Play Double Klondike Solitaire — Two Decks, Nine Columns, Eight Foundations
Double Klondike is Klondike played with two decks. Same rules; bigger table. Nine tableau columns, eight foundations, and a 59-card stock replace Klondike's seven, four, and 24. The game is longer (15–30 minutes) and the layout has space for sequences ten or more cards long. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.
How Do You Play Double Klondike?
Goal: build all eight foundations from Ace to King by suit. Two foundations per suit means each suit gets completed twice.
Setup
- Tableau: nine columns dealt 1, 2, 3 ... 9 cards. Only the top card of each column is face-up.
- Stock: 59 cards face-down in the corner.
- Waste: one card flipped at a time (Draw 1) or three at a time (Draw 3).
- Foundations: eight empty spaces, two per suit. Build up Ace to King.
Rules
- Build tableau columns down by alternating color. Black 9 on red 10. Red Queen on black King.
- Move properly ordered sequences as a single block when alternating colors hold throughout.
- Only Kings (or sequences starting with a King) can fill an empty tableau column.
- Foundations build up by suit, Ace to King. Each suit completes twice.
- The stock recycles unlimited times in our version.
How Does Double Klondike Differ From Klondike?
Same rules, different scale. The bigger board changes which moves matter.
| Aspect | Klondike | Double Klondike |
|---|---|---|
| Decks | 1 (52 cards) | 2 (104 cards) |
| Tableau columns | 7 | 9 |
| Foundations | 4 | 8 (two per suit) |
| Stock | 24 cards | 59 cards |
| Game length | 5–10 minutes | 15–30 minutes |
No study has measured how many Double Klondike deals can be won. For single-deck Klondike, a solver that sees every card can win about 90% of Draw 1 deals and about 82% of Draw 3 deals (Blake & Gent, 2026). Two extra columns and unlimited redeals give you more room to work through the doubled card count.
What's the Best Double Klondike Strategy?
- Don't rush both copies of a card to the foundation. One copy in the tableau is mobility. Sending both up early closes off sequences you'll need later.
- Expose face-down cards before drawing from stock. A face-down card you flip is information; a stock card you draw is the same card you'd have drawn anyway.
- Build longer sequences when you can. With two decks, sequences of 10+ cards are common. Long blocks let you re-arrange the board with a single move.
- Build foundations evenly. Letting one suit get five ranks ahead of another is rarely worth it; even progress keeps mid-rank cards available in the tableau.
About This Version
Choose Draw 1 or Draw 3 before you start. Unlimited undo, statistics by mode, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day. Install it as an app from your browser menu to play offline.
Other Solitaire Games to Try
- Klondike — the classic single-deck version
- Spider — two decks, ten columns, suit-based sequences
- FreeCell — every card visible, almost every deal winnable
- Yukon — seven columns, no stock, 31 of 52 cards face-up
- Forty Thieves — two decks, ten columns, much harder
Frequently asked questions
Is Double Klondike harder than regular Klondike?
It depends on the metric. There are twice as many cards to track, but also two extra tableau columns and unlimited redeals to compensate. No study has measured Double Klondike win rates. The clearest differences are game length and the number of decisions in each game.
How long does a typical Double Klondike game take?
Most games take 15 to 30 minutes — roughly two to three times Klondike. The longer playtime is the main reason some players prefer it: it's a more involved session per game rather than a quick break.
Can every Double Klondike game be won?
Nobody knows for sure. Double Klondike has no published solvability study. For single-deck Klondike, a solver that sees every card can win about 90% of Draw 1 deals and about 82% of Draw 3 deals (Blake & Gent, 2026), so some single-deck deals cannot be won at all.
Should I play Draw 1 or Draw 3?
Draw 1 if you're learning the game or want a more reliable session. Draw 3 if you want the traditional challenge. The deals are the same in both modes; Draw 3 just makes useful cards harder to reach because two of every three are buried mid-triplet.
Is Double Klondike the same as Spider?
No. Both use two decks, but the rules are different. Spider builds down regardless of suit and clears the board by completing King-to-Ace runs in a single suit. Double Klondike builds down by alternating color and clears the board by sending every card to one of eight foundations. Spider has no foundations to fill manually; Double Klondike has eight.