Triple Solitaire Turn 3 is an exciting three-deck solitaire game you can play online. If you love classic Solitaire (a.k.a. Klondike) and want a bigger challenge – or simply more cards to play with – this variant “triples” the fun. As the name suggests, it uses three full decks of cards (156 cards in total) and follows a Turn 3 draw rule (meaning you draw three cards at a time from the stock pile). Despite the larger setup, the game’s rules will feel familiar to anyone who has played Solitaire before. In fact, Triple Solitaire is basically the classic game super-sized – more cards, more columns, and more opportunities for clever moves. The tone is friendly and casual, making it perfect for a relaxed yet engaging play session. In this post, we’ll explore the background of Solitaire and this unique variation, explain the rules and gameplay step-by-step, and share tips and tricks to boost your win rate in Triple Solitaire Turn 3. By the end, you’ll be ready to play solitaire online in this three-deck format and have a blast doing it!
Brief History of Solitaire and the Triple Solitaire Variation
Solitaire (often called Patience in Europe) has a rich history dating back to the late 18th century. It’s believed that solitary card games first appeared in Europe around the 1700s. The game gained popularity through the 19th century, especially in France and Britain, as a favored pastime that tested one’s patience (hence the name). The specific Klondike variant of Solitaire – the version most people simply know as “Solitaire” – likely emerged during the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada in the late 19th century. Fast forward to the digital age, and Solitaire’s popularity skyrocketed when Microsoft included it with Windows in 1990. This brought the game onto millions of computers, turning it into a household classic worldwide.
With Solitaire’s move to computers and online platforms, many new variations have been developed to keep things fresh. Double-deck and triple-deck versions of Klondike are among these modern twists. Triple Solitaire (three-deck Klondike) likely originated as a way for experienced players to enjoy a lengthier, more complex challenge once single-deck games became too routine. While not a traditional 19th-century game, Triple Solitaire found its home on online solitaire sites and apps, where shuffling multiple decks is as easy as one. Today, you can find Triple Solitaire Turn 3 on various gaming platforms – including a dedicated site we’ll mention later – allowing players to tackle this mega-Solitaire anytime. It’s a testament to how enduring and flexible Solitaire is: from a single deck on a tabletop centuries ago, to three-deck digital extravaganzas now!
Rules of Triple Solitaire Turn 3 (Three-Deck Klondike)
Triple Solitaire Turn 3 follows the core rules of classic Klondike Solitaire, with a few expansions to accommodate the extra cards. Essentially, it’s the same game scaled up: the tableau has more columns, the foundations have more piles, and the stock pile is larger. Here are the key rules and components specific to this 3-deck, draw-3 variation:
Example layout of Triple Solitaire Turn 3: The game is played with three standard 52-card decks shuffled together (156 cards total). The tableau (playing area) consists of 13 columns of cards, just as a single-deck Klondike has 7 columns (and a double-deck has around 10). The first column has 1 card, the second has 2 cards, the third has 3, and so on up to the thirteenth column with 13 cards, for a total of 91 cards laid out in the tableau. Only the top card of each column is face-up, while the cards beneath remain face-down until uncovered by gameplay. The goal is to move all cards to the foundation piles. In Triple Solitaire there are 12 foundation piles (since there are three of each suit to collect, you’ll build three separate Ace-to-King sequences for hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades). Any remaining cards after dealing the tableau (there will be 156 – 91 = 65 cards left) become the stock pile.
Foundation Piles: There are 12 foundations (three per suit). Each foundation pile starts with an Ace and must be built up in ascending order by suit (Ace, 2, 3, ... up to King). Ultimately, to win, all 156 cards need to end up on these foundations, forming 12 complete sequences from Ace through King.
Tableau Columns: The tableau has 13 columns where you will arrange cards in descending order, alternating colors (just like in regular Solitaire). For example, a black 7 can be placed on a red 8 in a tableau column. You can move cards around the tableau as single cards or in valid descending sequences. If a face-down card becomes exposed at the top of a column (because you moved the card above it), you get to flip that card face-up and it becomes available for play.
Empty Columns: If you clear a column (i.e., move all its cards elsewhere), that space becomes an empty tableau column. Only a King can be moved into an empty column (you can place a single King, or a group of cards starting with a King, into that space). This rule is crucial because with three decks, you’ll eventually have 12 Kings to place – finding or creating empty columns for them is part of the challenge.
