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You are here: Home / Games / Clock Solitaire Card Game: Keeps Kids Busy!

Clock Solitaire Card Game: Keeps Kids Busy!

December 19, 2019

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Single player games are one of the best way to keep kids busy and their brains engaged! After your kids are exhausted playing traditional card solitaire, teach them how to play Clock Solitaire, sometimes known as Clock Patience.

How to play clock solitaire card game

Clock Solitaire is a simple one person card game in which the cards are arranged in the formation of the numbers on a clock face, hence the name “Clock.” It’s challenging to win, but still tempting to play over and over again, just to see if this time you will finally beat the game!

How to Play Clock Solitaire

Goal: to complete all four-of-a-kind sets before revealing the final King

What you need:

One enthusiastic player

One deck of 52 cards, jokers removed.

If you are silly like our family, you will have a number of crazy decks to choose from. Thor or scary sharks? Birds or Charles Dickens? You name it, we have a deck of cards themed like it. Ha.

Stacks of playing cards

How to Play Clock Solitaire

  1. Deal

    Deal out the entire deck, face down, into thirteen equal piles. Each pile will have four cards.

  2. Arrange the Cards

    Set out 12 stacks in a circle as in a clock face. Place the 13th stack in the center.
    Note that each pile corresponds to a number on a clock face, with 12 at the top. Each number card corresponds to its designated number (2 at 2 o’clock, etc.). The face cards are as follows: Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13. Set up for clock solitaire card game

  3. Opening Move

    Turn over the top card of the 13th (middle) stack. First card reveal of clock patience

  4. Next Step

    Place the card you just revealed, face up, under the pile which corresponds to it on the clock face. Then turn over the top card on that pile.
    For example, if the first card revealed is a three, place it face up underneath the 3 pile and turn over the top card of the 3 pile. In the photo below, that card is revealed to be a 7. game play for solitaire

  5. Continue Game Play

    Continue in the same manner. In the photos below see that:
    The 7 goes face up under the 7 on the clock, that top card is revealed to be an ace. The ace goes face up under the 1 on the clock, the top card of the 1 (ace) pile is revealed to be a 2. The 2 goes face up under the 2 on the clock, that top card is revealed to be a 6 and so on. Three plays in a row for clock solitaire

  6. Win or Lose

    If the player is successful in completing all 12 four-of-a-kind sets before the king set is completed, she wins. If the four kings are revealed first, he loses.

  7. Note:

    If the final face-down card in a stack belongs to that same stack, (for example, a 4 at four o’clock) you are not out. Merely continue playing by moving to the next available number clockwise in the circle.

All cards face up in a circle

More solitaire games:

  • Two printable solitaire puzzles
  • Single player logic games
  • Tchuka Ruma, a single player mancala game
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by: Erica posted in: Games 6 Comments

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Comments

  1. Mark Bets says

    April 23, 2020 at 11:04 am

    I might try this one out. Thanks for sharing this card game with us.

    Reply
  2. earl says

    May 15, 2020 at 1:56 pm

    are kings moveable to the center

    Reply
  3. Shirley Mathias says

    May 23, 2020 at 3:04 am

    This games looks awesome I’m going to show my niece how to play the clock solitaire.
    I’m sure she’s going to enjoy it

    Reply
  4. Glo says

    September 21, 2020 at 3:52 pm

    Just played it with my students gr 1 – 3 and they loved it. Great for number recognition and for starting our unit on telling time. Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Erica says

      September 22, 2020 at 9:46 am

      So glad to hear it!

      Reply
  5. Hunter says

    December 12, 2020 at 3:15 am

    I just played for the first time AND I WON!! I’m thinking maybe I should never play again, how could I be that lucky again?
    Great game, thank you

    Reply

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