Relaxed Klondike keeps everything you love about classic solitaire and removes one of its most frustrating constraints: the King-only empty column rule. In this variant, any face-up card can be placed on an empty tableau column—giving you far more flexibility to unblock stuck positions and find creative paths to victory.
In standard Klondike, if all your tableau columns are occupied and you clear one, only a King can go in that empty spot. If you have no playable King, the empty column sits idle—a wasted resource. In Relaxed Klondike, you can place any face-up card into that empty column. A 7 of hearts blocking a 6 of spades? Move the 7 temporarily to the empty column, free the 6, and reorganize at will.
Relaxed mode is ideal when you want a satisfying, completable game without the frustration of being locked out by the King rule. It's particularly good for:
Solitaire Scramble's Relaxed Klondike delivers a genuinely relaxed experience: no forced ads, no timers breathing down your neck, unlimited undo, and helpful hints when you need them. The game looks beautiful on desktop and mobile, with smooth card animations that make every move satisfying.
The relaxed empty-column rule is one of the oldest solitaire house rules. Card game handbooks from the early 20th century often listed it as an optional variation for players who found the standard game too difficult or wanted a more leisurely experience.
Today, "relaxed" variants appear in virtually every digital solitaire collection. They're not "cheating"—they're a legitimate way to play that prioritizes enjoyment over restriction. The relaxed rules test a different kind of skill: with more options available, can you identify the optimal sequence of moves?
For players who find standard Klondike too punishing when empty columns appear, Relaxed mode transforms those moments from dead ends into opportunities.
Race against friends in real-time or send asynchronous challenges. Same shuffled deck, fastest solver wins. Create a room and share the code to start competing!
Love Relaxed Klondike? Try these other solitaire variants on Solitaire Scramble:
Standard Draw 1 with King-only empty column rule. Classic solitaire experience.
The toughest Klondike variant. Draw 3 cards at once, only the top is playable.
All cards face-up, 4 free cells. Very high win rate with optimal play.
Easiest Spider variant. All Spades, straightforward sequence building.
In standard Klondike, only a King can be moved to an empty tableau column. In Relaxed mode, any face-up card can fill an empty column. This gives you much more freedom to maneuver cards and clear blockages.
Yes. The relaxed empty-column rule is a significant advantage because empty columns are valuable maneuvering space. Being able to place any card there—not just a King—means you can unblock stuck situations that would be dead ends in standard Klondike.
Only fill empty columns when it directly helps you unblock a key card or build a useful sequence. An empty column is one of your most powerful resources—treat it like a free cell and use it deliberately rather than filling it immediately.
Yes, any face-up card can be placed on an empty tableau column. You can place a 5, a 7, or any card that helps your strategy. You still need to build descending, alternating-color sequences from that card down.
Absolutely. Relaxed Klondike is a great introduction to solitaire strategy because it removes one of the most frustrating constraints—being stuck with an empty column and no King to fill it. It lets you focus on learning the core building mechanics.
Unlimited times. There is no pass limit on Solitaire Scramble. Cycle through the stock as many times as needed to find your winning line.
Relaxed Klondike has a higher win rate than standard Draw 1—roughly 50-70% with good play, depending on the specific shuffle. The relaxed column rule opens up many more solvable lines.