Stock and Waste Piles (Turn 3 Draw): All the cards that are not dealt to the tableau (65 cards) sit in the stock pile face-down. When you can’t make any more immediate moves on the tableau, you draw from the stock. In a Turn 3 game, you draw three cards at a time from the stock and turn them face-up onto the waste pile. Only the top card of the waste pile is playable at any given time – you may move that card to a tableau column or to a foundation if it fits. If you play the top waste card, then the next card in the waste pile becomes the new top and is now playable. If none of the waste cards can be used, you can draw the next three cards from the stock. Keep doing this until the stock is depleted.
Recycling the Stock: What happens when you’ve gone through all the stock cards? In most online versions of Triple Solitaire Turn 3, you’re allowed to recycle the waste pile back into the stock and continue drawing, effectively giving unlimited “redeals.” (Some traditional rules might limit the number of times you can flip through the deck, but many modern games let you cycle indefinitely until you either win or are truly stuck.) This is good, because with so many cards, you’ll likely need multiple passes through the stock to find the right cards to play.
Objective: The game is won when all cards are moved to the foundation piles, sorted by suit from Ace to King. In Triple Solitaire Turn 3, that means you’ve successfully built 12 complete foundation sequences (three of each suit), using every card in those three decks. If you manage to do this, congratulations – you’ve beaten a monster-sized Solitaire! 🎉 If you run out of moves (and there are no cards left in the stock to draw, or nothing useful to do even after recycling the stock), then the game is over and you haven’t solved this deal.
Overall, Triple Solitaire Turn 3 plays just like classic Klondike, only on a grander scale. The addition of the Turn-3 draw rule makes it a bit more challenging than a Turn-1 (draw one) game, because some cards remain “buried” under the waste until you cycle through. But the three-deck format also provides more avenues to uncover and move cards – which, as we’ll see, can actually increase your chances of winning compared to single-deck solitaire.
How to Play Triple Solitaire Turn 3 (Step-by-Step)
Ready to dive into a game? Here’s a simple step-by-step guide on how to play Triple Solitaire Turn 3. Whether you’re playing with physical cards on a big table or more likely enjoying an online solitaire platform, the process is the same:
Setup – Deal the Cards: Start a new game. The three decks are shuffled together and dealt out into the 13 tableau columns as described above. In an online game, this happens automatically with a click of “New Game.” You’ll see 13 piles of cards fanned out, with only the top card of each pile face-up. The 12 foundation spots will be empty, waiting for Aces. The remaining cards form the stock pile (usually located at the top left of the screen/interface).
Scan for Immediate Moves: Before drawing from the stock, look at the tableau for any moves you can make right away. Can you move any face-up cards onto other cards? For example, if one column has a red 6 and another column’s top card is a black 7, you can move the 6 onto the 7. Do this for all available moves. Also, check for Aces or 2s that are already face-up; if an Ace is showing, move it to an empty foundation pile immediately (since foundations start with Ace). This will free up space and new cards. Likewise, if a “2” of that same suit is accessible (either on the tableau or waste later), you can place it on the Ace, and so on.
Flip Face-Down Cards: Whenever you remove the last face-up card from a tableau column (either by moving it to another column or to the foundation), you get to flip the now top face-down card in that column face-up. Do that immediately – turning over hidden cards is one of the keys to Solitaire success. In Triple Solitaire, there are a lot of face-down cards at the start (91 cards are dealt out, most are face-down except the 13 that started on top). So, each time you reveal a new card, you potentially unlock new moves. Take a moment to see if the flipped card (or cards it allows you to move) can be played somewhere.
Use the Stock – Draw 3 Cards: Once you’ve done all the moves you can with the initial layout, it’s time to use that big stock of 65 cards. Click on the stock pile (or if playing with physical cards, flip three cards off the top of the stock) to deal a turn of 3 cards onto the waste pile. Look at the top card of the waste – if it can be played (for example, it’s a red Queen and you have a black King open in the tableau, or it’s an Ace that can go straight to a foundation), go ahead and play it. After playing a waste card, the card underneath it in the waste pile becomes the new top card and might now be playable. If the top waste card doesn’t fit anywhere right now, you can choose not to play anything and instead draw three more cards from the stock (which will simply put a new set of three on top of any remaining waste cards). Keep in mind that you can’t directly play the second or third card in the waste stack until the cards above them are moved – so sometimes you’ll have to cycle through the stock multiple times to get to a useful card that was “stuck” underneath.
