Klondike Solitaire Turn 3

How to Play Klondike Solitaire Turn 3

The Goal of the Game

Klondike Turn 3 is the tougher, more traditional cousin of everyday Solitaire. The goal is the same as always: sort all 52 cards onto the four foundation piles, each pile holding one suit built in order from Ace up to King. Get every card home and you win.

What makes Turn 3 different is one rule with big consequences: the stock deals three cards at a time instead of one, and only the top card of each group of three can be played. Two thirds of the stock is hidden behind other cards on any given pass, so you have to plan around what you can reach — not just what you can see. If you already know Turn 1, everything else here will feel familiar.

The Layout

The table is set up exactly like classic Klondike, with four named areas:

• Tableau: seven columns in the middle. Column one gets 1 card, column two gets 2, and so on up to 7 in the last column. Only the top card of each column is face up at the start; everything underneath is face down.
• Stock: the face-down pile holding the 24 cards left after the deal. This is where the three-at-a-time rule lives.
• Waste: the face-up pile beside the stock. Each turn of the stock fans three cards onto the waste, and only the topmost of them is playable.
• Foundations: four empty spaces at the top, one per suit, each waiting for its Ace first and its King last.

How to Move Cards

All the standard Klondike moves apply in Turn 3:

• Tableau builds go down in alternating colors. Place a card on a tableau card one rank higher and the opposite color — a black 9 on a red 10, a red Jack on a black Queen.
• Runs move as a group. A face-up sequence in descending rank and alternating colors can be moved all at once, or split anywhere the cards form a valid run.
• Empty columns accept only Kings. When a column is cleared, only a King (alone or carrying its run) may move into the space.
• Hidden cards flip automatically. Move the last face-up card off a column and the face-down card beneath turns over.
• Foundations build up by suit. Ace first, then 2, 3, and onward to the King, one suit per pile. Cards can reach a foundation from the tableau or from the top of the waste.
• Foundation cards may return to the tableau. If you need one back, move it down onto a card one rank higher of the opposite color.

The Stock: Three Cards at a Time

This is the rule that defines the variant, so it is worth spelling out precisely. Each time you click or tap the stock, three cards are turned over together and fanned onto the waste pile. Only the top card of the fan is playable. If you play it, the card beneath it becomes the new top of the waste and can be played next — play all three and you have dug through the whole fan. If you cannot (or choose not to) use the top card, tap the stock again and the next three cards land on top, burying the previous fan.

When the stock is empty, tap the empty spot and the waste flips back over to form the stock again, in the same order. Redeals are unlimited here, which softens the difficulty considerably. Even better, the redeal is where the real strategy hides: every card you play from the waste shifts the groups of three on the next pass, so cards that were buried this time around can surface next time. Skilled Turn 3 play is largely about engineering those shifts.

Note that if fewer than three cards remain in the stock at the end of a pass, just those remaining cards are turned over.

How to Win

Victory is the same as in any Klondike game: all 52 cards on the foundations, four suits complete from Ace to King. The path there runs through the tableau — turn every face-down card face up, keep at least one route open for the cards trapped in the stock, and the endgame takes care of itself.

1. Free the face-down tableau cards by moving what sits on top of them.
2. Work the stock in passes, playing waste cards to change which cards surface on the next redeal.
3. Send Aces up early, then grow each foundation steadily to its King.

Controls on This Site

Drag and drop cards with your mouse or finger, or double-click (double-tap on touch screens) a card to send it to its foundation automatically when it fits. Above the table you will find New for a fresh deal, Undo and Redo with unlimited steps in both directions, Hint when you are stuck, and Auto-finish to complete a clearly won game for you. Every deal has a seed, so a deal that got away can be replayed card for card and attacked with a better plan — especially valuable in Turn 3, where one different waste play can change the entire game.

Klondike Solitaire Turn 3 Strategy & Tips

Think in Threes

• The waste moves in a fixed rhythm. With no plays from the waste, every redeal shows you the same top cards: positions 3, 6, 9, and so on. The cards in between stay buried forever — unless you change the count.
• Every waste play shifts the pattern. Playing one card from the waste moves the whole sequence over by one, so a different set of cards surfaces on the next pass. Two plays shift it by two. This is the core Turn 3 skill: play (or deliberately decline to play) waste cards to steer which buried cards come up next time.
• Take a scouting pass first. Early in the game, run through the entire stock once without forcing anything, and note roughly where the cards you need are sitting. You cannot plan the shifts if you do not know what is buried.

Sometimes the Best Move Is No Move

• Do not auto-play the waste. In Turn 1 a free card is almost always worth taking; in Turn 3 it can be a trap. If the top waste card is only mildly useful, playing it may push a card you desperately need out of reach on every future pass. Ask what the play does to the cycle, not just to the tableau.
• Grabbing a card you need right now usually wins the argument. A play that turns a face-down tableau card or opens a column is worth more than a perfect stock rhythm. Break the cycle for real progress; preserve it when the gain is small.
• Playing two or three cards from one fan is gold. Digging through a whole fan gives you the buried cards immediately and shifts the next pass dramatically. Look for tableau setups that let you chain waste plays back to back.

Tableau Priorities Still Rule

• Uncovering face-down cards remains job one. The stock is harder to access here, so the tableau has to do more of the work. Prefer any move that flips a hidden card.
• Keep landing spots open for waste cards. Because each stock card may only surface once per pass, a playable waste card with nowhere to go is a wasted chance. Holding a spare black 8 spot when you know a red 7 is coming around is often worth delaying another move.
• Be even more patient with foundations. Middle cards (3 through 6) sent up too early strip the tableau of landing spots exactly when you need them for waste cards. Keep foundations growing evenly and lean on the rule that lets you bring a foundation card back down in an emergency.
• Empty columns are more precious here. A spare column is not just a King home — it is a staging area for rearranging runs so a key waste card has somewhere to land. Do not fill one carelessly.

Use Unlimited Redeals and Undo

• Unlimited redeals mean patience wins. You never lose by taking another pass. If nothing is playable, cycle again after making even one small tableau change — a single shift can unlock a fan.
• Undo to test cycle math. Not sure whether playing that waste card helps or hurts the next pass? Play it, cycle the stock, look, and undo if you dislike the result. It is the fastest way to learn how the shifts work.
• Replay lost seeds. Turn 3 losses are often decided by one waste decision. Replaying the same seed and changing that one choice is the best training this variant offers.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Solitaire Games