Play Solitaire Turn 3 online
This is Klondike the traditional way: three cards from the stock at a time. It's the version most people mean by "real" solitaire, and it asks for more planning than Turn 1. Free in your browser, no sign-up, nothing to download.
How Turn 3 works
The table is the same as any game of Klondike: seven columns, a stock, a waste pile and four foundations to build from Ace to King. The difference is the stock.
- Three at a time. Tap the stock and three cards turn over onto the waste. Only the top one can be played.
- Play it and the next one opens up. Once you use the top card, the card under it becomes playable, then the one under that.
- Unlimited passes. When the stock is empty, tap the spot to turn the waste back over and go round again.
- The groups change. Every card you take from the waste shifts the groups of three on the next pass, so a card that was stuck in the middle can come up on top.
Turn 3 strategy
Go through the stock once before you commit
On the first pass, look at what's coming before you make big moves in the columns. Knowing which cards sit on top of each group tells you what you can count on later.
Use the waste to change the rhythm
If a card you need is always second or third in its group, play one card from the waste somewhere useful. That shifts every group after it by one, and the card you want may come up on top next time round.
Don't play from the stock just because you can
A waste card played onto a column can block the column for later. Ask whether the move frees anything. If it doesn't, leave the card and keep the shift for when you need it.
Uncover the columns first
As in any Klondike game, face-down cards are where games are lost. A move that turns over a hidden card is usually worth more than one from the stock.
Use Undo to look ahead
Turn 3 rewards planning, and Undo lets you test a line and take it back. Use it as much as you like.
What are the odds?
Fewer Turn 3 deals can be won than Turn 1 deals. Research from the University of St Andrews puts it at about 82% of Turn 3 deals with perfect play and every card known, against about 90% for Turn 1. Real games come out lower, because you can't see the face-down cards. Our post on the odds of winning Solitaire has the full story.
Want an easier game? Klondike starts in Turn 1. Want a harder one? Try Vegas Solitaire, where you only get three passes through the stock.
Questions people ask
- What does Turn 3 mean in Solitaire?
- Each time you tap the stock, three cards are turned onto the waste pile and only the top one can be played. Turn 3 is also called Draw 3.
- Is Turn 3 harder than Turn 1?
- Yes. With perfect play and every card known, about 82% of Turn 3 deals can be won, against about 90% in Turn 1. In a real game the gap feels bigger, because cards in the middle of each group of three can stay out of reach.
- How many times can I go through the stock?
- As many times as you like. When the stock runs out, tap the empty spot to turn the waste back over and start again.
- Can I switch to Turn 1?
- Yes. Klondike on our home page starts in Turn 1, and its Draw button switches between the two.
- Is this the same game as Windows Solitaire?
- It follows the same classic Klondike rules that Windows Solitaire used, with Turn 3 as the default way to play.
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