Klondike Solitaire

A brief history of the card game known as Klondike Solitaire

Klondike Solitaire is usually known just as Solitaire and is one of the better known of the family of solitaire/patience card games. The game has been around since at least 1902 and it might have been named for the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s. Klondike is also known as Canfield, named for Richard Albert Canfield who ran several gambling houses and at one time was "the best known and wealthiest individual gambler in the world."

Rules

Objective

The objective of the card game Klondike Solitaire is to move all the cards to the foundations at the top of the screen.

Setting up the game

Klondike Solitaire is played using a single deck of playing cards, excluding Jokers, totalling 52 cards.

The first twenty eight cards are dealt face down into the tableau of seven columns to form an inverted triangle, then the top card of each tableau is then turned face up.

Playing the game

The four foundations at the top of the screen are built up by suit from Ace through to King.

Valid moves

The columns on the tableau are built down in descending rank in alternating red/black colours.

Multiple cards that form a run of alternating colours can be moved together.

Empty spaces can either be filled with any card, or run of alternating coloured cards, unless the game settings specify only Kings in empty spaces. In that case only a King or run of alternating coloured cards ending in a King can be moved into the empty space.

Dealing from stock

There are different ways the game can be configured for drawing the cards from the stock:

• Drawing one card at a time.

• Drawing three cards at a time.

When there are no more cards in stock the cards in waste can be turned over and placed into the stock pile to allow them to be drawn again. The game can be configured to specify how many times you can go through the deck:

• Once (i.e. The cards in waste cannot be moved back into stock).

• Three times.

• Five times.

• Unlimited.

Scoring

• You start each game with 0 points.

• 5 points are added when a card is moved from the waste pile to the tableau.

• 5 points are added when a face-down is turned face-up on the tableau.

• 10 points are added when a card is added to the foundation.

• 15 points are subtracted for every card removed from the foundation to the tableau.

• 100 points are subtracted when the waste pile is recycled into the stock pile (this only applies if the game is configured to draw one card from stock at a time).