Free Clock Solitaire Online
Clock Solitaire is a classic game of pure chance: 52 cards sit face down in 13 piles laid out like a clock, and you try to turn every one of them face up before the fourth King appears. Solitaire Play offers Clock in your browser for free, with Undo and a daily challenge, and no download or sign-up. There are no decisions to make, so it is relaxing, quick and a little suspenseful.
Official Rules & Scoring
The 52 cards are dealt face down into 13 piles of four: twelve piles stand for the hours of a clock and the 13th pile, for Kings, sits in the centre. The goal is to turn all 52 cards face up.
- The layout: each pile has an hour label above it. Ace is 1 o'clock, 2 to 10 are their own hours, Jack is 11, Queen is 12 and the Kings belong to the centre pile.
- Starting: turn over the top card of the centre pile.
- Placing: the card you turned goes face up beside the pile that matches its rank, so a 7 goes to the 7 o'clock pile and a King goes to the centre. Then turn over the top face-down card of the pile where you just placed it.
- Repeating: keep going the same way. Each card sends you to the pile of its own rank.
- Tapping: in this game, tap any pile to turn the next card (Hint shows which pile is next). Nothing else is needed, because every move is forced by the cards.
- Winning and losing: the game ends when the fourth King is placed in the centre. If every card is face up by then, you win; if any card is still face down, you lose.
Strategy & Tips
There is no strategy in Clock Solitaire. From the moment the cards are dealt, the whole game is decided by the shuffle, and nothing you do changes the outcome. You win when the fourth King is also the very last face-down card, and that happens in about 1 deal in 13.
- Enjoy the suspense. Watching the piles fill up and counting the Kings that have come out is the whole game.
- Count the Kings. Each King you turn brings the end closer; the game is over after the fourth.
- Play many quick deals. A game takes under a minute, so chance evens out over a handful of games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I win Clock Solitaire?
Yes, but only by luck. About 1 deal in 13 is a win. In our test of 16,000 random deals, 1,234 (about 7.7%) were won. Because every move is forced, nothing you do can change the result.
Is there any skill in Clock Solitaire?
No. Every move is decided by the card you turn over, so Clock is a game of chance only. That is also why this page has no Solver: there are no choices for it to find.
Why does the game end before all the cards are turned?
The game stops when the fourth King reaches the centre pile, because there is then no face-down card left to turn in the centre. Any cards still face down in other piles mean the deal is lost.
How is the daily challenge different?
The daily challenge deals the same cards to everyone on a given day. New games and the daily challenge only use deals that are certain to be won (about 7.7% of random deals), so you can always reach the end with every card face up.
Where are the other solitaire games?
Klondike is on the home page, and FreeCell, Spider, Pyramid, TriPeaks, Golf and Yukon have their own pages.
Want to play better? Read our Clock Solitaire guide.