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Yukon Solitaire Scoring: How to Measure a Good Game

Yukon doesn't have an officially codified scoring system the way Klondike does. The game predates digital implementations and was originally played for entertainment only. But modern online Yukon often includes scoring, and skilled players use informal frameworks to measure their own performance. Here are the four useful ways to score a Yukon hand.

1. Move Efficiency Score

Track how many moves it took to clear the deck. The theoretical minimum for Yukon is around 100 moves (one per card, with overhead for group repositioning).

Move-efficiency scoring rewards careful planning over trial-and- error play. A player who undoes 30 moves in a hand has effectively used 60+ "real" moves.

2. Time Score

Time to clear is the most casual scoring metric. Just stopwatch each hand:

Time scoring rewards intuitive play. The risk: it pushes you toward fast suboptimal moves and away from the deep planning that actually wins more hands.

3. Empty Column Frequency

A unique Yukon metric: how many distinct empty columns you created during the hand. Elite players regularly empty 2-3 columns over the course of a hand (using and refilling each one strategically).

4. Foundation Order Score

Did you complete the four foundations evenly, or did you finish one suit while another was still stuck? Even foundation progress is the mark of careful play.

Measure: at any given mid-game moment, look at the four foundation piles. If they're within 2 ranks of each other, you're playing evenly. If one foundation is at King and another is at 5, you've neglected a suit.

Composite Yukon Score

Some modern implementations combine these into a composite score:

Score = 1000 - (moves × 2) - (seconds × 1) + (empty columns × 50)

Sample calculation: clear in 125 moves over 5 minutes (300s) with 2 empty columns used:

1000 - (125 × 2) - 300 + (2 × 50) = 1000 - 250 - 300 + 100 = 550

Benchmarks: 800+ excellent, 500-700 strong, 200-500 average, under 200 weak play.

Why Yukon Scoring Matters

Klondike players can rely on win/loss as a strong signal — many Klondike deals are unwinnable, so winning at all proves skill. Yukon is the opposite: most deals are winnable, so winning proves much less.

Scoring fills the gap. Two Yukon players who both cleared the same deck can differ dramatically in moves/time/elegance. The scoring lets you see which was the "better" clear and what to improve next time.

Personal Best Tracking

Useful records to keep:

Play and Track

Our Yukon game auto-tracks win rate and best time. Move counter and empty-column achievement are coming. For now, count your own moves and stopwatch your clears — the improvement curve over 30-50 hands is dramatic and visible.