Overview
Klondike Solitaire is Cardems' classic seven-column solitaire game. Turn hidden tableau cards face up, organize descending alternating-color runs, and move every card to the four foundations.
Objective
Build each foundation upward in one suit from Ace to King. You win when all four foundations contain 13 cards.
Setup
Cardems uses one 52-card deck. The seven tableau columns receive one through seven cards from left to right; only the bottom card in each column starts face up. The remaining 24 cards form the stock. The waste pile and four foundations start empty.
How to Play
- Build tableau columns downward by alternating color. A black 7 may go on a red 8; a red 7 may not go on a red 8.
- Move one face-up card or a face-up, correctly ordered tableau group. The group must begin on a card one rank lower and of the opposite color than its destination.
- Move an Ace to an empty foundation, then build that foundation upward in the same suit through King.
- Move only a King, alone or with a valid face-up group, into an empty tableau column.
- When you uncover a face-down tableau card, Cardems turns it face up automatically.
- Tap the stock to turn over one card to the waste. The top waste card can move to a tableau column or foundation when it is legal.
Important Rules
- Cardems is draw-one Klondike: each stock action exposes exactly one waste card.
- When the stock is empty, use the stock action again to turn the entire waste pile back into a face-down stock. Recycling is allowed whenever the waste is non-empty; there is no pass limit.
- A foundation accepts one card at a time, starting with its Ace and continuing in the same suit. A 5 of hearts cannot go on a 4 of diamonds.
- A tableau run may be moved only when every selected card is face up. Face-down cards never move.
- Cards may move back from a foundation to a tableau when the normal tableau landing rule is met.
Scoring and Winning
Cardems starts at 0 points. It awards 10 points for a tableau-to-foundation or waste-to-foundation move, 5 for moving a waste card to the tableau, and 5 for exposing a previously face-down tableau card. Moving a card from a foundation back to the tableau costs 15 points. Recycling the waste costs 100 points, with the displayed score never below zero.
For example, moving a waste Ace to a foundation is worth 10 points. Moving a waste 6 onto a legal tableau 7 is worth 5. The score is not the win condition: clearing all four foundations is.
Strategy
Do not fill an empty column just because a King is available. A vacant column is valuable working space, particularly when you can move a long alternating run and reveal another hidden card. Before recycling, review the accessible waste card and any foundation moves; the 100-point cost makes repeated passes expensive.
Variations
Cardems currently implements draw-one Klondike with unrestricted waste recycling. It does not provide a draw-three option or a pass-limit setting.
FAQ
Can I place any card in an empty column?
No. Only a King, or a movable group beginning with a King, can enter an empty tableau column.
Can I move a group with two red cards next to each other?
No. Every adjacent pair in a movable tableau group must descend by one rank and alternate color.
What happens when the stock runs out?
Tap the stock again to recycle the waste into a face-down stock. Cardems allows this as long as the waste has cards and deducts 100 points.
Can foundations be undone?
Yes. A top foundation card can return to a tableau if it lands legally; the move deducts 15 points.