Strategize and Continue Moving Cards: As the game progresses, continue alternating between making moves on the tableau, moving cards to foundations, and drawing from the stock when you run out of moves. Always try to free up tableau columns completely whenever possible, because an empty column is very powerful – it can accept any King (with possibly a whole sequence on that King). For instance, if you uncover a King in the stock or tableau, and you have an empty column, move that King (and any cards layered on it) to the empty spot. This will open up its previous column for new moves and also eventually help you get all those Kings out of the way. Remember that only a King can fill an empty space, so don’t empty a column unless or until you have a King ready to occupy it; otherwise that empty space isn’t helping you yet.
Recycle the Stock if Needed: In Turn 3 solitaire, it’s common to go through the stock several times. If you reach the end of the stock pile and still have cards left in the waste that you couldn’t play, most online games will let you click the empty stock pile to redeal the waste back into a fresh stock (the cards will typically retain their order). This lets you cycle through the cards again to catch anything you might have missed or to take advantage of newly freed spaces on the tableau. Keep doing this until either all cards are moved to foundations (hooray, you win!) or no new moves can be made.
Winning the Game: Ultimately, keep building up those foundation piles whenever you get the chance. Always move Aces up as soon as they’re available, then 2s, 3s, and so on. You might find near the end of the game that the last few cards practically auto-complete – once most cards are revealed and sorted, finishing off the foundations is straightforward. You win when all 12 foundation piles are complete from Ace to King, using every card. At this point, sit back and enjoy the victory fanfare (many solitaire games will do a little animation with the cards – a well-earned celebration for solving the puzzle)!
Playing Triple Solitaire Turn 3 step-by-step like this is a great way to familiarize yourself with the flow. Initially, the game might feel a bit overwhelming – after all, there are cards everywhere. But take it one move at a time. After a few rounds, you’ll start recognizing patterns and developing your own favorite sequences of moves (for example, some players always like to clear a specific column first, or always chase aces early, etc.). In the next section, we’ll cover some general tips and tricks to help you make good decisions during play and increase your chances of winning this triple-deck card game.
Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Gameplay and Win Rate
Triple Solitaire Turn 3 can be challenging, but it’s also very rewarding. With so many cards, there’s a lot to keep track of – but that also means more opportunities to find useful moves. Here are some tips and tricks to boost your strategy and help you win more often:
Reveal face-down cards early: Focus on uncovering hidden cards in the tableau whenever you can. Every face-down card you flip adds to the pool of cards you can play, which increases your options. This might mean prioritizing moves that clear a pile or move a blockage so you can flip the next card. The sooner you expose those unknown cards, the sooner you might free up an Ace or a crucial card that can go to a foundation.
Move Aces to foundations as soon as possible: In a three-deck game, you have three Aces of each suit. The moment an Ace becomes available (face-up with no cards on top of it), move it up to its foundation pile. This creates an empty space (if it was in tableau) and also lets you start building that suit. Similarly, you’ll want to move the “2” of that suit up when you find it, and so on. Getting the low cards out of the tableau and into the foundation frees up room for maneuvering higher cards.
Build foundations evenly: A clever strategy in multi-deck solitaire is to spread out your progress among the foundation piles rather than immediately piling one suit all the way up. For example, if you have the opportunity to run one foundation up to Queen quickly, you might hold off a bit and instead build other suits to a similar level. Why? Because if one foundation is overly advanced, it means a lot of cards of that color have left the tableau, which can actually limit your options for stacking cards in alternating colors. Keeping the foundations advancing somewhat in parallel ensures you still have a good mix of red and black cards active in the tableau to play on each other.
Use empty columns wisely: Clearing a tableau column (removing all its cards) is great, but don’t leave an empty column idle for long. Ideally, you want to empty a column only when you have a King (and some cards on it) ready to drop into that space. An empty column is most useful when immediately filled – otherwise it’s not helping you until a King shows up. Since Triple Solitaire has multiple Kings of each suit, you will eventually need to clear at least a dozen columns over the course of the game to place all those Kings. Plan for this: when you see a King that can be moved, you might prioritize clearing a smaller pile to make room for it. Conversely, if you have an empty space and no King available yet, consider whether you should really empty another column, or if it’s better to leave some cards until that King is in hand. It’s a balancing act unique to triple-deck games with so many Kings.
