Strategy
Yukon Solitaire Strategy & Tips
A practical strategy guide for Yukon Solitaire: dig into the tallest hidden columns first, always take the move that reveals a face-down card, plan Kings for empty columns, and read what each move covers.
Play Yukon SolitaireThe core idea
Uncover first, plan Kings, foundations last
Almost every strong Yukon habit comes down to two ideas: turn over face-down cards as fast as you can, and think about what a move buries as much as what it uncovers. Because any face-up card can carry a stack with it, the board is more flexible than Klondike — and easier to tie in knots.
- 01
Dig the tallest hidden stacks first
The last column starts with six face-down cards, the second with one. The deep stacks hold most of the unknowns, so spend your early moves there while the board is still loose. Cards in the short columns are already almost reachable.
- 02
Always take the reveal
Given a choice between a move that flips a face-down card and one that does not, take the reveal. Each card you turn over is new information and a new option, and in Yukon the first few flips often unlock a chain of moves.
- 03
Plan Kings before emptying columns
Only a King can fill an empty column, and it brings its whole stack with it. Empty a column when a King is exposed and ready — or when emptying it flips something you cannot reach any other way.
- 04
Read what a move covers
Moving a stack is cheap, but it buries every card beneath the new position. Before dropping a group onto a column, check whether the bottom card there is one you need soon. If it is, look for another parent of the same colour.
- 05
Split runs on purpose
A face-up run does not have to stay together. Lifting the tail of a stack to get at a card below it — or to use a card in the middle as a landing spot — is the move that separates Yukon from Klondike.
- 06
Keep the foundations back
Aces and 2s go up immediately. After that, a card on a foundation is a card no longer available as a landing spot, so promote only when you are sure. You can bring cards back down, but each return costs a move.
- 07
Use undo to test lines
Undo here is unlimited and costs nothing. Try a move, look at what it opens up, and take it back if the board did not improve. Treat questionable moves as experiments.
By stage of the game
How the approach shifts as the game unfolds
The habits above apply from the deal to the last King. The emphasis moves — see the Yukon vs Klondike section of the guide for what makes the game distinct.
Early game
Scan the face-up cards for chains you can consolidate, then work the last three columns down. Do not worry about the foundations yet apart from Aces and 2s.
Middle game
This is where Kings and empty columns matter. Keep a column open when you can, and use it as a parking space to reorganise a stack — but only if a King can eventually fill it.
When you are stuck
If no move remains, the deal is lost — deal a new one. Getting stuck is normal in Yukon and is not a sign you played badly.
Ready to put it into practice? Read the full how-to-play guide or jump straight in.
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