Klondike Solitaire, Turn 3

Turn 3 is the classic, harder way to play Klondike. The layout, the building rules and the goal are the same as in the draw-one game, but the stock hands you three cards at a time and only the top one can be played. Cards in the middle of the waste stay out of reach until the ones above them are gone. The draw-one page covers the shared basics.

Rules step by step

1. The deal. Seven columns are dealt left to right, one card in column 1 up to seven in column 7. Only the last card of each column is face up. The other 24 cards form the stock.
2. Build down in alternating colors. A red card goes on a black card one rank higher, and a black card on a red one. Any face-up run in correct order can move as one unit.
3. Uncover cards. When you move the last face-up card off a column, the card beneath it turns face up by itself.
4. Empty columns take kings. Only a king, with any run on top of it, can go into an empty column.
5. Draw three. Click the stock to turn up to three cards onto the waste. Only the top card of the waste can be played. With fewer than three left, you draw what remains.
6. Turn the waste over. When the stock is empty, click it to flip the waste back into a stock with the cards in their original order. You may do this as many times as you like, and nothing is lost.
7. Build the foundations. Each suit starts with its ace and grows one rank at a time. A foundation card may come back down onto a column if that helps.
8. Win when all four foundations hold thirteen cards.

The page shows time and moves; there is no score in this version.

How turn 3 differs from turn 1

With one card per draw, every card in the stock is reachable on every pass. With three, a pass shows you only every third card. The ones in between sit underneath and come up only if you play the card above them, which shifts the rhythm of the following draws.

That makes the stock a puzzle in its own right. Playing a single card from the waste changes which cards appear on the next pass, so the order in which you take cards matters as much as the columns do.

Strategy

• Count before you draw. Note which cards sit second and third in each group. If a card you need is buried in the middle, plan to play the one above it first.
• Play from the waste only when it earns something. Each play moves the groups on the next pass, so favor plays that turn a hidden card or open a column.
• Keep a king ready before you empty a column. An empty column with no king to fill it is dead space.
• Send aces and twos up at once. Hold higher cards back until both foundations of the opposite color have reached the rank below, since they may be needed as landing spots.
• Scout a full pass. Go through the stock once to learn what is there before you commit to a long plan. Undo is free.

Frequently asked questions

Is every deal winnable?

The default deals come from a pool that an offline solver has checked. The solver sees every card, even face-down ones, and found at least one winning line. In our own build it found a win for a little over three in four random draw-three deals, and the rest were left out. That does not make the win easy, since you cannot see what the solver saw. Pool deals also lean toward easier wins than a random shuffle, because only deals the solver could finish are kept.

Is turn 3 harder than turn 1?

Yes. Fewer cards are reachable at any moment, so more of your result depends on planning the order of plays.

Can I undo a move?

Yes, as often as you like, and redo too. Using the hint marks the game as played with help in your own stats. The hint shows a legal move, not a good one.

Do I need an account?

No. Settings, stats and the game in progress stay in your browser. The privacy page lists the entries.

How do I share a deal?

Every deal has its own web address. Copy it and a friend opens the same cards on this page, with draw three.

Related games

• Klondike, draw one is the gentler version of the same game.
• FreeCell shows every card from the start.
• Spider, Pyramid and TriPeaks round out the set.

Last updated 2026-10-30