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Clover Leaf Solitaire is the open fan patience where the foundations run both ways, free to play online with no download and no sign-up. The two black Aces and the two red Kings start on four clover leaves; the other 48 cards lie face up in sixteen fans of three. Spades and clubs climb to their Kings, hearts and diamonds come down to their Aces, and the fans build up or down in the same suit, one card at a time. An empty fan takes only an Ace or a King. There is no stock and no redeal, so the whole deal is in front of you from the first move — and the built-in solver can tell whether it can still be won. Play Alexander the Great too: the same rules dealt into twelve deeper fans of four.
How to play Clover Leaf Solitaire
- Four foundations stand on the clover leaves. The Ace of spades and Ace of clubs start two of them; the King of hearts and King of diamonds start the other two. The remaining 48 cards are dealt face up into sixteen fans of three.
- Spades and clubs build up in suit on their foundations, from the Ace to the King. Hearts and diamonds build down in suit, from the King to the Ace. The little arrow on each leaf shows which way it runs.
- Only the top card of a fan is in play. Move it home, or onto the top card of another fan that is one rank higher or one rank lower in the same suit: the 7♥ goes on the 8♥ or on the 6♥.
- Cards move one at a time. To shift a run, move it card by card — it lands in the opposite order, which is often exactly what you want.
- When a fan is emptied, only an Ace or a King may start it again. Those are the red Aces and black Kings: the last card each foundation needs.
- Drag a card, or just tap it: it goes home if it can, otherwise onto the better of the fans it builds on, otherwise an Ace or King into an empty fan. Undo takes back as many moves as you like.
- You win when all 52 cards are home. Hint plays the solver, which works out a winning line from where you are — or tells you the deal can no longer be won, so you can undo back to where it went wrong.
Tips
- Look for the card each foundation wants next before every move. The suits never mix in the fans, so a suit is held up only by the cards lying on top of its next card.
- A card on the wrong side of its neighbour is not stuck. Move the 9♠ onto the 10♠, then the 8♠ onto the 9♠ — a run reverses as it travels, so a run that reads the wrong way can be turned round.
- Keep an eye on the red Aces and black Kings. They are the only cards that can start an empty fan, and they are the last card their foundation takes, so parking one there costs nothing.
- Empty a fan only when you have an Ace or King ready to drop into it or the emptied fan frees a card that is wanted soon; an empty fan cannot take anything else.
- When two moves look alike, prefer the one that uncovers a card wanted soon over one that buries it — a buried low spade or high heart can lock a whole suit.
- Alexander the Great deals the same cards into twelve fans of four. Deeper fans bury more and leave fewer places to build, so fewer of its deals can be won — try Clover Leaf first.
FAQ
Is Clover Leaf Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Every deal of Clover Leaf and Alexander the Great is free to play in your browser, with no download, no account and nothing to buy. Your wins, streak and the deal you are playing are kept in your own browser.
Does Clover Leaf Solitaire work on a phone?
Yes. Tap a top card to send it to its best place, or drag it with a finger. On an upright phone the fans run downwards in four columns, with the four leaves beside or above them; held sideways the whole table fits the screen at once.
How do you win Clover Leaf Solitaire?
Move all 52 cards to the four foundations: spades and clubs up from the Ace to the King, hearts and diamonds down from the King to the Ace. Each foundation is built in its own suit only.
Can you build up and down in Clover Leaf?
Yes — that is what sets it apart. On the fans a card may go on the card one rank above it or one rank below it, as long as both are the same suit. On the foundations the direction is fixed: up for the black suits, down for the red.
What can go in an empty fan?
Only an Ace or a King. Because the black Aces and red Kings start on the foundations, in practice that means a red Ace or a black King — the last card its foundation will take.
Is every Clover Leaf deal winnable?
Most are. Every card is face up and nothing is redealt, so our solver can play each deal right through. Of deals 1 to 600 it found a win in 484, about four deals in five; it proved none of them lost, and the other 116 it could not settle within its time limit. A player who only looks one move ahead wins 165 of the same deals, so planning pays.
What is Alexander the Great Solitaire?
The same game dealt into twelve fans of four instead of sixteen fans of three, as PySolFC deals it. Deeper fans are much harder: of deals 1 to 600 our solver won 316 and proved 249 lost. Pick it from the menu beside the table.
How is Clover Leaf different from La Belle Lucie and Trefoil?
All three deal the cards face up into fans of three, but La Belle Lucie and Trefoil build the fans down only, start every foundation at the Ace and let you gather and redeal the fans. Clover Leaf has no redeal at all, builds the fans up or down, runs the red foundations from the King down, and lets an Ace or King start an empty fan.
Whose rules does this version follow?
PySolFC's Clover Leaf (game 320) and Alexander the Great (game 926): black Aces and red Kings to the foundations, sixteen fans of three (or twelve of four), building up or down in suit one card at a time, only Aces or Kings into an empty fan, no redeal.