Whitehead gives you complete information but a uniquely restrictive building rule.
All 52 cards are face-up from the first move, so the information problem is solved. The strategic problem is the same-color build rule: sequences form easily, but only same-suit sequences can move as a group. Every sequence you build will eventually need to be same-suit to move efficiently — and building same-suit runs requires restraint that the permissive same-color rule makes tempting to ignore.
Last updated: May 2026
History and background
Whitehead is a variant of Klondike attributed to the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, though documentary evidence for the attribution is limited. Whether the connection is genuine or apocryphal, the game is a recognizable departure from standard Klondike: it deals all cards face-up from the start and replaces the alternating-colour build rule with a same-colour rule (red on red, black on black).
The same-colour rule produces twice as many valid tableau placements for any given card compared to alternating-colour games, which makes the board feel unusually fluid. The countervailing constraint — that sequences move as a group only when the entire sequence is the same suit — means the wide-open same-colour building quickly produces sequences that are stuck in place and must be broken up card by card. The game’s difficulty emerges entirely from this tension.
How the game is set up
One 52-card deck is used. All cards are dealt face-up from the start.
- Tableau. All 52 cards are dealt face-up into seven Klondike-style columns (columns of 1 through 7 cards). Every card is visible from move one. The top card of each column is available to move.
- Building rule. Tableau builds downward by rank in the same colour: red on red (hearts on diamonds or diamonds on hearts) and black on black (spades on clubs or clubs on spades). Any card one rank lower of the same colour may be placed on a tableau top.
- Group moves. A sequence of two or more cards moves as a unit only if every card in the sequence is the same suit. A same-colour mixed-suit sequence must be moved one card at a time regardless of its length.
- Foundations. Build from Ace to King by suit. Send Aces to foundations as they reach the top of their column.
- Empty columns. Accept Kings only, identical to Klondike.
- Stock and waste. Cards not dealt to the tableau form the stock. Deal one at a time to a waste pile. The waste pile recycles once.
The same-colour / same-suit tension
Same-colour building is more permissive than alternating-colour building. A black 8 can go on either black 9 in the tableau; in Klondike it would need a red 9. This permissiveness makes Whitehead feel fluid and easy to construct sequences in the early game.
The trap: building a long red-on-red sequence that mixes hearts and diamonds feels like progress but creates a sequence that cannot move as a unit. To relocate it, each card must be moved individually, requiring a legal destination for every card in the sequence. A seven-card mixed-suit run locked in one column can consume the rest of the game to untangle.
Same-suit sequences, by contrast, move freely as a group. A five-card all-hearts run can leap to any valid black 6-headed column top in one move. Cultivating same-suit sequences is the key strategic investment in Whitehead, even though the same-colour rule never forces you to.
Whenever you have a choice between two same-colour placements, prefer the one that keeps the sequence same-suit. A same-suit sequence is worth several future moves of effort; a mixed-suit sequence of the same length is worth almost none as a movable unit.
Strategic priorities in order
- Scan for same-suit building opportunities before any same-colour ones.Every available move should be evaluated first for whether it builds or extends a same-suit sequence. Same-colour-only moves are second-order options, not first choices.
- Send Aces and low cards to foundations as soon as they reach the top.Because all cards are face-up, Aces that are buried are visible from move one. Plan the sequence of moves that brings each Ace to the top before making any other moves. The complete-information advantage is wasted if low-card excavation is deferred.
- Avoid extending mixed-suit sequences with more cards. Once a mixed-suit sequence exists, stop adding to it. Adding more cards to a stuck sequence makes it harder to dismantle later. Route incoming cards elsewhere whenever possible.
- Use Kings in empty columns to unlock same-suit building chains.An empty column accepts Kings only. Before moving a King into an empty column, identify which card beneath the King in its current column will be exposed, and whether that card begins or extends a same-suit sequence you need.
- Plan waste-pile plays that serve same-suit sequences. The waste pile delivers one card at a time. When a waste card slots into a same-suit sequence, play it there immediately. When it can only extend a mixed-suit sequence, hold it in the waste and work the tableau first.
Decision walkthroughs
Choosing between same-suit and same-colour placements
You have a 7♥ available. It can go on either an 8♦ (same colour, valid tableau move) or an 8♥ (same colour and same suit). Both tableau tops are available. The 8♥ sits atop a three-card all-hearts sequence; the 8♦ is isolated.
Place the 7♥ on the 8♥. The resulting sequence remains all-hearts and can now move as a group to any valid destination. Placing on the 8♦ creates a mixed-suit pair that must be broken apart card by card. The same-suit option is always preferred when both choices are otherwise equivalent.
Dismantling a mixed-suit sequence to reach a buried Ace
Column three has a five-card mixed-suit sequence sitting on top of an A♣ you need for the foundation. The five cards above it cannot move as a group. You have two available tableau tops and one empty column.
Identify destinations for the top four cards working from top to bottom. Use the empty column for the card that has no other home. Move the remaining cards to their tableau destinations one by one. Once the Ace is exposed, send it to the foundation. Then route the parked card out of the empty column. Dismantling from top to bottom is the only method; there are no shortcuts in a mixed-suit sequence.
A waste card that only fits a mixed-suit position
The top of the waste pile is a 6♠. The only available tableau 7 is a 7♣ (same colour, valid move). However, placing the 6♠ there creates a 6♠-7♣ mixed-suit pair that will be immovable as a group.
If the 6♠ has no foundation-ready path and no same-suit destination currently available, placing it on the 7♣ may be unavoidable. Do so with the awareness that this pair will need dismantling later. Mentally mark it as “work debt” and keep empty columns and other tops free for that work. Do not add further cards to the mixed-suit run once it has started.
Common mistakes
- Building long same-colour sequences without checking suit consistency.The same-colour rule creates a sense of progress as the tableau fills with long runs. A long mixed-suit run is not progress; it is deferred work. Count same-suit sequences as assets; count mixed-suit sequences as liabilities.
- Sending low cards to foundations prematurely when they are needed as maneuvering pieces. Because all cards are face-up, you can see exactly which low cards will be needed as stepping stones for sequence building. A 3 on a foundation cannot help route the 4-5-6 stack that needs to pass through it.
- Reaching for the stock before exhausting face-up tableau moves. With all 52 cards visible, there is almost always a productive tableau move available. Using the stock before exhausting those moves wastes the complete-information advantage that Whitehead provides.
- Moving a King to an empty column without checking what it reveals.The card beneath a King may be a high-rank card with no useful destination. Moving the King there locks the column and exposes dead weight. Always verify what the King is sitting on before committing the move.
Recognizing a losing position early
Whitehead can become unwinnable even with all cards visible, because the same-suit group move constraint creates stuck states that complete information alone cannot resolve. These signs indicate a position approaching deadlock:
- Multiple long mixed-suit sequences occupy most of the tableau, and no cards near the top of any sequence have legal destinations in same-suit positions. Dismantling requires space that does not exist.
- Every Ace or Two is buried beneath a mixed-suit sequence, and the cards above each low card form a dependency chain leading back to another mixed-suit sequence. Circular dependencies across multiple columns.
- The empty column is occupied and the waste pile has been cycled once already with no remaining same-suit building opportunities visible on any column top.
Whitehead’s complete information means the root mistake is always traceable: look for the earliest point where a same-suit option was available but a mixed-suit extension was taken instead. Undoing to that branch and rebuilding same-suit sequences from there almost always opens a path that was invisible in the original line.