Is Yukon Solitaire easier to win than Klondike?

Generally yes. Because every card is dealt to the tableau from the start and you can move any group of face-up cards regardless of order, most Yukon deals are winnable with careful play. Klondike, by contrast, hides cards in a stock pile and only lets you move properly ordered runs, so many of its deals cannot be solved at all.

What is the single most important Yukon strategy?

Prioritise turning over face-down cards. Yukon has no stock to draw from, so the hidden cards on the table are the only new cards you will ever get. Whenever you have a choice of moves, pick the one that exposes a face-down card. Moves that only shuffle visible cards around rarely make progress.

Should I always move Aces to the foundation right away?

Move Aces up promptly, since they can never help you in the tableau. But be more cautious with 2s, 3s, and 4s. Low cards make useful resting spots for other cards while you dig, so keep them in play if they are giving you somewhere to build. You can promote them to the foundations later once you no longer need them.

Why can I only put Kings in an empty column in Yukon?

That is the standard Yukon rule: an empty tableau column can only be filled by a King, or by a group of cards headed by a King. It keeps empty columns valuable and makes deciding which King to move there an important strategic choice. Try to pick a King that is covering face-down cards, so moving it also turns a hidden card over.

Yukon Solitaire strategy: how to win more often

Yukon is one of the most winnable solitaire games you can play, and you can play Yukon here whenever you like. Most deals can be solved with careful play, which means the difference between winning and losing is usually your choices, not your luck. That is good news: it means these habits genuinely pay off. If you need a refresher on how the game is laid out and how cards move, the Yukon Solitaire rules explain everything first. This article assumes you already know the basics and focuses on how to play them well.

The tips below are ordered roughly the way you should think during a game. Take them one at a time. There is no clock, so play at your own pace.

1. Uncover face-down cards before anything else

Yukon has no stock pile to draw from. Every card you will ever use is already on the table, and roughly half of them start face down. That single fact drives the whole game: a card you cannot see is a card you cannot plan around.

So make turning face-down cards your first priority on almost every turn. When you have a choice between two legal moves, pick the one that flips a hidden card. A move that only shuffles face-up cards around, without exposing anything new, usually gains you nothing. The columns with the most face-down cards (the ones on the right at the start) are where your hidden trouble lives, so keep chipping away at them.

2. Remember you can move any group, ordered or not

This is the rule that makes Yukon special, and beginners often forget to use it. You may pick up any face-up card together with every card sitting on top of it, even if that stack is a jumbled mess of ranks and colors. The only card that has to match is the one you are moving: it must land on a card one rank higher and of the opposite color.

For example, a black 6 with a random red 9 and a black 2 piled on it can move as a whole group onto any red 7. That means a face-down card buried under a chaotic pile is never truly stuck. Look at the bottom face-up card of each column and ask, “Can I move that card somewhere?” If yes, everything above it comes along for free, and a new card turns over.

3. Plan the whole move before you touch a card

Because you can shift large groups around so freely, it is easy to make a move that looks helpful and then discover you have buried a card you needed. Before you act, trace the move to its end. Ask: after this, which card gets exposed? Does it help me? Am I covering up an Ace, a low card, or a card I was about to send to a foundation?

A calm habit helps here. Look, decide, then move. In Yukon a hasty move can quietly trap a key card under a heap that is now hard to unpick.

4. Do not rush cards up to the foundations

It is tempting to send every Ace and 2 straight to the foundations the moment you see them. Resist the urge to clear the tableau too fast. Low cards, especially 2s, 3s, and 4s, are useful workers: they give you landing spots and let you tuck away cards while you dig for the ones you need.

Send a card to its foundation when it genuinely frees you up or when you are confident you no longer need it in the tableau. But if a red 4 is the only place your black 3 can rest, keep it in play a little longer. You can always promote it later. The foundations are the finish line, not a place to park cards early.

5. Treat empty columns as valuable, and fill them carefully

An empty column is one of the strongest tools in Yukon, because you can drop a King there, and only a King (or a group headed by a King) may fill an empty space. A well-placed King unlocks a new working column and often lets you rescue cards that were stuck.

So when a column empties, pause. Which King do you want there? Ideally choose a King that is sitting on top of face-down cards, so moving it turns a card over as a bonus. Filling an empty column with the wrong King, or filling it just because you can, can waste the space. And be aware that once every column has cards again, you have lost that flexibility until another one clears.

6. Work on several columns at once

Yukon rewards keeping your options open. Rather than pouring all your effort into emptying one column, spread your attention. Try to keep every column reachable, meaning each has a face-up card that could accept or give up a group. When one column gets completely blocked, your choices shrink fast.

If you notice a column building into a long, tidy descending run of alternating colors, that is fine, but do not chase tidiness for its own sake. A slightly messier board that keeps more cards movable is usually stronger than a neat one that has painted you into a corner.

7. Use undo to think, not just to fix mistakes

Yukon is a game of consequences, and even strong players cannot always see them in advance. The undo button is a legitimate planning tool. When a position looks tangled, try a line of play, watch what it exposes, and step back if it disappoints. Playing a move out and reversing it is often the clearest way to see whether it truly helps. There is no shame in it and no penalty for taking your time.

The quiet losing moves

Most lost Yukon games are not lost to a single dramatic blunder. They slip away through small, quiet mistakes that feel harmless at the time. Watch for these:

Making moves that rearrange face-up cards without ever turning a hidden card over.
Rushing Aces and low cards to the foundations, then having nowhere to place the cards that follow.
Burying a needed card under a large group because you moved before you traced the result.
Filling an empty column with a King that leaves face-down cards trapped elsewhere, wasting the space.
Focusing on one column until the rest of the board seizes up.

Avoid those five, keep uncovering hidden cards, and your win rate will climb steadily. Yukon gives you almost everything you need from the start. The skill is simply in the order you reveal it.

Klondike Solitaire — the classic that Yukon is based on, with a stock pile and stricter group moves.
Russian Solitaire — a tougher cousin of Yukon where cards build down by suit instead of alternating colors.

Play Yukon →