Prioritize longer columns (big stacks): The tableau columns with the most face-down cards are hiding a lot of unknowns. It’s often wise to target the tallest piles for uncovering whenever feasible. For example, a column that originally had 13 cards (with 12 face-down) is a big prize once you start flipping those over, since there could be many needed cards buried in there. This might mean if you have a choice between freeing a card in a short column vs. a card in a long column, go for the long column first – it will likely yield more useful cards in the long run. Of course, balance this with the previous tip about emptying columns for Kings; sometimes clearing a short pile to place a King can then help you attack a bigger pile next. Always consider which move unlocks the most potential.
Keep track of the waste pile: In Turn 3 games, memory and timing become part of the skill. Pay attention to the order of cards being revealed from the stock. If you cycle through the stock and see, say, a crucial 5♥ appear as the second card of a three-card waste group, note that in your mind. You know it’ll show up as a playable top card on the next cycle (once the card above it is removed). Try to set yourself up to take advantage of that when it comes around. This might involve not playing certain cards immediately so that the waste order changes favorably on the next pass. With practice, you’ll get a sense for cycling the stock effectively – it’s a bit like solving a puzzle within the puzzle.
Use the Undo and Hint features (if playing digitally): One nice thing about playing solitaire online is you often have access to undo and hint buttons. Don’t be ashamed to use them! Undo can let you backtrack if you realize a move was unhelpful or if you want to try a different sequence of moves (for instance, maybe you prematurely moved a card to a foundation and now you wonder if keeping it in tableau for a bit would allow more plays – simply undo and test your theory). Hints can nudge you if you’re stuck, highlighting a move you might have overlooked. While you don’t want to rely on hints for every move (half the fun is finding them yourself), they can be a useful safety net and a learning tool, showing you patterns you might miss. Over time, you’ll need hints less and less.
Patience is key: Last but not least, remember that Triple Solitaire Turn 3 is a longer game than the one-deck version. Don’t rush. It’s not uncommon to spend a good amount of time on a single deal, especially as you consider different strategies. The game truly lives up to the “Patience” moniker – sometimes you have to cycle the stock several times, or hold off on a tempting move until the timing is right. Keep calm and enjoy the process of sorting out the cards. The satisfaction of finally winning is even greater after a long, thoughtful game!
By applying these tips, you’ll gradually improve your success rate in Triple Solitaire Turn 3. Speaking of success rate, that brings us to some interesting tidbits about this version of Solitaire.
Interesting Facts and Unique Aspects of Triple Solitaire Turn 3
Every Solitaire variant has its quirks, and Triple Solitaire Turn 3 is no exception. Here are some interesting facts and strategic notes unique to this three-deck, turn-3 version:
Higher Win Rate than Classic Solitaire: You might think more cards = harder game, but paradoxically, Triple Solitaire Turn 3 gives the player a better chance of winning than the standard single-deck game. With so many cards in play, there are usually more possible moves and ways to recover from dead-ends. In fact, one analysis found the win rate for triple-deck Turn 3 games to be around 44%, whereas one-deck Turn 3 Solitaire is only about 11% winnable. That’s a significant jump! In other words, while a Triple game may take longer, nearly half of random deals are solvable with good play, compared to only about one in ten of the single-deck deals. If you enjoy actually winning your solitaire games, the odds here are in your favor.
Longer Games = A Solitaire Marathon: Be prepared for games that last quite a bit longer than your quick 5-minute Klondike round. Triple Solitaire Turn 3 is often described as a marathon of sorts – with 156 cards, you’re in for an extended challenge that can test your endurance and concentration. Some players love this aspect because it feels like a more epic journey to victory. You’ll make many more moves, and the endgame (when foundations are filling up) is especially thrilling as you orchestrate the final sequences. The flip side is that a loss might sting more after a long effort – but each game is great practice, and the lengthy playtime is all part of the fun for true solitaire aficionados. This variant truly redefines your Solitaire experience by pushing your patience and strategy skills to the limit.
