number of cards.
The first pile (the one furthest to the left) will only have one card. The second pile will have two cards, the third three, and so on.
Take the leftover cards and place them face down in the upper left of the tableau you just created. This is your draw pile. Leave room for four foundations in the upper right of the layout.
How to Play
Look at all your cards and try to make moves that'll win the game. To do so, you'll need to fill all four foundations. Foundation cards need to be in ascending order beginning with the ace. In Klondike Solitaire, the ace is the lowest card. All the cards in a particular foundation need to be the same suit.
For example, let's say you put the ace of diamonds in the first foundation. All other cards in this foundation need to be diamonds.
For the tableau, all cards need to be in descending order with suits alternating between colors. You're allowed to take a card from the tableau and add it to the foundation. You can also take a tableau card and add it to another column if you can form a descending sequence of alternating colors.
Feel free to move an entire sequence of tableau cards to another column if the highest card in the series is one lower and an alternate color to the card you're moving it on. Every time you move a card from one tableau pile to another, turn the newly revealed card face up.
Ensure every card below it is visible — even though these cards are face down. That way, you can see how many cards are left in each pile, which is crucial strategic information to know.
An important thing to remember in Klondike Solitaire is that you can only place kings in empty tableau columns. Take a card from the draw pile if you can't make any moves with the existing face-up cards. Discard it if you still can't make any moves and take another card. The face-up discard pile card is playable.
How To Win at Klondike Solitaire
Once you've exhausted all cards in the draw pile, the game is over. You've won the game if you fill the four foundations with ascending cards of the same suit, and you lose if it's impossible to make any more moves. If you'd like more details on this intriguing game such as the complete Klondike Solitaire rules, check out our comprehensive guide.
Ways to Keep Klondike Solitaire Gameplay Interesting
If you want easier gameplay, recycle the draw pile up to three times. To do this, flip the discard pile over without reshuffling it, which becomes your replenished draw pile.
Another way to spice up the game is to take the first three draw pile cards and lay them on the table face up. Make sure that only the third card in the stack is visible. You're only allowed to play the top card of each set. However, if you can play this card, you're allowed to use the one below it.
You must take three more cards from the draw pile if you can't play the card.
Fascinating Facts About Solitaire
Solitaire is derived from "solitarius," a Latin word meaning isolated or alone. Hundreds of years ago, people had another name for the game — Patience. One of the reasons for that name is because most people believed you needed extraordinary patience to sit there all by yourself and play it.
Another reason for the name is that Patience is a card game, while Solitaire can be any one-player game, including those played with dominos and peg and board games. However, things get confusing when you consider that there are Patience variations for two players, although most are designed for one player.
There are many conflicting stories about the origin of Solitaire and its variations. According to one intriguing legend, a French aristocrat invented Solitaire during his imprisonment in the Bastille. Apparently, this guy was a noble that King Louis XIV didn't like. This would date the game back to the beginning of the 1600s.
Others claim it started in Germany as a competitive card contest between two players. Each would take turns with separate card decks while bystanders bet on who would win.
The game enjoyed widespread popularity in Europe's Baltic region during the Industrial Revolution. During this period, people gravitated from being farmers to working in factories, where they occasionally had free time to play cards.
Solitaire wasn't only played by the lower classes — elite members of society such as Prince Albert of England were known to have a keen passion for the game. Once the mid-1800s hit, the popularity of Solitaire exploded, particularly among the French.
In some countries, Solitaire is known as “cabale.” This is a French word derived from the medieval Latin word “cabala,” which is associated with the Kabbalah, an ancient mystical interpretation of the Bible.
However, there's no mystery why Solitaire continues to be popular after all these years. With simple rules and tons of opportunities for strategic play, the game will probably still be enjoyed hundreds of years from now.
