Playing Yukon well
In brief
With no stock, everything hinges on the 21 hidden cards: prioritize moves that uncover them, using the unordered groups that Yukon lets you move. Move Aces to the foundations as soon as they are free, and only empty a column if a King can go there.
1. Uncover the face-down cards
A face-down card cannot be played and can block an entire suit. Since there is no stock, turning it face up is the only way to free it. When choosing between two possible moves, prefer the one that uncovers a card, and keep the right-hand columns in mind: column 7 has 6 face-down cards at the start. Each card turned face up also earns 5 points.
2. Use groups out of sequence
Yukon lets you move a face-up card with everything placed on top of it, even if the cards are unordered. This is your main tool: an entire group can move away to free the hidden card it covers. In the winning game for deal YU1-C-AAAAAAB, move 2 moves 4 unordered cards in this way, from 10♦ to the end of column 7, onto V♠ in column 5, and turns over a card. Of the 107 moves in this game, 26 move an unordered group.
3. Move aces to the foundations early
A free Ace has no reason to stay on the tableau: once on its foundation, it lets you move up the 2, then the 3, and is no longer in the way. The first move of the winning game moves the Ace of clubs (A♣), at the end of column 7, to its foundation: 10 points. With higher ranks, a card moved to a foundation too soon may be needed as a destination for a tableau card; if necessary, the app lets you take the top card back from a foundation.
Foundations, cards placed: 0 spades, 0 hearts, 0 diamonds, 0 clubs. Column 1: 0 face down, then 6 of clubs; column 2: 1 face down, then 10 of clubs, 3 of diamonds, Jack of hearts, 10 of hearts, 3 of spades; column 3: 2 face down, then Ace of hearts, Queen of hearts, 3 of clubs, 4 of hearts, 7 of spades; column 4: 3 face down, then Ace of spades, 7 of diamonds, 7 of hearts, 3 of hearts, 10 of spades; column 5: 4 face down, then 7 of clubs, 9 of spades, 6 of hearts, 8 of clubs, Jack of spades; column 6: 5 face down, then Queen of clubs, King of hearts, 4 of diamonds, King of spades, 9 of hearts; column 7: 6 face down, then 10 of diamonds, 5 of hearts, Jack of diamonds, 8 of spades, Ace of clubs.
4. Keep the empty column for a king
An empty column accepts only a king, or a group whose bottom card is a king. A king sitting on face-down cards is the best candidate: moving it uncovers a card. In the same game, column 1 becomes empty on move 6; on move 12, R♣ from column 3 moves into it and uncovers a card (16 remain face down). The Examples page shows a group being rejected from an empty column.
5. When all cards are face up
Once the last face-down card has been turned face up, there are no more surprises. In the winning game, this happens on move 79: 24 cards are then on the foundations, and the next 28 moves all go to the foundations. The app does not finish the game itself: one tap on each card is enough.
6. Use undo
The app remembers the last 100 moves. When two moves seem equally good, try one, look at the card it uncovers, and undo it if that card does not help: undoing also restores the score. The move counter still includes the undone move.