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Trefoil Solitaire is the fan patience where the Aces start on the foundations, free to play online in your browser with no download and no sign-up. The four Aces stand in their niches before the deal, and the other 48 cards are dealt face up into sixteen fans of three, so every card is in view from the first move. Only the top card of a fan moves: build down in the same suit, carry each suit up from its Ace to the King, and remember that an empty fan can never be filled. When no card can move, redeal the fans — twice — and after the final redeal take your one draw: any buried card, played home, onto the card it builds on, or to the top of its fan. Our solver, which knows how each redeal will fall, wins 2,142 of the first 2,400 deals with the draw; a simple rule-of-thumb player wins 401. Drag or tap, undo anything, ask for a hint, or switch to the stricter no-draw rules.
How to play Trefoil Solitaire
- The four Aces start on the four foundations, one per suit, each in its own niche at the top of the table. The other 48 cards are dealt face up into sixteen fans of three.
- Only the top card of each fan is in play, and cards move one at a time. Each foundation builds up in suit from its Ace: 2, 3, 4 and so on to the King.
- Move a top card onto another fan when it is one rank lower and the same suit — the 7♣ goes on the 8♣ and nowhere else. Drag a card, or tap it to send it home or to the one card it builds on.
- A fan that empties stays empty: no card can ever fill the space, not even a King. A King can only go home, so a King lying on top of lower cards of its own suit has to wait for a redeal or the draw.
- When no card can move, press Redeal: every card still in the fans is gathered, shuffled and dealt again in threes. You have two redeals, so three deals in all, and a redeal is only allowed once you are blocked.
- After the final redeal you get one draw: press Draw, then tap any buried card. It goes home if it can, else onto the card it builds on, else to the top of its own fan. You win when all 52 cards are home; the No draw rules play without it.
Tips
- Scan for a higher card lying on a lower card of its own suit — the 9♦ above the 4♦. The 9♦ cannot go home before the 4♦, so it can only move onto the 10♦; plan around those spots before anything else.
- Kings are the worst of them, because nothing fills a gap and a King only ever goes home. A King on top of lower cards of its suit blocks that fan for the whole deal, so only a redeal — or, in the last deal, the draw — gets you past it.
- The order of moves matters, because each card builds on exactly one other card. Move the higher card of a suit onto its partner before you move the lower one onto it, or you bury the card you meant to free.
- A redeal shuffles only the cards still in the fans, and it waits until no card can move, so every card you send home first is one fewer card to tangle. Building cards onto each other before a redeal changes nothing about how it falls — only cards sent home do.
- Keep the draw for a card that starts a chain: usually the next card a foundation needs, buried under something you cannot shift. When the drawn card can go straight home or onto the card it builds on, it does — no need to lay it on its own fan first.
- Press Hint whenever you are unsure. While a winning line exists it shows that line's next step, the draw included, and tapping the hinted card plays it.
FAQ
Is Trefoil Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Trefoil Solitaire is completely free to play online in your browser, with no download, no account and no in-game purchases. It works on phones, tablets and computers.
How do you play Trefoil Solitaire?
The four Aces start on the foundations and the other 48 cards are dealt face up into sixteen fans of three. Only the top card of a fan moves: build down in the same suit onto another fan, or up in suit on the foundations to the King. Empty fans are never refilled. When no card can move you may gather, shuffle and redeal the fans, twice, and after the final redeal you may draw one buried card. Win by getting all 52 cards home.
How is Trefoil different from La Belle Lucie?
Trefoil is La Belle Lucie with the Aces taken out before the deal and put straight on the foundations, so the table is sixteen fans of three instead of seventeen fans and a single card, and no Ace is ever buried. This game also follows the Trefoil rules of Semicolon's solitaire collection: you may redeal only when no card can move, and the drawn card may go home or onto the card it builds on, not only to the top of its own fan. Our La Belle Lucie lets you shuffle whenever you like.
Can you fill an empty fan with a King?
No. An empty fan stays empty for the rest of the deal — no card can go into it, not even a King. That is why Kings are so awkward: the only place a King can ever go is its foundation. A redeal deals the remaining cards out again from the first fan, so gaps disappear when you redeal.
When can you redeal in Trefoil?
Only when you are blocked — when no top card can go home or onto another fan. Then press Redeal and every card left in the fans is gathered, shuffled and dealt again in threes, with the last fan holding one or two if the count is not a multiple of three. You get two redeals, so three deals in all. If you press Redeal while a move is still open, the game points at one.
What is the draw?
A one-time favour after the final redeal, in the With draw rules. Press Draw and tap any buried card: it goes home if it can, else onto the card it builds on, else to the top of its own fan. Semicolon's rules for Trefoil include it; PySolFC and Goodsol deal Trefoil without it, which is what the No draw rules play.
How often can you win Trefoil Solitaire?
We measured it on the first 2,400 deals. With the draw, a solver that sees every card and knows how each redeal will fall wins 2,142 of them, about nine deals in ten, and a rule-of-thumb player that sends cards home, builds the highest card it can, redeals when blocked and spends the draw on a card that can go home wins 401, about one in six. Without the draw the solver wins 1,631, about two in three, and the rule-of-thumb player 197, about one in twelve. You cannot see the redeals coming, so expect to land in between.
Why is it called Trefoil?
A trefoil is a three-lobed ornament — the clover-leaf shape carved into the heads of Gothic windows — and the game deals its cards in threes. Here each foundation stands in a pointed niche with a trefoil in its head, which fills with gold as its suit climbs to the King.
How does the hint work?
The hint asks the same solver. While it can find a winning line from your position, it shows that line's next step — a card to move, a redeal or the draw — and tapping the hinted card plays it. Otherwise it shows a sensible move and says no winning line was found. If you lose, the result card tells you whether the deal could have been won from the start.
Can I undo a move or a redeal?
Yes. Every move can be undone one at a time, right back to the deal — redeals and the draw included, and even after the game has ended. A redeal depends only on which cards are left in the fans, so undoing and redealing with the same cards gives the same deal.
What is the deal number, and can I play with a keyboard?
Every game has a number from 1 to 999,999, shown at the top of the table; the same number always deals the same cards and redeals them the same way, so Replay deal gives you exactly the same game again. With a keyboard, the arrow keys move between fans, Enter plays the top card, R redeals, D arms the draw, U undoes, H asks for a hint and N starts a new deal. An unfinished deal is saved in your browser.