Double Klondike Solitaire Strategy Guide
Double Klondike is Klondike with two decks: 104 cards, nine columns and eight foundations. The rules are the ones you know, but every card has a twin, the board is wider and a game is longer. That changes what matters. This guide covers how to open a game, how to use the duplicate cards, how to handle the stock in Turn 1 and Turn 3, and when to spend an empty column.
Opening principles
You start with 45 cards in nine columns, with only the bottom card of each face up, and 59 cards in the stock. The nine columns hide 36 face-down cards, so much of the game is about turning them over.
- Look for moves that turn a card over. Prefer them to other moves, because each face-down card is hidden information and a possible blocker.
- Check before you draw. Look at all nine columns and the waste card for a move before you touch the stock.
- Start the foundations early with Aces. There are two Aces of each suit, and each one can start its own pile.
Using the two copies
Every card exists twice. That gives you choices that single-deck Klondike does not.
- Pick the copy that frees more. If a red 7 is at the bottom of one column and another red 7 sits on top of a face-down card, the second one is usually the better one to move.
- Both foundation piles of a suit are open. The second Ace starts the second pile as soon as it shows up, so low cards come off sooner.
- Look at both twins. If the card you need is buried, its twin may be easier to reach. Check both before you decide.
Turn 1 and Turn 3
In Turn 1 you see every stock card in turn and any of them can be played. In Turn 3 you see three at a time and can only play the top one, so the two cards under it stay out of reach until it is gone.
- Turn 1: go through the stock as often as you need. Between passes, look for moves that the cards you saw allow.
- Turn 3: note which card is on top after each draw. Play it only if it helps; the cards below it come up later.
- Both modes: there is no limit to the number of passes, so a pass with no move is not an emergency. Take a calm look at the columns before the next one.
Empty columns
An empty column takes only a King, or a run that starts with a King. With nine columns, an empty column is valuable, but only if a King is ready to use it.
- Empty a column when a King is available. An empty column with no King to go in it does nothing for you.
- Move the whole run. A run can be of any length, so a King with a long run on it goes in one move.
- Do not move a King that is already the first card of its column. It gains nothing from moving to an empty column.
Common mistakes
- Sending low cards to the foundations too early. A 2 or 3 can be the card a run needs. The top of a foundation can be moved back, but it costs a move.
- Burying a card you need. Before you put a card on a column, ask what is below it and when you will want it.
- Drawing out of habit. Check the columns again before every draw.
- Emptying a column with no King in sight. The empty space may stay empty for a long time.
- Forgetting the second copy. A card that looks blocked may have a twin you can use instead.
Advanced techniques
- Work on one column at a time. Pick the column whose face-down cards you most want, and make your moves serve it.
- Use the move back from the foundation. If a card on a foundation would let you move a run and turn a card over, it is worth the extra move.
- Think about the next pass in Turn 3. Cards you saw on one pass come up again on the next, so use what you have seen.
- Use Undo and the Solver. Undo lets you test another line for free, and the Solver in the menu tells you whether the current position can still be won.
How winnable are the deals?
Not every random Double Klondike deal can be won. In our screening of 4,000 random deals per mode, the solver found a full winning line within its search limit for about 87% of Turn 1 deals (3,462) and about 84% of Turn 3 deals (3,365). Those figures are lower bounds, because a solver with a limited search can miss lines. New games and the Daily Challenge only use deals the solver has proved winnable, so a winning line always exists. The solver sees every hidden card, and you do not, so winnable does not mean easy.
Practice and play
Play a few deals with one rule: before every draw, look at all nine columns and the waste card again. You will find moves you missed, and the habit helps in every Klondike game.