How to play Clock Patience

Shuffle and deal the full deck of cards, face down, into 13 piles of 4 cards each, in the form of a clock.
One pile lies at each position from 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock and one at the centre (called 13 o'clock).

Go to the centre (13 o'clock )pile.
Turn over the top card.
Record its face value k, an integer between 1 and 13 inclusive.
Deposit this card face up beside the k o'clock pile.
Turn over the top card from this pile.
Record a new face value k.
Repeat the last step as many times as possible,
ie. until the k o'clock pile is found to be empty.
The game of clock patience has been won if no card remains face down.

Footnote:- Aces, jacks, queens and kings are considered to have face values 1, 11, 12 and 13 respectively.

The first part of the 1997 Openday Problem involves a simpler game for which only the 13 cards from one suit are dealt to form 13 piles each with only one card.

The third part of the 1997 Openday Problem involves a variation where the first card may be lifted off any pile.

Page maintained by

jbquig@ucd.ie

Revised 18 Mar 1997.