The one rule that matters most
Uncover face-down cards. Every hidden card in the tableau is a card you can't plan around. When you have a choice of moves, pick the one that turns a card face up, and prefer the column with the most face-down cards. Those columns are the hardest to dig out, so start early.
Before you touch the stock
- Look at the whole table first. Make every useful tableau move before drawing. A tableau move can open a spot for the next waste card.
- Aces and twos go up straight away. An Ace is never useful in the tableau, and a two can only ever hold an Ace, so there's no reason to wait.
- Don't move a card just because you can. Moving a black 7 from one red 8 to another red 8 does nothing unless it uncovers a card or opens a column.
Playing to the foundations
It feels like progress, but sending cards home too early can trap you. A red 5 on the foundation can't hold the black 4 you need to move later. A safe rule: only play a card to its foundation when both opposite-colour cards one rank lower are already there. For example, play the 5♥ once the 4♠ and 4♣ are home. Before that, play it only when it uncovers something you need.
Empty columns and Kings
- Don't empty a column with no King to fill it. An empty column only takes a King, so it just sits there.
- Choose your King carefully. If you have a black King and a red King, look at what's waiting. A red Queen in play wants the black King.
- Move the King with the most cards under it when a column opens, so you free the most hidden cards.
Using the stock well
- In draw 1 you see every card on every pass, so there's no pressure to take a card the moment it appears.
- In draw 3 only every third card is reachable. Playing any card from the waste shifts the order, so a different set of cards comes to the top on the next pass. If a card you need keeps landing in the middle of a group of three, play one of the waste cards before it to change its position.
When you're stuck
- Use Undo freely. Trying a line and backing out is how you learn which moves matter.
- Some deals can't be won, especially with draw 3. If you've tried every line, press New game without guilt.
Practise on the same deal
Every game has a deal number. Note the number of a deal you lost, play it again with Restart, and see whether a different opening wins it.