HOW TO PLAY
How to play Klondike Turn 3 (3 card Solitaire)
Klondike Turn 3, also called Draw Three or 3 card Solitaire, uses the same layout and the same tableau rules as classic Solitaire. Build down in alternating colours, move only Kings into empty columns, and build each foundation up by suit from Ace to King. The only change is the stock: each click turns over three cards at once, and only the top card of those three can be played.
Why Turn 3 is harder
The 24 stock cards come out in groups of three, so on your first pass only every third card is playable: the 3rd, 6th, 9th and so on, eight cards in all. The other sixteen are stuck underneath until you play the card covering them. That's why Turn 3 wins far fewer games than Turn 1, where every stock card comes within reach each pass.
The trick is that playing a card from the waste pile shifts the groups. Once you use the top card, the one beneath it becomes playable, and on the next pass the cards fall into different groups of three. Each card you take from the waste changes which cards you'll see next time round.
Turn 3 tips
- Go through the stock once before committing. On your first pass, note which useful cards are buried and roughly where they are.
- Use waste plays to reach buried cards. If a card you need sits second in a group, playing the card on top of it reveals it.
- Don't rush cards to the foundations. Keeping a red 5 or black 4 on the tableau can give you a home for a waste card later, which also shifts the stock groups.
- Prefer tableau moves first. Turning over a face-down card in a column is still usually the best move available.
- Watch for a stuck cycle. If two full passes go by with no new plays, the deal is probably lost. Start a new game rather than clicking through endlessly.
New to the game? Start with Klondike Turn 1, read how to set up and play Solitaire, or see how points work in Solitaire scoring.