Klondike (draw 1), deal #3

Deal #3 is among the hardest deals in this series. Our solver won it in a line of 129 moves, so it can certainly be won.

Notes on this deal

• One Ace is buried four or more cards deep: column 7 holds it under 5 cards. Dig there early.
• A King already sits at the head of a column, so that column never needs emptying.
• This deal punishes autopilot. A test play of the obvious moves gets just 8 of 52 cards home before it is stuck.
• Only one useful move is open at the start, so the opening plays itself; the thinking starts after it.
• The solver's line turns the stock 80 times.
• At one point the solver moves a run of 11 cards in one go.

Stuck? The solver's first moves

These are the first moves of the solver's winning line, with automatic moves to the foundations switched on.

#	Card	From	To
1	Turn the stock 10 times
2	3♦	waste	4♠, column 3
3	2♠	column 5	3♦, column 3
4	Turn the stock 12 times
5	6♣	waste	7♦, column 1
6	Turn the stock

Klondike in a nutshell

Build four foundations by suit from Ace to King. In the seven columns build down in alternating colours, move ordered runs together and fill empty columns only with Kings. Turn the stock as often as you like.

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