Clock Solitaire lays fifty-two cards into thirteen piles — twelve arranged like the hours of a clock, one in the middle for the Kings. Turn the top card of the centre pile, slide it face-up under the hour that matches its rank, then turn the top card of that pile, and keep going. Fill every hour and you win. Turn the fourth King while cards are still face down and the game is over. There are no decisions to make, which is the point: it is the classic children's and beginner's patience, a small ritual with a one-in-thirteen ending. Twelve levels widen the dial from four piles up to the full thirteen, so the odds start generous and tighten to the real thing. No download, no account.
How to play Clock Solitaire
- The deck is dealt into thirteen piles of four: twelve laid out like the hours of a clock, and one in the centre for the Kings.
- Play starts at the centre. Tap the highlighted pile to turn over its top card.
- Place the card face-up under the hour that matches its rank — an Ace goes to one o'clock, a 7 to seven o'clock, a Queen to twelve. Kings go to the centre.
- The pile you just placed on becomes the next one to draw from. Tap it to turn its top card, and carry on.
- Turning the fourth King ends the game. If every card is already placed you have completed the clock and won; if any card is still face down you have lost.
- Levels 1 to 9 use a smaller dial — four to twelve piles — which shortens the odds while the game plays exactly the same. Level 10 onward is the full thirteen-pile clock.
- The "Deal It Out" button plays the rest of the deal for you. Since the outcome was fixed the moment the cards were shuffled, it is a fast-forward rather than an assist.
Tips
- There is no strategy, and looking for one will only frustrate you. Every card has exactly one legal destination, so the whole game is determined by the shuffle before you touch it.
- Watch the King counter in the top corner. Three Kings up with a lot of cards still face down means this deal is already lost, and you can start a fresh one rather than play it out.
- The interesting question is how far you get, not whether you win. Counting the hours you completed makes a losing deal worth finishing.
- Play the small dials first if you want the satisfaction of a win — a four-pile clock comes in one time in four, against one in thirteen for the full board.
- It is a genuinely good game for teaching card ranks to children, because placing each card is a rank-recognition exercise and nothing can be played wrong.
FAQ
Is Clock Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Clock Solitaire is completely free to play online with no download, no account, and no in-game purchases.
Does Clock Solitaire work on mobile?
Yes. The clock face scales to fit phone screens and every pile responds to tap, so it plays the same on phones, tablets and desktop.
What are the odds of winning Clock Solitaire?
Exactly one in thirteen, or about 7.7%. That is not an estimate — it follows from the rules. You win precisely when the fourth King happens to be the very last card in the chain, and with a fair shuffle each of the thirteen possible finishing ranks is equally likely. On this site the smaller dials on levels 1 to 9 give correspondingly better odds, down to one in four.
Is there any skill in Clock Solitaire?
None. Every card has exactly one place it can go and exactly one pile you can draw from next, so the game plays itself once the deck is shuffled — the deal decides the result. That is a feature, not a flaw: it is why the game is a good first patience for children and a pleasant two-minute ritual for everyone else.
Why does the fourth King end the game?
Because the Kings sit in the centre pile, which is where the chain starts and where it must eventually return. Each King you turn is a dead end — it sends you back to the centre — and once all four are up there is no pile left to draw from. If the last King comes up while cards are still face down, the chain has closed early and the game is lost.
Is Clock Solitaire also called anything else?
Yes — Clock Patience, Sundial, Travellers, or Hidden Cards, depending on where you learned it. There is also a documented variant called Watch, which lets you swap the fourth King for a face-down card and keep going until it reappears.
How many levels does Clock Solitaire have?
Twelve. Levels 1 to 9 shrink the dial from thirteen piles to as few as four, which is the only honest way to make a game of pure chance easier — the rules never change, only the length of the odds. Level 10 onward is the traditional thirteen-pile clock at one in thirteen.