# How to Play Harp Solitaire

Harp Solitaire is a variation of [Double Klondike](https://solitaired.com/double-klondike) with 3 passes through the stock pile.

## How to Play

### Objective

Your goal is to move all cards to the 8 foundation piles by suit, from Ace to King, in ascending order. You do this by moving and organizing cards from the stock pile and tableau.

### The Setup and Play Area

**Foundation piles:** These are the 8 piles where you aim to move playable cards in order from Ace to King by suit. Successfully placing all 104 cards in the foundation wins the game.

**Tableau piles:** This area consists of 9 columns, with the first column containing one card and each subsequent column containing one additional card. Each card starts face down, except the last card in each column, which is face-up. In total, there are 45 cards in the tableau.

**Stock pile:** The rest of the cards, or 59 total, go into the stock pile. You only get 4 passes through the stock pile.

**Waste pile:** Cards are moved one at a time from the stock pile to the waste pile. The top card of the waste pile can be moved to either the foundation or the tableau if it is a legal move.

![Harp Solitaire setup](https://defbnszqe1hwm.cloudfront.net/images/Harp-Solitaire-setup.png) 

### Available moves

* **Foundations must be built in ascending order by suit.** For example, a foundation pile will start with an Ace of Spades, followed by a 2 of Spades and so on until it ends with a King of Spades.
* **Tableau cards can be moved by sequencing them in descending order, alternating between red and black.** For example, you can move a 9 of Clubs on top of a 10 of Hearts in another tableau column.
* **The top card of each tableau column can be moved to the foundation.**
* **You cannot move a group of sequenced cards, unless the sequence begins with a King.** This means the group of cards can be moved to an empty tableau column.
* **The top card of the waste pile can be played into the tableau or foundation.** You dispense cards from the stock pile into the waste pile.
* **Only Kings can move into empty tableau columns.**

## Strategy

* **Reveal face-down cards early.** Aim to reveal as many face-down cards as possible. This allows you to see what cards you’ve got and what moves you can make.
* **Move aces to the foundations as soon as they’re available.** This will clear the card from the tableau, enabling you to build more.
* **Try to build the foundations evenly.** If one foundation is built immediately in the game, you now have fewer cards of that color to help you sequence.
* **Try to empty the tableau columns quickly.** This allows you to move Kings to these empty columns and free up cards to help you sequence.
* **Only empty a tableau once you have a king to fill the slot**. It’s best to empty a tableau once you know you have a king. Otherwise, you may block other potential moves.
* **Try to reveal cards in the larger tableau columns first.** Critical cards may be placed behind numerous cards in these columns. Prioritize revealing them.
* **If you get stuck, use the undo button**. You may not always make the right moves, and you may need to reverse some to win the game.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What are the odds of winning?

When looking at 187 random games played, 10 were won, making the win rate 5.35%. In comparison, Double Klondike has a win rate of 54.50%. This suggests that the limited pass-throughs of Harp Solitaire make the game considerably more difficult than Double Klondike.

### What are similar games to try?

[Klondike](https://solitaired.com/klondike-solitaire) or [Triple Klondike](https://solitaired.com/triple-klondike), [Double Klondike](https://solitaired.com/double-klondike), [Big Harp](https://solitaired.com/bigharp), and [Batsford Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/batsford) all have similar rules.

### What are other popular Solitaire games?  

Be sure to check out these Solitaire games:

* [Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/)
* [Mahjong](https://solitaired.com/mahjong)
* [Spider Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/spider-solitaire)
* [FreeCell Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/freecell)
* [Crescent Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/crescent)
* [Yukon Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/yukon-solitaire)
* [TriPeaks Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/tripeaks-solitaire)
* [Pyramid Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/pyramid-solitaire)
* [Golf Solitaire](https://solitaired.com/golf)