Play Turn 3 Klondike Solitaire Online for Free
Turn 3 is Klondike Solitaire the way it was originally played: turn three cards from the stock, play the top one if you can, and plan around the two you can’t reach yet. It’s the same game you know from Turn 1, but a much deeper puzzle, because the stock is no longer a pile you can simply dig through.
The game above starts in Turn 3 mode. You can switch to Turn 1 with the button at the top at any time, and undo and hints are unlimited in both modes.
How Turn 3 Works
Everything about Klondike stays the same except the stock:
- Three cards at a time. Clicking the stock turns over three cards onto the waste pile, fanned out so you can see them.
- Only the top card is playable. The other two become available only after you play the card above them.
- Unlimited passes. When the stock runs out, click the empty stock spot to turn the waste pile back over and go again.
The rest of the rules are standard Klondike: build down in alternating colors on the tableau, move Aces to the foundations and build each suit up to the King, and only put Kings in empty columns. New to the rules? Our beginner’s guide to Solitaire covers them step by step.
Why Turn 3 Is So Much Harder
In Turn 1, every stock card becomes playable on every pass. In Turn 3, if you play nothing from the waste, you see exactly the same cards (every third one) on every pass, forever. The only thing that changes the cycle is playing a card from the waste pile. Every card you use shifts the cards behind it into a new position.
That’s the key idea of Turn 3: the stock is a puzzle in its own right, and the waste pile is how you solve it.
Turn 3 Strategy
Learn the stock on your first pass
On the first trip through the stock, note which cards are sitting on top of each group of three. Those are the cards you can reach. If a card you need is buried in the middle of a group, you’ll have to shift the order to get at it.
Use waste plays to shift the order
Playing a card from the waste moves every later card up by one position, so a card that was stuck in the middle of a group can come to the top on the next pass. Sometimes it’s worth making a waste play mainly to shift the order.
Don’t empty the waste too eagerly
The opposite also applies. If the current cycle already gives you access to the cards you need, an extra waste play can shift them out of reach. Look a pass ahead before you play.
Tableau first, stock second
Before turning more cards, make every useful tableau move, especially ones that flip face-down cards. The tableau is where information comes from, and new face-up cards change which stock cards you need.
Keep cards off the foundations until they’re safe
Low cards (Aces and 2s) should go up right away. With higher cards, check that you won’t need them on the tableau as a landing spot for a card coming out of the stock. In Turn 3, that landing spot might be the only way to reach the next card.
Use undo to test a pass
Because the stock order matters so much, undo is especially useful in Turn 3. Try a waste play, run through the stock to see what it changes, and rewind if it made things worse. Our 15 tips for winning at Solitaire cover more general strategy.
Turn 1 vs Turn 3
| Turn 1 | Turn 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards turned from stock | 1 | 3 |
| Stock cards reachable per pass | All of them | Every third card |
| What changes the stock cycle | Nothing needed | Playing from the waste |
| Difficulty | Relaxed | Challenging |
| Best for | Learning, casual play | Experienced players |
A note on our deals: new games on Solitaire Wave are chosen from deals that we’ve checked can be won in Turn 1. In Turn 3 some of those same deals can’t be finished, which is part of the challenge. If you want a guaranteed-winnable game, switch to Turn 1.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Turn 3 Solitaire?
Turn 3 (also called Draw 3) is the classic Klondike rule where you turn three cards from the stock at once and can only play the top one. The cards underneath become playable only after the top card is used.
Is Turn 3 Solitaire harder than Turn 1?
Yes, much harder. In Turn 1 you can reach every stock card on every pass. In Turn 3 you can only reach every third card, and the order only shifts when you play from the waste pile.
How many times can I go through the deck in Turn 3?
As many as you like. Some traditional rule sets allow only three passes; to play that way, just stop after your third pass.
More Ways to Play
- Klondike Solitaire (Turn 1): the relaxed version with winnable deals
- Daily Solitaire Challenge: a new deal every day
- FreeCell: pure strategy with every card visible
- Is Solitaire Luck or Skill?: what the math says