# How to play Klondike solitaire: a clear first game | Small Break > Learn the tableau, foundations and stock with a small card example, then practise the three decisions that make your first Klondike game easier. Canonical: https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/journal/klondike-rules Language: en Start here # How to play Klondike solitaire: a clear first game [Muscle Industry editorial](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/about)Published / updated 2026-09-08 Klondike is won by moving all 52 cards to four foundations, one suit at a time from Ace to King. The columns below are your working space. You do not need to memorise every possible move: first learn where cards may go, then ask what each move opens up. ![AI-created character illustration · not a gameplay screenshot: How to play Klondike solitaire: a clear first game](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/assets/apps/solitaire/journal/klondike-rules-1200.webp)SMALL BREAK**LET’S PLAY** AI-created character illustration · not a gameplay screenshot > Come a little closer. We only need one deck and a few simple rules. ## Read the table before moving The tableau has seven columns. At the start they contain one to seven cards, with only the top card of each column face up. The remaining cards form the stock; cards drawn from it appear in the waste. A foundation is a destination, not another tableau column. 1. Tableau: build downward, alternating red and black. 2. Foundations: build upward in the same suit, starting with an Ace. 3. Empty tableau column: a King, or a valid sequence headed by a King, may enter. [Sources & further reading: Bicycle — Solitaire rules ↗](https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/solitaire) ## Try one legal move A black 8 can receive a red 7. If a black 6 already sits correctly under that red 7, the pair can travel together. A red 8 cannot receive that red 7, and a black 9 is two ranks away. Check both colour and the one-rank difference. 8♠7♥6♣ Try one legal move ## Make the move useful After moving the exposed sequence, turn over a newly uncovered face-down card. Revealing information often matters more than making a longer decorative column. If nothing is uncovered, the move may still help, but identify the receiving space or future move it creates. Use the stock when the visible layout offers no useful continuation. Draw rules and permitted redeals differ between games, so check the settings rather than assuming every app uses the same rules. ## Finish without rushing An Ace starts a foundation; the 2 of that suit follows it. Later cards may still be needed as landing places in the tableau. A card being eligible for a foundation does not automatically make moving it there your best decision. In Small Break, hints offer a candidate and undo lets you revisit a decision. The app offers automatic completion when its search finds a valid finish. Neither a hint nor an unfinished search proves that a deal is winnable or unwinnable. Try it next game Before drawing from the stock, name one legal tableau move and say what it reveals. If none exists, drawing is a deliberate decision rather than a guess. Written with AI assistance and checked against the cited sources and game implementation by the site's production workflow. The companion is fictional, not a qualified expert. Suggestions are practical heuristics, not guaranteed winning moves. [About this journal →](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/about) [How to play →](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/guide) ## Our next little lesson [ ![AI-created character illustration · not a gameplay screenshot: Your first moves in solitaire: look for a consequence](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/assets/apps/solitaire/journal/first-moves-1200.webp)SMALL BREAK**WHICH MOVE?** Think one move ahead ### Your first moves in solitaire: look for a consequence A practical opening routine for Klondike: inspect the exposed cards, compare two moves and use the stock with a purpose. Read the guide ](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/journal/first-moves) [ ![AI-created character illustration · not a gameplay screenshot: Should that card go to a foundation yet?](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/assets/apps/solitaire/journal/foundations-1200.webp)SMALL BREAK**WAIT—DON’T SEND IT** Think one move ahead ### Should that card go to a foundation yet? Learn why building foundations too early can remove useful landing places, with a concrete red-five example and a practical safety check. Read the guide ](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/journal/foundations) [ ![AI-created character illustration · not a gameplay screenshot: Draw one or draw three? Why the stock changes your plan](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/assets/apps/solitaire/journal/draw-one-three-1200.webp)SMALL BREAK**1 OR 3?** Start here ### Draw one or draw three? Why the stock changes your plan Understand draw-one and draw-three Klondike, waste access and redeal limits. Match rules before comparing difficulty or personal scores. Read the guide ](https://solitaire.muscleindustry.work/en/journal/draw-one-three)