What Should You Do When the Klondike Stock Is Empty?
When the Klondike stock is empty, use any playable waste card, then redeal the remaining waste without shuffling. Check the tableau before cycling again.
An empty stock does not by itself end a Klondike game. First inspect the top card of the waste and every exposed tableau card. If no useful play is available, turn the remaining waste back into the stock in its existing order and begin another pass.
The redeal does not shuffle the cards. In Draw 1, an unchanged pass normally exposes the same cards in the same order. In Draw 3, cards removed during the previous pass can change packet boundaries, so a second pass may expose a card that was previously covered.
The legal sequence at the end of a pass
Suppose the stock is empty and 7♣ is on top of the waste. If 8♦ is exposed in the tableau, move 7♣ onto 8♦ before redealing. That move exposes the next waste card and may create another play.
If the top waste card has no legal destination, check the tableau and foundations. A move such as 6♥ onto 7♠ may uncover a face-down card or create a place for the waste card. Only after those checks should you recycle the waste.
Draw 1 and Draw 3 behave differently
In Draw 1, recycling an unchanged waste simply repeats the same access order. If you pass through the entire stock without playing a card, a further identical pass will not create a new option.
In Draw 3, imagine the last packet contains 4♠ below A♥. A♥ is playable first; moving it to the heart foundation exposes 4♠. Removing one or two cards from the pass also changes how later cards group into threes after the redeal. The empty-stock moment is therefore a useful place to record what changed rather than click immediately.
When another pass will not help
A redeal is unproductive when the stock and waste return to exactly the same state, no tableau card has moved, no hidden card has been revealed, and no foundation move has created a new destination. At that point, cycling again only repeats the position.
That is different from merely having an empty stock. A legal tableau move, a playable waste card, or a changed Draw 3 alignment means the deal is still active.
PlaySoli sets no fixed redeal limit in Draw 1 or Draw 3. Stop because the complete position repeats, not because a pass allowance has expired.
A practical end-of-pass check
- Test the top waste card against the tableau and foundations.
- Look for a tableau move that exposes a card or creates the needed destination.
- Note which cards were removed during the pass, especially in Draw 3.
- Redeal without shuffling, then stop if the complete position repeats unchanged.
You can test both access patterns in Play Klondike Draw 1 and Play Klondike Draw 3.
Sources used
This guide distinguishes PlaySoli's current game rules from historical variants and marks disputed claims instead of presenting them as settled facts.