Solitaire - Play Free Online | Wipzu
About Solitaire
Klondike Solitaire is the card game that shipped with every copy of Windows from 1990 onward and quietly introduced an entire generation of computer users to the mouse. It was built by Microsoft intern Wes Cherry in 1988 and included with Windows 3.0, with card artwork by designer Susan Kare. By 1994, Microsoft described it as 'the most-used Windows application.' In 2019 it was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
The goal is to move all 52 cards to four foundation piles, building each suit from Ace to King. The tableau holds seven columns of face-up and face-down cards arranged in descending alternating-color order. Face-down cards are revealed as the cards covering them are moved away. The stock pile in the top-left draws additional cards when the tableau runs out of useful moves.
This browser version offers three difficulty modes: Easy (draw 1 card per stock click, unlimited undo, hints available), Medium (draw 1, five undos, hints), and Hard (draw 3 cards per click, no undo, no hints). Draw-3 mode — the default in classic Windows Solitaire — is considerably harder because you access only one card out of every three in the stock per cycle, leaving most of the deck temporarily out of reach.
Research published in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research found that approximately 82% of Klondike draw-1 deals are theoretically winnable with perfect play. The remaining 18% are mathematically impossible regardless of skill. Human win rates are far lower — casual players win roughly 30–50% of draw-1 games. When a deal looks completely stuck, it often genuinely is.
Key Features
- Three difficulty modes: Easy (draw 1, unlimited undo, hints), Medium (draw 1, 5 undos, hints), Hard (draw 3, no undo, no hints)
- Hint system in Easy and Medium modes surfaces available moves when you're stuck
- Draw-3 mode significantly harder: casual win rate drops from 30–50% down to 5–15%
- ~18% of deals are mathematically unwinnable regardless of skill — starting a new deal is sometimes the only correct move
- Mobile-friendly layout for touch play alongside standard click-and-drag on desktop
- Instant new deal with no wait — restart whenever a game becomes unwinnable
Controls
How to Play
- 1Build tableau columns in alternating red-black descending order: a red 9 on a black 10, a black 8 on the red 9, and so on. Click or drag cards to move them.
- 2Moving a face-up card reveals the face-down card beneath it. Revealing hidden cards is the primary way to open new moves.
- 3Move Aces to the four foundation piles immediately when they appear. Build each foundation up from Ace to King by suit.
- 4Click the stock pile to draw new cards when the tableau has no useful moves. In Hard mode, 3 cards flip at once and only the top one is playable.
- 5Empty columns — created by clearing all cards from a tableau column — can only be filled with Kings or King-headed sequences. Use them strategically to unblock buried cards.
- 6The game is won when all 52 cards are on the four foundation piles, sorted Ace to King by suit.
Tips & Tricks
- Aces and Twos go to the foundation immediately — they are never useful in the tableau. For 3s and higher, check whether the card is still needed to support a tableau sequence before sending it up.
- Before filling an empty column with a King, decide which King serves you best. A King with a long attached sequence unlocks the most buried cards; a lone King just occupies the space. In draw-3 mode especially, empty columns are the most valuable resource on the board.
- When two tableau moves are equally valid, prefer the one that flips a new face-down card. Revealing unknown cards is almost always worth more than rearranging cards you can already see.
- Keep all four foundation piles within 1–2 ranks of each other. If one foundation races ahead while others lag, you may be forced to hold back cards you still need in the tableau — an uneven foundation locks up options.
- In draw-3 (Hard) mode, mentally count the positions of key cards in the stock as you cycle through it. If the card you need is 2 positions behind the top, it will become accessible on the next full cycle through the deck.
Game Info
FAQ
No. Research shows approximately 82% of draw-1 deals are theoretically winnable with perfect play. The remaining 18% are mathematically impossible. Human win rates are much lower — 30–50% for casual draw-1 players — because optimal play under uncertainty is genuinely hard.
In Hard mode, clicking the stock pile reveals 3 cards at once instead of 1. Only the top card of the three is playable, and you cycle through the deck in groups of three. This means any given card may be inaccessible for two full stock cycles, dramatically limiting your options compared to draw-1.
Aces and Twos go up immediately — they are never needed in the tableau. For 3s and higher, only send them up if they are not needed to extend active tableau sequences. Moving a card too early can block progress if lower cards still need it as a stepping stone.
Only a King, or a sequence of cards with a King at the top. Empty columns are powerful positioning tools — they let you maneuver otherwise blocked sequences. Don't rush to fill one with the first available King; wait for the King that unlocks the most buried face-down cards.
It is named after the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory, made famous by the gold rush of 1896–1899. Prospectors enduring long winters in mining camps popularized this patience card game, and the name stuck — the gold-sifting metaphor of hunting through the stock for the right card fits the gameplay well.