How Draw 3 works
The layout is the Klondike you know: seven piles built down in alternating colours, four foundations to fill from Ace to King, and 24 cards left in the stock. The difference is the stock. Each tap turns three cards onto the waste, fanned so you can see them, and only the top one can be played. Play it and the card beneath becomes free; leave it and the next tap covers all three.
Count it through and you see why Draw 3 is harder. If you play nothing from the waste, one trip through the stock shows you only every third card: the 3rd, the 6th and so on, eight cards out of 24. The other sixteen stay out of reach. Play a single card and every group after it shifts by one, so the next pass brings up a different eight. Draw 3 is less about luck than about choosing which card to take, and when.
| Draw 1 | Draw 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards per tap | One | Three, only the top playable |
| Turning the waste over | Costs 100 points | Free, as often as you like |
| Daily deal | Yes, one a day | Not daily: your own deals |
Draw 3 in AllFun Solitaire
Choose Draw 3 on the home screen and every new game turns three cards. You can go through the stock as many times as you need, and in Draw 3 turning the waste back over never costs points. Set Deals to Winnable and our solver plays each deal with the Draw 3 rule before you get it, so a lost game always had a better line. Undo takes back any move, including a turn of the stock. Your statistics and best times are kept apart from Draw 1, and your first Draw 3 win unlocks the Crown card back. The daily deal is always Draw 1, the same for everyone.
Strategy for Draw 3
- Look at the whole stock first. Turn through it once before committing. Passes are free, and knowing where the Aces and low cards sit tells you which waste plays matter.
- Take a waste card to change the cycle. A card you can play from the waste is also a tool: playing it moves every later group by one and brings buried cards to the top.
- Turn the tableau before the stock. Every face-down card in the seven piles is worth more than one in the stock, which comes round again anyway.
- Keep the foundations even. Sending a black 7 up too early can leave a red 6 with nowhere to go. Hold a card in the piles while it may still be needed.
- Save empty piles for Kings. Only a King can fill an empty pile, so empty one when a King is ready to move into it and open the cards behind.
Draw 1 or Draw 3?
If you are new to Klondike, start with Draw 1: every card in the stock is in reach on each pass. Switch to Draw 3 when Draw 1 wins come easily and you want each pass to count. The complete rules and scoring are in our Klondike solitaire guide, and four more solitaires, Spider, FreeCell, TriPeaks and Pyramid, are on our card games page.
Questions
Is Draw 3 solitaire harder than Draw 1?
Yes. Fewer cards in the stock are in reach on each pass, so more deals are lost. Winnable deals make sure there is always a way to win.
How many times can I go through the stock?
As many as you like. In Draw 3 a new pass costs no points.
Is "turn 3" solitaire the same game?
Yes. Turn 3, Draw 3 and three-card Klondike all mean turning three cards from the stock at a time.
Can I play the daily deal in Draw 3?
No. The daily deal is one Draw 1 deal a day for everyone; Draw 3 is for your own deals.
Ready for a game? AllFun Solitaire is free and opens right here in your browser.
Play Klondike · Draw 3Opens with Draw 3 chosen