How to Play Smokey Solitaire

A Klondike variant with a key difference: you build tableau sequences in the same color instead of alternating colors. Three passes through the stock give you more opportunities than classic Klondike.

Setup

1. Four foundation piles start empty (will build up from Ace to King by suit)
2. Deal 1 card to the first tableau pile, 2 to the second, continuing to 7 cards in the seventh pile. Only the top card of each pile is face up
3. Remaining cards form the stock; click to deal cards to the waste pile one at a time

How to play

• Move cards to the foundations by building sequences from Ace up through King in the same suit. Cards move to the foundations automatically once no other card could be built on them (you can change this in Settings to always send cards automatically or turn it off)
• In the tableau, build downward in the same color (for example, a red 6 onto a red 7, or a black 6 onto a black 7). You can also move a group of cards together, but only when every card in that group is the same suit in sequence (a stricter rule than the same-color rule for placing single cards)
• Only a King can be placed into an empty tableau pile
• Draw from the stock by clicking it, one card at a time. When the stock is empty, click it again to turn the waste back into a new stock—you get three passes through the deck in total

How to win

Objective: Move all 52 cards to the four foundation piles

You win when all four foundation piles are complete (Ace through King in each suit). The game is lost if you exhaust all three passes and no more moves are possible.

Tips

• Same-color building is stricter than alternating-color building, so plan ahead
• The three passes give you a second chance—look ahead at waste cards and plan your tableau moves to unblock them
• Expose face-down cards aggressively to create options in the tableau

Play Smokey free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Smokey alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the Klondike family:

• Trigon — This Klondike relative asks you to build tableau runs in a single suit instead of alternating colors, but makes up for the tighter rule by letting you turn the waste over and deal through it as many times as you need.
• Whitehorse — A streamlined Klondike variation with a smaller tableau that makes the game more accessible.
• Klondike — The classic solitaire played worldwide.
• Klondike (One Card) — A variation of Klondike where you draw one card at a time from the stock instead of three, making the game significantly harder but more strategic.