Column one is the pressure point
Every stock draw adds one card to column one. If the arriving card cannot immediately slot into a valid sequence elsewhere on the board, it stays in column one and raises the pile. A column-one pile of ten or more cards is not automatically fatal — cards buried there can still be part of a valid sequence — but a pile that grows without any in-suit neighbors becomes increasingly hard to dismantle.
After a difficult arrival, check whether a tableau move can shift the top card elsewhere or open a useful gap before drawing again. The next stock card is hidden, so a plan that relies on one specific rank is fragile.
Sequences are the primary lever
Unlike games where only single cards move, Six by Six lets you pick up and relocate any valid in-suit descending sequence as a unit. A sequence of five cards in clubs moved onto a receptive target clears five positions at once and creates a new, longer sequence at the destination. Only the in-suit descending tail at the top of a pile can be moved as a group.
Before moving individual cards, scan for sequence-level opportunities. Two partial sequences of the same suit on different columns can often be consolidated into one long sequence, simultaneously freeing positions and extending reachable foundation candidates. Compare that benefit with the card that will be left on top of the source pile.
Empty columns are worth protecting
An empty column in Six by Six accepts any card or sequence without restriction. This gives you a staging area: temporarily park a long sequence in the empty column while you reorganize the cards underneath it, then move the sequence back or onward once the target is clear. Without at least one empty column, deep reorganizations become harder because there is nowhere to stage intermediate moves.
Once you clear a column, resist the urge to immediately fill it. An empty column is often more valuable as a staging area than as a home for a sequence that could instead be built elsewhere. Fill it when the move exposes another useful card or creates a route to a foundation.
Foundation timing and the hidden stock
Foundations build up in suit from Ace to King. Moving a card to a foundation removes it permanently, so it cannot be used as a sequence base later. Before moving a card up, check whether a lower card of the same suit needs to land on it in the tableau. This matters most when other access routes are blocked.
The stock is face-down, so you cannot see the order of arriving cards. This makes playing for a specific stock card risky. Instead, focus on building tableau positions that offer several ways to move the top card of column one after a draw.
When the stock is empty
Once the 16 stock cards have been dealt, the game becomes fully open: all 52 cards are visible, and the remaining challenge is purely a sequencing puzzle. At this point, pause and survey the board. Identify which foundations are closest to completion, trace which tableau cards are blocking the next needed rank for each suit, and plan a path that unblocks them without creating unsolvable tangles elsewhere.
A common late-game mistake is chasing the most advanced foundation and ignoring the others. All four foundations must reach King to win. If three foundations are at Queen but the fourth is stuck at 6, inspect which card is blocking the next rank of that suit before extending the other foundations.
When you are stuck
Six by Six has no redeal. If you have no legal moves and the stock is empty, the game is lost. However, “stuck” usually means “stuck without using undo” — undo can help you compare an earlier branch. Trace the card you needed and identify which move buried or released it.
The Klondike family guide explains hidden-card access and foundation timing. Six by Six differs because its tableau begins face-up, each stock draw lands on column one, building is in suit, and any card or movable run can enter an empty column.