Yukon looks like Klondike Solitaire at first glance, but it plays very differently. There is no deck to draw from. Every card is on the table from the first move, and you can pick up whole stacks of cards even when they are out of order. That one rule turns Yukon into a game of digging and planning rather than waiting for the right card to turn up.
Play it here free in your browser, on a computer or a phone, with no download and no sign-up. You get unlimited undo, hints, a timer, a move counter and saved statistics.
How to Play Yukon Solitaire
Setup. One 52-card deck is dealt into seven columns. The first column holds a single face-up card. Columns two through seven hold one, two, three, four, five and six face-down cards, each topped with five face-up cards. That makes 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 cards from left to right. There is no stock and no waste pile.
Goal. Build all four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. When all 52 cards are on the foundations, you win.
Moves.
- Cards on the tableau build down in alternating colors. A red 6 goes on a black 7.
- You can move any face-up card together with all the cards on top of it. The cards riding along do not have to be in sequence. Only the card you pick up has to fit the target.
- Only a King, with whatever is on top of it, can go into an empty column.
- When a face-down card is uncovered, it turns over on its own.
- Cards go up to the foundations automatically when it is safe: Aces and 2s always, and other cards once both cards of the opposite color one rank lower are already up.
Controls. Drag a card, or tap it to send it to the best legal spot. If you turn tap-to-move off in Settings, a double-tap sends a card to a foundation. Undo and Redo are unlimited, Restart replays the same deal, and Hint suggests a useful move (or says it found none). Shortcuts: Ctrl or Cmd+Z to undo, Ctrl+Y to redo, H for a hint, N for a new game. Settings also cover the card back and sound.
The toolbar shows the timer, move counter and deal number. Add ?deal=NUMBER to the page address to replay a deal.
Your statistics (games won, win rate, streaks, best time) and any unfinished game are saved in this browser.
Yukon Strategy Tips
- Start with the deepest column. Column seven hides six face-down cards. Put your early moves into uncovering them.
- Use big messy stacks as shovels. If a black 9 sits five cards deep in a column and a red 10 is open elsewhere, move the 9 and everything above it. The order of the cards riding on top does not matter. This is the fastest way to reach a buried Ace.
- Do not rush a King into an empty column. An empty column only accepts Kings, so it is precious. Move a King there when doing so flips a face-down card or frees a low card you need. Moving a King just to tidy up wastes the space.
- Pick the right King. If two Kings could fill a space, choose the one sitting on top of face-down cards. Moving it uncovers something; the other choice only shuffles cards around.
- Watch both cards of a color pair. If you need a spot for a red 8, look at where both black 9s are. If one is buried under a pile you cannot move yet, plan around the other.
- Use undo to explore. Yukon rewards testing. Try a line of three or four moves, and if it leads nowhere, back up and try another.
Yukon and Its Relatives
Yukon is an old patience game closely related to Klondike. It keeps the seven-column shape and the alternating-color building, and swaps the stock for extra face-up cards on the table. Its cousin, Russian Solitaire, builds by suit instead of by color. If you enjoy moving unordered stacks, try Scorpion Solitaire, which uses the same idea with same-suit building. For a game where every card is visible and you move one card at a time, try FreeCell, or test yourself with Spider Solitaire and its long same-suit runs.
Yukon Solitaire FAQ
How is Yukon different from Klondike?
Both games build down in alternating colors and send cards up to the foundations by suit. Yukon has no stock or waste. All 52 cards are dealt to the table at the start, and you may move any face-up card together with everything on top of it, even if those cards are not in order.
Can I move a group of cards that is not in sequence?
Yes. That is the heart of Yukon. Pick any face-up card and the whole stack above it comes along. Only the card you pick has to fit where it lands: one rank lower and the opposite color.
What can go into an empty column?
Only a King, along with whatever cards are sitting on top of it.
Is Yukon free to play here?
Yes. It is free, with no download and no sign-up, in desktop and phone browsers. A game in progress is saved for when you come back.
Do cards go to the foundations by themselves?
Yes, when it is safe. Aces and 2s always go up on their own. Higher cards go up once both cards of the opposite color one rank lower are already on the foundations, so cards you may still need for building stay on the table. You can always send a card up yourself, too.
Can I replay the same deal?
Yes. Restart replays the current deal from the beginning. The deal number is shown in the toolbar, and adding ?deal=NUMBER to the page address opens that exact deal again.
More solitaire games
- Klondike Solitaire The classic. Build four suits from Ace to King. Draw 1 or Draw 3, winnable deals.
- Spider Solitaire Two decks, ten columns. Clear runs from King down to Ace. 1, 2 or 4 suits.
- FreeCell Every card face up. Four free cells. Nearly every deal can be won.
- Pyramid Solitaire Pair cards that add up to 13 and clear the pyramid. Kings go alone. 1, 3 or unlimited passes.
- TriPeaks Solitaire Clear three peaks with cards one higher or lower. Long runs build a streak score.
- Golf Solitaire Seven columns, one waste pile. Play one rank up or down and finish with no cards left.
- Scorpion Solitaire Build same-suit runs from King to Ace. Move any face-up stack, one small deal.
- Forty Thieves Two decks, ten columns, one card at a time, one pass through the stock.
- Canfield Solitaire Empty the 13-card reserve. Foundations start at a random rank and wrap King to Ace.
- Baker’s Dozen Thirteen open columns, Kings tucked underneath. Build down in any suit, one card at a time.
- Beleaguered Castle The Aces start on the foundations. Eight open rows, single-card moves, no free cells.
- Eight Off FreeCell’s roomier cousin: eight free cells, same-suit building, Kings only in empty columns.
- La Belle Lucie Eighteen fans of cards, same-suit building and two reshuffles. Play it classic or with the merci.
- Accordion Solitaire Squeeze a row of 52 cards into one pile by matching suit or rank, one or three spaces to the left.
- All games