Play Clover Leaf Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)
Every card lands face up in sixteen three-card fans, and you strip the deck from both ends at once: Aces climbing up, Kings counting down.
Clover Leaf Solitaire is a fan game by Thomas Warfield in which every card is dealt face up, so the whole puzzle sits in front of you from the very first move. The two red Aces and the two black Kings begin the game on the foundations, and the remaining forty-eight cards are spread into sixteen little three-card fans. The red foundations climb in suit from Ace to King while the black ones descend from King to Ace, so the deck is dismantled from both ends at once.
The game shares its rules with Alexander the Great, which deals the same cards into twelve fans of four instead of sixteen fans of three. Fans build both up and down, but strictly in suit; only one card may be moved at a time; and an emptied fan can only be reoccupied by an Ace or a King, so every space you open is worth protecting.
With no stock and nothing hidden, luck plays only a small part once the cards are on the table. The game is challenging, but with a single deck and every card visible from the start, skill is what gets you through it.
If the two-way foundation build hooked you, Alexander the Great Solitaire and Shamrocks Solitaire are both worth dealing out next.
Clover Leaf's puzzle-box pace isn't for everyone; when you want something looser and faster, deal out original Solitaire instead.
If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.
Enjoy playing!
How to play Clover Leaf Solitaire
Layout:
4 foundation piles: The two red Aces build up in suit to the King, and the two black Kings build down in suit to the Ace. All four are dealt to the foundations at the start of the game.
16 fans: Build up or down in the same suit. Only the top card of each fan may be moved. Only an Ace or a King may fill an empty fan. At the start of the game, each fan is dealt three cards, all face up.
Foundation:
Foundation piles are of two types.
The red foundation consists of two piles, each dealt a red Ace at the start — one of hearts, one of diamonds. A card can be added to a red foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on a J of diamonds is a Q of diamonds.
The black foundation consists of two piles, each dealt a black King at the start — one of spades, one of clubs. A card can be added to a black foundation pile only if it's one rank lower and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on a 10 of spades is a 9 of spades.
Cards that can legally go to a foundation are moved there automatically.
The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.
Tableau:
The rest of the deck is dealt face-up into sixteen fans of three cards each.
A card can be added to a fan only if it's one rank higher or lower and the same suit as the fan's current top card, so the cards that fit on the 8 of spades are the 7 of spades and the 9 of spades. The ranking is not continuous: only a Queen may be played on a King, and only a 2 on an Ace.
Cards that are not covered by another card are free to be played onto the foundations or any other fan.
Only an Ace or a King may fill an empty fan.
Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences are not permitted.
