# Draw 1 or Draw 3: what really changes in Klondike? Klondike on Card Lounge comes in two modes, Draw 1 and Draw 3, with identical tableau rules. So what actually changes when you switch? In short: which stock cards you can reach, and how much the order of the stock matters. ## The stock rules - In Draw 1, each draw turns one card from the stock to the waste. - In Draw 3, each draw turns three cards, or the last one or two if fewer remain. Only the top waste card can be played. - When the stock is empty, Draw turns the whole waste back over to make a new stock. This is a recycle, and recycles are unlimited. - Every draw and every recycle counts as a move. Turning the waste over puts the first card you drew back on top, so a recycle keeps the order. If you play nothing from the waste, the next pass deals out exactly the same cards in exactly the same groups. ## Draw 1: every card, every pass In Draw 1, each stock card becomes the top waste card on every pass. Nothing is out of reach; looking for a card only costs moves. ## Draw 3: every third card Number the stock cards 1, 2, 3 and so on from the top. The first draw takes cards 1, 2 and 3, leaving card 3 on top of the waste. The second draw leaves card 6 on top, the third leaves card 9, and so on. With nothing played, a pass of n cards shows positions 3, 6, 9 and so on, plus the very last card, because the final short group still ends with it. - 9 cards: positions 3, 6 and 9. - 8 cards: positions 3, 6 and 8. - A full 24-card stock: positions 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24, so 8 of the 24 cards, exactly a third. Playing a waste card changes this in two ways: 1. **At once.** The card beneath becomes the top card and can be played. Play card 6 and card 5 is available straight away; play card 5 as well and card 4 is next. 2. **On the next pass.** Every card that came after a removed card moves up one position, so the groups of three fall differently. ## Worked example: a nine-card stock Say the stock holds nine cards, top first: 4♣, J♥, 9♠, 2♦, 6♥, K♣, 8♦, 5♠, Q♥. The tableau has one empty column, and for this example none of the other cards has anywhere to go. **With no plays,** the first draw shows 9♠ (with 4♣ and J♥ underneath), the second K♣ and the third Q♥. After the recycle you get the same three cards again, however many times you go round. **Now play.** On the second draw, K♣ shows: move it into the empty column, which only a King may fill. The 6♥ underneath becomes the top card, but it has nowhere to go, so draw again: 8♦, 5♠ and Q♥, with Q♥ on top. Play Q♥ onto K♣, a red Queen on a black King. The 5♠ is now on top. The stock is empty, so the next Draw is a recycle. The new stock has seven cards: 4♣, J♥, 9♠, 2♦, 6♥, 8♦, 5♠. The groups are now 4♣ J♥ 9♠, then 2♦ 6♥ 8♦, then 5♠ on its own, so this pass shows 9♠, 8♦ and 5♠. The 8♦ was stuck in seventh place before; removing the K♣ in front of it moved it to sixth, a position that shows. And the J♥? It is still second, under the 9♠. The only way to reach it is to play the 9♠ when it shows (onto a red 10, say, if one appears), which uncovers the J♥ at once. ## Planning a recycle Before you turn the stock over in Draw 3, think about where the cards you need sit. - **A card just under a card that shows:** play the card on top of it and it comes up straight away. - **A card one or two places short of a position that shows:** play one or two cards that come before it in the stock. With nine cards in the stock, a card in eighth place never shows. Remove one card in front of it and it moves to seventh, still out of reach; remove two and it moves to sixth, which shows. - **Cards after the one you need:** playing them does not move it at all. - **No plays at all:** the next pass is identical. If a full cycle goes by with no card moving to the tableau or foundations, and no tableau or foundation move exists, the game declares "No moves left". ## Which mode should you play? Draw 1 is the place to learn Klondike, because the stock hides nothing; see [which Klondike move to make first](klondike-first-moves.html). Draw 3 adds a second puzzle: tracking where the cards you need sit in the stock, and choosing which waste cards to play to shift them. Each mode keeps its own statistics. ## Try it A Draw 3 stock holds ten cards and you play nothing. Which positions show on top? Now suppose you play the card at position 3 as soon as it shows, and nothing else. Which original positions show on top during the following pass? **Answer:** With no plays, positions 3, 6, 9 and 10, since the last card forms a group of its own. After removing card 3, nine cards remain in the order 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, so the next pass groups them as 1 2 4, then 5 6 7, then 8 9 10, and shows the cards from original positions 4, 7 and 10. Try both modes: [Klondike Draw 1](../play/klondike.html) and [Klondike Draw 3](../play/klondike-draw-three.html). The [how to play page](../how-to-play.html) has the full rules.