How to Play Triple Klondike Solitaire

Triple Klondike Solitaire is much easier than standard Klondike — there are three decks of cards and unlimited re-deals, allowing you to build foundations from ace to king with ease.  

Number of Cards: 156 cards (3 decks)

Length: Long

Difficulty: Easy

Family: Klondike 

Type: Closed simple packer 

How to Play Triple Klondike Solitaire

If you’re a regular solitaire player, then chances are you play a lot of Klondike (this is the classic version of solitaire). You may have even played Double Klondike — another take on the classic tabletop card game, played with 2 decks of cards. 

Triple Klondike follows the same rules, but uses 3 decks of cards. The aim of the game is the same — move all 156 cards from the tableau piles to the foundations in ascending suit order. But instead of 4 or 8 foundation piles, there are now twelve. 

The triple version is easier than other variations — it’s an excellent game for beginners, teaching you the basics of solitaire without the frustration of more difficult variations. If you enjoy triple Klondike, then you’d also like Freecell Solitaire. 

Types of Piles

Foundation piles: These are the empty piles at the beginning of the game. You’ll build them up as you go, usually starting with aces.

Tableau piles: These are the workable piles on the table. They are shuffled and dealt before the card game starts.

Stock pile: This pile is the remainder of the deck that hasn’t gone into the tableau piles.

Waste pile: As you empty the stock pile, the cards you don’t place in the tableau make up the waste pile.

Setup

If you’re playing online and not with a deck of cards, then the game will already be set up for you. You may want to go fullscreen for this one!

To start a new game of triple Klondike solitaire, first shuffle all three decks of cards.

The tableau will be set up from far left to top right.

Place one face-up card furthest left to complete the first pile. The second pile consists of two cards, the third pile three cards, and so on until you get a total of thirteen tableau piles. Only the top card should be revealed; the rest must be placed face down. You’re going to see a lot of card backs here.

Place the remainder of the cards in a separate pile (also face down) - this will be the stock pile.

The foundation piles should be empty — you’ll build these up starting with aces once you start playing. 

Object

The objective of triple Klondike solitaire is the same as all other variants - move all playing cards from the tableau piles to the foundation piles in ascending suit order, beginning with the aces and finishing with the kings.

Similar to regular Klondike, the foundation piles are built up in ascending suit order. For example, a foundation pile might begin with the ace of diamonds, but must finish with the king of diamonds.

Conversely, the tableaus are built in descending order, and must alternate color between black and red - they do not need to be in suit order.

Rules

• Foundations must be built up in ascending suit order, e.g., ace of diamonds to king of diamonds

• Tableaus build in descending order, alternating color between red and black

• The top card of each pile can be played on the foundation piles

• You can move a single card or multiple at one time. But to move a group of cards, these must be ordered by rank.

• Stock and waste piles are included: when you can’t make a move, use the stock pile to uncover a new card.

• Only kings can move into empty tableau spaces.

What is a good strategy for Triple Klondike Solitaire?

Whether you’re playing regular Klondike, double, or triple Klondike, a good strategy is key to increase your chance of winning.

You might want to adjust your strategy when playing with three decks of cards. So, we suggest the following:

Reveal face-down cards early.

From turn one onwards, aim to reveal as many face-down cards as quickly as you can - this allows you to see what cards you’ve got and what moves you can make - moving cards between the tableau and foundation piles as needed.

Move aces to the foundations quickly. 

It’s a rule for almost every variant of solitaire, but especially important for triple Klondike as there’s twelve foundation piles - move the aces to the foundations quickly.

As soon as you find an ace, move the card to free up a slot and begin building the foundation piles.

Try to build the foundations evenly.

Once you’ve started building the foundation piles, keep these as even as you can during your game.

If you build these piles unevenly, you may slow down your progress in the tableaus later in the game. 

Don’t overuse the stock and waste piles. 

As tempting as it can be to spam the waste and stock piles to find new cards to add to either the tableaus or the foundations, avoid spamming the pile.

Whether you’re playing turn 1 or prefer the slight challenge of solitaire turn 3, spamming the pile makes it more difficult to place cards from the tableau onto the foundation.

If you play turn 3, we recommend placing even numbers of cards from the stock pile in one go. If you play 3 cards, the stock pile will stay in the same order for the full game and prevent you from accessing new cards. 

Only empty a tableau once you have a king to fill the slot. 

Once you have cleared an entire tableau pile, you can start a new pile with a king card. It’s best to empty a tableau once you know you have a king. Otherwise, you may block other potential moves.

Be careful with shortcuts.

On most computer solitaire games, you can use shortcuts to place cards. For example, on Solitaired, clicking on a card will automatically move it anywhere it can be placed. If you use this feature, make sure it goes where you want it to go!

And don’t be afraid to use the Undo button. You can undo moves throughout the game to reverse simple mistakes.

FAQs

What other solitaire games can you play?

If you enjoy triple Klondike, there’s a ton of other solitaire games you can play, such as Canfield and Double Klondike. But if you’re after more of a challenge, try Yukon variants such as Russian solitaire or Alaska solitaire. If you want to explore hundreds of variations, check out our all games page.

Is every game of Triple Klondike winnable? 

It’s not always possible to win Klondike solitaire, but triple Klondike is much easier to win than standard and double Klondike. 

How do you play triple solitaire? 

Triple solitaire is the same as classic Klondike but with three times as many cards. The game takes longer, but the same rules apply — making it easier to win. 

What is the minimum number of cards you need to win?

You need to reveal and move all 52 cards to the foundations to win solitaire, and if you’re playing Klondike , then that’s 156 cards.