Klondike guide
Your first game of Klondike
Klondike is the familiar form of solitaire with seven columns of cards and four places to build piles by suit. Casa Solitaire uses Draw 1, which turns over one card from the stock at a time. You do not have to memorize every possible move before starting. Learn the board, make a few legal moves, and look at what each one makes possible.
Get to know the board
The tableau is the set of seven columns. Some cards are face up and available to use; others are face down underneath them. Moving the exposed cards is how you reveal what is hidden.
The foundations are four piles, one for each suit. Each starts with an Ace and grows upward to King. Getting all 52 cards into these piles is the goal of the game.
The stock holds cards that have not yet been drawn. Drawing turns a card face up into the waste. The exposed waste card can move to the tableau or a foundation when the normal rules allow it.
Try a tableau move
Look for a face-up card that fits on another exposed card. The receiving card must be one rank higher and the opposite color. For example, a red 7 can move onto a black 8. A black Jack can move onto a red Queen.
A connected run can move together if its cards already descend in rank and alternate colors. Its first card must fit on the destination. A black Jack followed by a red 10 can move onto a red Queen.
When a move reveals a face-down card in its original column, that newly exposed card becomes another possibility to consider.
Start a foundation
An available Ace can start the foundation for its suit. Follow it with the 2 of that suit, then the 3, and continue in order. Foundation moves take one card at a time.
Getting cards into the foundations is your eventual goal, but consider whether a card is still useful on the tableau. There is no need to move every available card immediately.
Use an empty column
An empty column is a place for a King or a valid run beginning with a King. It is not a free space for any card. Before working to empty a column, check whether you have a King that would benefit from it.
Moving a King-led run into a new space may let you uncover cards in its old column. That is why the value of a move depends on more than the card you are moving.
Draw when you need another option
If the tableau does not offer a useful move, draw from the stock. Draw 1 exposes one card at a time. Check whether that card fits on a foundation or helps you build a tableau sequence.
When the stock is empty, the waste can be recycled into the stock. Your newly changed tableau may make a card useful on a later pass even if it did not fit before.
Explore without a countdown
Casa Solitaire has no timer. You can pause over a decision, use Undo to explore another route, or start a New Deal when you want a fresh board. Finish becomes available only when the current board is eligible for automatic completion.
These rules give you a starting point, not a guaranteed solution to every deal. Pay attention to the hidden cards you uncover and the choices you leave open. A thoughtful next move is often more useful than a fast one.
