Klondike has a lot of luck in the deal, but how you play decides most of the games that can be won. These ten habits are the ones experienced players rely on. New to the game? Start with how to play solitaire.
1. Reveal face-down cards first
Every hidden card is a card you can't plan with. When you have a choice of moves, prefer the one that turns over a face-down card, and among those, the one on the tallest pile (it hides the most).
2. Play from the tableau before the stock
Moves on the table cost nothing. Drawing from the stock changes the order of the waste, especially in Draw 3. Make every useful table move before you turn more cards.
3. Don't rush cards to the foundations
It feels like progress, but low cards in the middle of the table are often needed as landing spots. Moving a black 5 to its foundation may leave a red 4 with nowhere to go. Aces and 2s can always go up; with higher cards, check first.
4. Empty a pile only when a King is ready
An empty pile can only take a King. Clearing a pile with no King to put there wastes it. If you'll empty a pile, make sure a King (ideally one with cards under it to free) is ready to move in.
5. Choose your King carefully
When two Kings could fill a space, pick the one that frees more face-down cards, or the one whose color matches the Queens you have available.
6. Keep runs flexible
If a card could go onto either of two cards of the same rank (say a red 9 onto the 10♠ or the 10♣), pick the pile that you'd rather keep growing, and leave the other 10 free for a different 9 later.
7. Use the waste to unblock, not to fill
Play a waste card when it helps: frees a tableau card, starts a foundation, or fits a run you need. Moving it just because you can may block a better card later.
8. In Draw 3, remember the cycle
In Draw 3, the cards come in groups. Playing one card from the waste shifts every group after it. Sometimes holding back a playable card keeps a card you need reachable on the next pass. See Draw 1 vs Draw 3.
9. Use Undo to explore
Deckfold has unlimited undo. Use it to look under a pile: move a run, see what's revealed, and step back if it doesn't help. It costs nothing but a moment.
10. Ask for a hint, then think
Hints point at a good move, or at the stock when drawing is best. Use them to check your thinking, not to replace it; you'll improve faster.
And remember
Not every deal can be won. If you want every game to be possible, play Draw 1 with Winnable deals on (the default in Deckfold): each new deal is checked by a solver before you see it. More about that in winnable solitaire deals.