Managing Twelve Kings: In a single-deck game, you only have four Kings to worry about placing in empty columns. Here, you’ve got twelve Kings roaming around (three of each suit). Strategically, this means creating empty spaces for Kings is both more important and more frequent. As mentioned in the tips, deciding when and where to free up an empty column is a unique puzzle in triple-deck solitaire. Sometimes you’ll have multiple Kings vying for spots. A useful approach is to first place Kings of whatever color can play on the most cards. For example, if many piles start with black queens, getting a black King out onto an empty pile will let you move those queens under it. The abundance of Kings also means you might delay moving one if it’s not immediately useful – unlike in single-deck where any King is usually welcome to an empty space, here you might have a situation where placing one King could block another sequence, so you choose carefully. It adds an extra layer of decision-making that Solitaire veterans often find fascinating.
Duplicate Cards and More Suits in Play: In Triple Solitaire, since every card value and suit appears three times, you’ll encounter scenarios that never occur in a one-deck game. For instance, you might uncover two identical cards (like two 5♦ in different tableau piles). Obviously, you can only place one of them on a given 6♣, so what do you do with the other? Often, the answer is to wait until its “partner” card (the other 6♣ in one of the other decks) shows up elsewhere. The presence of duplicates means the order in which you build sequences can vary – you have a bit of flexibility. Additionally, having three of each suit means you can build three hearts sequences, three spades sequences, etc., in parallel. This abundance of suits actually creates more opportunities to make moves, as noted earlier: with more suits in play, there are more ways to build out sequences without immediately hitting a wall. Overall, the duplicates add complexity but also a certain forgiving quality – if one version of a needed card is buried, another might become available soon.
Variations in Dealing (Columns vs. Stock): There’s a minor point of variation worth noting: different implementations of Triple Solitaire may deal the cards slightly differently between the tableau and stock. The classic approach (and the one described in this post) deals 13 columns (1 through 13 cards) for a total of 91 cards on the tableau. Some versions of the game (particularly some online platforms) might deal a slightly different number of columns (for example, 10 columns) and put more cards in the stock to adjust difficulty. Either way, the total card count is the same and the gameplay principles remain identical. The difference just lies in how many cards you get to see at the start versus how many are hidden in the stock. If you try Triple Solitaire on various sites, don’t be surprised if one deals a bit more or fewer columns – it’s an intentional tweak. The standard is generally 13 columns for three decks, which gives you a lot of starting information (13 cards face-up), making the game slightly easier. Fewer columns (more cards in stock) makes it a bit harder since more cards are initially hidden. Either way, the experience is “triple” the scale of normal Solitaire!
Also Known As Triple Klondike: Just a trivia note – you might see this game referred to by other names. “Triple Solitaire Turn 3” is descriptive, but it’s essentially a form of Triple Klondike Solitaire. Klondike is the traditional name for this style of solitaire, and “triple” just means three decks. So if someone mentions Triple Klondike (or Double Klondike for two decks), it’s the same idea. Now, there are also other solitaire games that use three decks (for example, some Spider Solitaire variants use two or more decks), but in the context of Klondike-style, Triple Solitaire is king. No matter what you call it, the combination of three decks and three-card draws makes for one ultimate solitaire challenge – and a ton of fun once you get the hang of it.
With these facts and insights in mind, you can appreciate what makes Triple Solitaire Turn 3 special. It’s a game where patience meets plenty of possibilities. Each deal is a massive puzzle waiting to be solved, but you have lots of tools at your disposal to solve it. Now, why not put all this knowledge to use?
Play Triple Solitaire Turn 3 Online at solitaireX.io
Feeling inspired to play? 🎴 Triple Solitaire Turn 3 can be played at solitaireX.io – a website dedicated to solitaire games. It’s a perfect place to give this three-deck challenge a try. The game runs right in your web browser with no download needed, so you can jump in anytime for free. On solitaireX.io, you’ll find Triple Solitaire Turn 3 alongside other popular solitaire variants, complete with handy features like undo, hint, and even different difficulty settings or shuffles to suit your mood.
Head over to the site, start a new Triple Solitaire Turn 3 game, and see if you can apply the strategies from this guide. Can you manage those 156 cards and get all suits lined up in twelve neat piles? With practice, you’ll be stacking cards and clearing those huge tableaux like a pro. And remember, the more you play, the better you’ll recognize the patterns that lead to victory.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, get comfortable, and play solitaire online with a thrilling twist – Triple Solitaire Turn 3 is waiting for you at solitaireX.io. Good luck, have fun, and may your next game be a winning one! 🏆