Rules for Yukon

Family: Yukon
Categories: Popular
Variants: Brisbane, Scorpion, Wasp, Double Scorpion, Russian Solitaire, Grandma Sawyer's Game
Also Known As:

Yukon is reminiscent of Klondike, but with much more scope for thought. A pleasant game for when you’d like to be rewarded for effort, without having to think too hard. (No, we don’t pay off on your winnings; the money scores are just for fun!) For a more difficult variant, try Russian Solitaire (which you may know as “Yukon (Strict)” in earlier versions of Solitaire Till Dawn.)

Layout

There are four foundations, which are initially empty. There are seven tableau piles, fanned down. The first tableau starts with no cards face-down, the second with one face-down, and so on to the seventh, which starts with six cards face-down. The remaining cards are laid out face-up, one on the first tableau and five each on the remaining tableaus. (This layout resembles Klondike, except that the “extra” cards are laid out face-up on six of the seven tableaus.)

Play

Top cards of tableaus are available for building onto the foundations, which build up following suit. Only an Ace may be played to an empty foundation.

All face-up cards in the tableaus are available for moving among the tableaus, which build down by alternating color. The moved card and the rest of its fan all move together, even if they are not all in sequence. Only Kings or fans whose bottom card is a King may be played to an empty tableau pile.

Goal

The goal is to move all the cards onto the foundations. Solitaire Till Dawn uses casino scoring by charging $52 a game, and paying back $5 for every card played to the foundations. (It’s not real money, so don’t worry!)

Tips

Build the foundations evenly, and look for ways to reveal the face-down cards. Make long builds in sequence to reduce the chaos. When all cards are face-up and all tableaus are in descending-rank order (whether or not they’re all full sequences) your win is guaranteed.