If you've played a lot of Klondike, you've met the deal where nothing works: every card you need is buried under another you need first. That's not bad play. Some Klondike deals simply can't be won. Here's why, and what Deckfold does about it.
Why some deals are impossible
A shuffled deck can put cards in an order that locks itself. A simple example: the only red 7 that could hold your black 6 sits face down under that same black 6. Add a few such knots across the seven piles and the stock, and no sequence of legal moves reaches the end.
How many deals are winnable depends on the rules:
- Draw 1 with unlimited passes through the stock: the large majority of deals can be won with perfect play.
- Draw 3: noticeably fewer, because cards in the stock are only reachable in groups of three.
- Limited passes through the stock (a Vegas-style rule): fewer still.
"Perfect play" means knowing where every face-down card is. Real players, who can't see under the cards, win less often than that.
What "winnable deals" means in Deckfold
With Draw 1 and Winnable deals on (the default), Deckfold deals a game and then runs a solver on it before you see it. The solver searches for a sequence of legal moves that ends with all four foundations complete. If it finds one, you get that deal. If it doesn't find one quickly, the deal is dropped and another one is tried.
So a Draw 1 game in Deckfold is always possible to win. It isn't always easy: you still have to find the way, without seeing the face-down cards.
A few honest details:
- The check is only done for Draw 1. Draw 3 deals are random, and some can't be won.
- You can switch Winnable deals off in Settings if you prefer fully random games.
- The solver plays by Deckfold's own rules, the same rules you play with.
Does it make the game too easy?
Not really. Knowing a win exists removes the frustration of an impossible deal, but you still have to make the right choices: which face-down cards to reveal first, when to fill an empty pile, when not to rush a card to a foundation. Our solitaire strategy tips cover those.
When you're stuck
If no move seems to work, try Hint: it points at a good move, or at the stock if drawing is best. Undo is unlimited, so you can go back and try another line. And if you'd rather start fresh, New game deals another.
New to Klondike? Read how to play solitaire and Draw 1 vs Draw 3.
