Draw 1 or Draw 3: what really changes in Klondike?

Klondike on Card Lounge comes in two modes, Draw 1 and Draw 3, with identical tableau rules. So what actually changes when you switch? In short: which stock cards you can reach, and how much the order of the stock matters.

The stock rules

• In Draw 1, each draw turns one card from the stock to the waste.
• In Draw 3, each draw turns three cards, or the last one or two if fewer remain. Only the top waste card can be played.
• When the stock is empty, Draw turns the whole waste back over to make a new stock. This is a recycle, and recycles are unlimited.
• Every draw and every recycle counts as a move.

Turning the waste over puts the first card you drew back on top, so a recycle keeps the order. If you play nothing from the waste, the next pass deals out exactly the same cards in exactly the same groups.

Draw 1: every card, every pass

In Draw 1, each stock card becomes the top waste card on every pass. Nothing is out of reach; looking for a card only costs moves.

Draw 3: every third card

Number the stock cards 1, 2, 3 and so on from the top. The first draw takes cards 1, 2 and 3, leaving card 3 on top of the waste. The second draw leaves card 6 on top, the third leaves card 9, and so on. With nothing played, a pass of n cards shows positions 3, 6, 9 and so on, plus the very last card, because the final short group still ends with it.

• 9 cards: positions 3, 6 and 9.
• 8 cards: positions 3, 6 and 8.
• A full 24-card stock: positions 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24, so 8 of the 24 cards, exactly a third.

Playing a waste card changes this in two ways:

1. At once. The card beneath becomes the top card and can be played. Play card 6 and card 5 is available straight away; play card 5 as well and card 4 is next.
2. On the next pass. Every card that came after a removed card moves up one position, so the groups of three fall differently.

Worked example: a nine-card stock

Say the stock holds nine cards, top first: 4♣, J♥, 9♠, 2♦, 6♥, K♣, 8♦, 5♠, Q♥. The tableau has one empty column, and for this example none of the other cards has anywhere to go.

With no plays, the first draw shows 9♠ (with 4♣ and J♥ underneath), the second K♣ and the third Q♥. After the recycle you get the same three cards again, however many times you go round.

Now play. On the second draw, K♣ shows: move it into the empty column, which only a King may fill. The 6♥ underneath becomes the top card, but it has nowhere to go, so draw again: 8♦, 5♠ and Q♥, with Q♥ on top. Play Q♥ onto K♣, a red Queen on a black King. The 5♠ is now on top. The stock is empty, so the next Draw is a recycle.

The new stock has seven cards: 4♣, J♥, 9♠, 2♦, 6♥, 8♦, 5♠. The groups are now 4♣ J♥ 9♠, then 2♦ 6♥ 8♦, then 5♠ on its own, so this pass shows 9♠, 8♦ and 5♠. The 8♦ was stuck in seventh place before; removing the K♣ in front of it moved it to sixth, a position that shows.

And the J♥? It is still second, under the 9♠. The only way to reach it is to play the 9♠ when it shows (onto a red 10, say, if one appears), which uncovers the J♥ at once.

Planning a recycle

Before you turn the stock over in Draw 3, think about where the cards you need sit.

• A card just under a card that shows: play the card on top of it and it comes up straight away.
• A card one or two places short of a position that shows: play one or two cards that come before it in the stock. With nine cards in the stock, a card in eighth place never shows. Remove one card in front of it and it moves to seventh, still out of reach; remove two and it moves to sixth, which shows.
• Cards after the one you need: playing them does not move it at all.
• No plays at all: the next pass is identical. If a full cycle goes by with no card moving to the tableau or foundations, and no tableau or foundation move exists, the game declares "No moves left".

Which mode should you play?

Draw 1 is the place to learn Klondike, because the stock hides nothing; see which Klondike move to make first. Draw 3 adds a second puzzle: tracking where the cards you need sit in the stock, and choosing which waste cards to play to shift them. Each mode keeps its own statistics.

Try it

A Draw 3 stock holds ten cards and you play nothing. Which positions show on top? Now suppose you play the card at position 3 as soon as it shows, and nothing else. Which original positions show on top during the following pass?

Answer: With no plays, positions 3, 6, 9 and 10, since the last card forms a group of its own. After removing card 3, nine cards remain in the order 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, so the next pass groups them as 1 2 4, then 5 6 7, then 8 9 10, and shows the cards from original positions 4, 7 and 10.

Try both modes: Klondike Draw 1 and Klondike Draw 3. The how to play page has the full rules.