Reading the board before your first move

Most Klondike games are decided in the first minute — not by a brilliant play, but by whether you looked before you leapt. The board you're dealt contains almost everything you need to make a plan. Spending ten seconds reading it, before you move a single card, is the single cheapest way to win more often.

What to look at first

• Where are the Aces and Twos? They have to reach the foundations eventually, so a deeply buried Ace tells you which column you'll need to dig out. If an Ace is near the top, freeing it is usually an easy, safe first move.
• Which columns are tall, and what's under them? The face-up card at the bottom of a long column is blocking everything above it. Long columns hold the most buried cards, so they're where the game is really won or lost — plan to work them.
• Where are the Kings? A King buried at the base of a tall column can make a deal unwinnable, because you may never open a space to move it. Spotting that early tells you to attack that column before it traps you. (See empty columns and Kings.)

Build a chain of moves, not one move

Beginners play the first legal move they see. Stronger players ask, "if I make this move, what does it unlock, and what does that unlock?" A move that frees one card is fine; a move that starts a chain — this red nine onto that black ten, which frees a card that goes up to the foundation, which opens a column — is how you make real progress. Before you commit, trace the chain a couple of steps ahead.

Turn the stock over before you commit

You don't have to play blind. Dealing through the stock once, without forcing any risky moves, shows you what's waiting — a needed Ace, a King you can use, the two you were missing. Knowing what's coming changes which tableau moves are safe. This matters even more in Turn 3, where the cards you can reach depend on the order you play them.

Use Undo to think, not to cheat yourself

Unlimited Undo exists so you can explore. Try a line, see where it leads, and step back if it strands you — that's planning, not cheating. The habit you're building is looking ahead before the move; Undo just lets you practise it faster. When you're genuinely stuck, a Hint will point you at a move you missed.

Ready to put it together? Read the full strategy guide, then play a Game of the Day — a fair, winnable deal to test your reading on.