Rules for Thumb and Pouch

Family: Klondike
Categories: Popular
Variants: Klondike Familiar, Klondike Easy, Klondike Strict, Double Klondike,Gargantua
Also Known As:

Thumb and Pouch is a variant of the popular Klondike. Like Klondike Strict, you get only one trip through the deck; but the rules for building and moving cards in the foundations are more forgiving. With good strategy you will win most of your games, and if you use the Undo command freely, it might be possible to win nearly all of them.

Layout

There are four foundations, which are initially empty. There are seven tableau piles, fanned down. The first tableau starts with one card, the second with two cards, and so on to the seventh, which starts with seven cards. The top card of each tableau is face up and the rest are face down. The remaining cards are kept face down in the hand.

Play

Tableaus build down, by not following suit: that is, a six of Spades can go on any seven except for the seven of Spades. The top card of the wastepile and tableaus, and full builds from the tableaus, may be built onto the tableaus. Partial builds (except for the single top card) may not be moved. Any available card or build may be played to an empty tableau.

Foundations build up in suit. Top cards of tableaus and wastepile are available for building onto the foundations. Only an Ace may be played to an empty foundation.

Dealing

You may deal at any time by taking one card from the hand and turning it face up onto the wastepile. There are no redeals: when the hand is empty, dealing is no longer allowed.

Goal

The goal is to move all the cards onto the foundations.

Tips

Don’t worry too much about building the foundations evenly. It’s more important to reveal face-down cards and to keep low cards from being buried in the discard pile.
Empty tableau piles are useful. You can play any available card or build there, so you don’t have to worry about moving your Kings. You can fill empty tableaus from the discard pile; and if you are lucky, you can do so without giving up the empty pile. For example, you may be able to put a Jack in an empty pile, then move a 10-build to it that has no face-down cards under it, which leaves the 10-build’s original pile empty.
You can also fill empty piles with cards from short tableaus, in the hopes that you can empty the short tableau pile in the process. Sometimes you can’t and it’s a shame to lose the useful empty space, but it’s often worth the gamble.
The ability to move the top cards among the tableaus is very useful. Move a 5 from one 6 to another 6, and the exposed 6 may be able to go to the foundations. Or if it’s a 7 that you want to reach, perhaps you can move the 5 to an empty tableau, then the 6 to another 7, then the 5 back onto the 6. You’ve exposed the 7 you needed, and you still have an empty tableau!