Play Shamrocks Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Seventeen three-card fans plus one lone card hold the whole deck; build up or down in any suit, and a buried King never traps what's under it.

Shamrocks Solitaire belongs to the Fan Solitaire family of solitaire games and takes its name from its layout: the entire deck is spread into little three-card fans, like the three leaves of a shamrock. Seventeen fans hold three cards each, an eighteenth holds a single card, and every card is dealt face-up, so nothing is hidden from you at any point.

Two twists set it apart from the games it's most often grouped with, La Belle Lucie Solitaire and Trefoil Solitaire. Building runs both up and down regardless of suit, and any King dealt into a fan is tucked at the bottom of that fan, so a King never buries the cards beneath it. In return, no fan may ever hold more than three cards, and once a fan is emptied it stays empty for the rest of the game.

Because there is no stock and every card is visible from the first move, luck plays almost no part once the deal is on the table. The game is played with a single deck, and your odds of victory are determined almost entirely by skill — a thoughtful player can win a good share of deals.

If you enjoy the fan format, both of those cousins are worth a look, especially if you'd like a slightly different balance of luck and planning.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Enjoy playing!

How to play Shamrocks Solitaire

Layout:

4 foundation piles: Build up in suit from Ace to King.

18 fans: Build up or down regardless of suit. Seventeen fans of three cards and one fan of a single card, all dealt face-up. No fan may ever hold more than three cards.

Foundation:

There are four foundation piles.

A card can be added to a 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 an 8 of spades is the 9 of spades. There can be no more than 13 cards in a pile.

The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.

Tableau:

The whole deck is dealt face-up into eighteen fans: seventeen of three cards each and one of a single card. Any King dealt to a fan is slipped to the bottom of that fan during the deal, so a King never traps the cards beneath it.

A card can be added to a fan only if it's one rank higher or one rank lower than the fan's current top card, regardless of suit, so the only cards that fit on an 8 of spades are any 7 or any 9. The ranking is not continuous: only a Queen can be played on a King, and only a 2 on an Ace.

No fan may ever hold more than three cards.

Cards that are not covered by another card are free to be played onto the foundation or any other fan.

Empty fans may not be refilled.

Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences are not permitted.