Clock – Rules
Play Clock against the computer
1. Quick overview
| Name | Clock (also: Clock Patience, Sundial) |
| Game type | Patience for one person, pure luck |
| Players | 1 |
| Recommended age | 5 and up |
| Duration | one game 2–4 minutes |
| Material | 52 cards |
| Goal | Turn up all cards before the fourth King appears. |
| Difficulty | no decisions – pure luck |
What is it about? The cards lie in a circle like the numbers of a clock. Every card turned up goes to “its hour”, and the game continues from there. Whether the patience comes out depends on the cards alone – ideal for children and as a little oracle.
2. Cards and material
- Deck: 52 French cards.
- Hours: Ace = 1 o’clock, 2–10 at face value, Jack = 11 o’clock, Queen = 12 o’clock. The Kings belong in the middle.
3. Setup and start
- Shuffle and deal all cards face down into 13 piles of four.
- Twelve piles form the clock face, one lies in the middle.
4. Goal and winning
- Won: All cards lie face up at their hour.
- Lost: The fourth King is turned up while face-down cards remain.
5. Play in detail
- Turn up the top card of the middle pile.
- Slide it face up under the pile of its hour (a 7 under the 7 o’clock pile).
- From that pile, turn up the top face-down card and place it the same way.
- A King goes under the middle pile; continue with its next face-down card.
Example. You turn up a 5 in the middle and slide it under the 5 o’clock pile. From there you turn up a Jack: it goes under 11 o’clock, and you continue there.
6. Scoring
- Comes out or not.
7. Special rules and important situations
- No choice: There is nothing to decide; every step follows from the card.
- Probability: About one game in thirteen comes out.
8. Variants
| Variant | What changes? | For whom? |
|---|---|---|
| Playing on | After the fourth King, shuffle the rest and deal again. | Patient players |
| Two decks | Eight cards per hour. | Longer game |
On cardgames.zone you turn up cards by tapping the glowing pile – or let them run by themselves with “Turn up automatically”.
9. Tips for beginners
- Count along: Count the Kings turned up – the fourth is the exciting moment.
- Make a wish: Traditionally you make a wish before laying out – if the patience comes out, it comes true.
10. Summary in 10 steps
- Shuffle 52 cards.
- 13 face-down piles of four.
- Twelve in a circle, one in the middle.
- Turn up the top card of the middle.
- Place it under the pile of its hour.
- Turn up the next card there.
- Kings belong in the middle.
- Keep going, card by card.
- Fourth King too early: lost.
- All cards face up: it comes out.
11. Frequently asked questions
Can I do anything wrong?
No – Clock has no decisions.
Why does the game end with the fourth King?
Then there is no face-down card left in the middle to continue with.
Origin & history
Clock is one of the oldest known patiences and is described in English books of the 19th century. It is often laid out as an oracle: if it comes out, a wish comes true.