Solitaire Turn 3
Added 02/2026
Solitaire Turn 3: The Classic Test of Skill and Memory
By Martin Petroff
If standard "Draw 1" Klondike is a relaxing stroll through the park, Solitaire Turn 3 (often called Draw 3) is a strategic marathon. This is the traditional, arguably more authentic way to play the classic game. While the layout remains exactly the same, changing just one simple rule—how you draw from the stockpile—completely transforms the difficulty. In Turn 3, your win rate will absolutely drop, but the sheer satisfaction of finally clearing the board makes every victory feel incredibly earned. This variation demands sharp memory, deep planning, and a lot of patience.
How to Play
The setup for Turn 3 is identical to standard Klondike. You still build four Foundation piles from Ace to King by suit, and you still arrange your Tableau in seven columns with alternating colors in descending order. The entire game changes when you reach for the Stockpile.
The Setup: Follow the exact same Tableau setup as standard Klondike: 28 cards dealt across seven columns, with the remaining 24 cards forming your face-down Stockpile.
How to Play (The Turn 3 Mechanics):
The Draw: Instead of flipping one card from the Stockpile to the Waste pile, you must draw three cards at a time, placing them face up.
The Top Card Rule: You can only play the top, fully exposed card of the three you just drew. The two cards sitting underneath it are locked and out of play.
Unlocking Cards: If you successfully play the top card onto the Tableau or a Foundation pile, the card immediately beneath it becomes the new "top card" and is now unlocked and available to play.
Cycling the Deck: When you reach the end of the Stockpile, you flip the entire Waste pile over to form a new Stockpile and begin drawing in sets of three again.
The Strategic Shift: Because you are drawing in sets of three, the order of the cards remains static. If you cycle through the deck without making a single play, you will draw the exact same sets of three cards on your next pass, resulting in a dead end. You must carefully decide when to pull a card from the Waste pile, as removing just one card shifts the order of every subsequent three-card draw for your next pass through the deck!