Solitaire Rules for Beginners — Complete Guide

Solitaire — specifically Klondike Solitaire — is the most popular single-player card game in the world. Using a standard 52-card deck, you arrange cards across a tableau and build four foundation piles by suit from Ace to King. This guide walks you through every rule from setup to winning.

What You Need

• 1 standard 52-card deck (no Jokers)
• A flat playing surface with room for seven columns and four foundation spaces
• Patience

That’s it. No special equipment, no opponents, no timer (unless you want one).

The Layout: Understanding the Playing Area

Solitaire has four distinct zones. Understanding each is the key to understanding the game.

1. The Tableau

The tableau is the main playing area — seven columns of cards arranged in a specific pattern. This is where most of the action happens.

2. The Foundations

Four empty spaces (typically above or beside the tableau) where you’ll build completed suit piles. Each foundation starts with an Ace and builds up to a King in the same suit.

3. The Stock (Draw Pile)

The remaining cards that weren’t dealt to the tableau. You’ll draw from the stock when you run out of moves on the tableau.

4. The Waste (Discard Pile)

Cards drawn from the stock that aren’t immediately playable go face-up into the waste pile. Only the top card of the waste is available for play.

How to Deal

Follow these steps to set up a game of Klondike Solitaire:

1. Shuffle the deck thoroughly.
2. Deal the first column: Place 1 card face-up.
3. Deal the second column: Place 1 card face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
4. Deal the third column: Place 2 cards face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
5. Continue this pattern through column 7, which gets 6 face-down cards and 1 face-up card.
6. Place the remaining 24 cards face-down as the stock pile.

When finished, your tableau should look like this:

The remaining 24 cards form the stock pile.

Valid Moves

Understanding which moves are legal is the core of Solitaire. Here’s every type of move you can make.

Moving Cards Within the Tableau

• You may place a face-up card on another face-up card that is one rank higher and an opposite color.
  • Example: A red 5 can go on a black 6. A black Jack can go on a red Queen.
• You may move a properly sequenced group of face-up cards as a unit, as long as the bottom card of the group fits the destination.
• When a face-down card is exposed (no face-up cards on top of it), flip it face-up. It’s now in play.

Moving Cards to Foundations

• Aces go to an empty foundation space immediately (or whenever you choose).
• After an Ace is placed, add cards of the same suit in ascending order: A → 2 → 3 → … → K.
• You can move cards back from the foundation to the tableau if needed (in most rule sets).

Using the Stock Pile

• Draw-1 mode: Flip the top card of the stock face-up onto the waste pile. You may play it to the tableau or a foundation if it fits. Cycle through the stock as many times as you like.
• Draw-3 mode: Flip three cards at a time onto the waste pile. Only the top card of the waste is playable. This mode is more challenging and strategic.

Empty Columns

• When a tableau column is completely empty, only a King (or a group starting with a King) may be placed there.
• This is a powerful move — it frees up space and creates new building opportunities.

Winning the Game

You win Solitaire when all 52 cards have been moved to the four foundation piles. Each foundation will contain a complete suit from Ace through King:

• ♠ A → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → J → Q → K
• ♥ A → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → J → Q → K
• ♦ A → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → J → Q → K
• ♣ A → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → J → Q → K

If you reach a state where no more legal moves are available and the foundations aren’t complete, the game is a loss. This happens frequently — even expert players don’t win every game.

Draw-1 vs. Draw-3: Which Should You Play?

Start with draw-1 while learning the rules. Once you’re comfortable, switch to draw-3 for a more challenging and rewarding experience.

Step-by-Step Example

Here’s a quick walkthrough of typical early-game decisions:

1. Scan the tableau for any Aces. Move them to the foundations.
2. Look for low cards (2s and 3s) that can go to foundations if the Aces are already placed.
3. Build tableau sequences — prioritize moves that expose face-down cards.
4. Move Kings to empty columns when available, especially if it uncovers hidden cards.
5. Draw from the stock when no beneficial tableau moves remain.
6. Repeat — continue building, uncovering, and drawing until you win or are stuck.

House Rules & Variations

Even within Klondike, there are minor rule variations people play:

• Stock recycling: Some versions limit how many times you can cycle through the stock (commonly 1 or 3 passes in draw-3).
• Scoring: Many digital versions track points, time, and moves. See our Solitaire Scoring guide.
• Foundation returns: Some rule sets don’t allow moving cards back from foundations to the tableau.
• Relaxed rules: Casual players sometimes allow any card (not just Kings) to fill empty columns.

Quick Reference Card

What to Learn Next

Now that you know the rules, it’s time to get strategic. Head over to our Solitaire Strategy guide to learn how to dramatically improve your win rate, or check out Common Mistakes to find out what most beginners get wrong.

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