The Clock, sometimes also called German Clock to distinguish it from the similarly named
shuttling game of
Clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
, is a game of
patience
(or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...
or
card solitaire
Patience (Europe), card solitaire or solitaire (US/Canada), is a genre of card games whose common feature is that the aim is to arrange the cards in some systematic order or, in a few cases, to pair them off in order to discard them. Most are inte ...
played with
52 cards
The standard 52-card deck of French-suited playing cards is the most common pack of playing cards used today. In English-speaking countries it is the only traditional pack used for playing cards; in many countries of the world, however, it is used ...
of a
French deck
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
.
The game has 13
foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
for placing cards, each with a specific card value corresponding to the 12 hours of a clock. Four layers of cards in alternating colours are built on each foundation.
Rules
One French deck of 52 cards, without the Jokers, is used. All the Aces will be placed at the
1 o'clock position of an imaginary clock, all the Queens at 12 o'clock, and all the Kings in the centre.
In the accompanying image from a software implementation of this game, both the stock and waste are inside the Clock; when playing the game with a real deck, you would hold the stock in your hand and put the waste outside the Clock.
The foundation base suit is determined by the first card drawn and played. Cards are then drawn one by one from the stock. Foundations are built by alternating colours, starting with the card of that rank in the base suit. The second card on the foundation must be of the opposite colour to the foundation suit. The waste pile may be recycled twice.
It is best to play slowly. If a usable card is missed, the game becomes harder to solve. If no opportunities to move are missed, every game is solvable.
Literature
*
References
See also
*
Clock Patience
Clock or Sundial is a luck-based patience or solitaire card game with the cards laid out to represent the face of a clock. It is closely related to Travellers.
Clock is a purely mechanical process with no room for skill, and the chances of winni ...
*
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
*
Grandfather's Clock
Grandfather's Clock is an easy patience or solitaire card game using a deck of 52 playing cards. Its foundation is akin to Clock Patience; but while winning the latter depends entirely on the luck of the draw, Grandfather's Clock has a strategic ...
*
List of solitaires
This is a list of patiences, which are card games that are also referred to as solitaires or as card solitaire.
This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but only includes games that have met the usual Wikipedia requirements (e.g. notability). ...
*
Glossary of solitaire
Games of patience, or (card) solitaires as they are usually called in North America, have their own 'language' of specialised terms such as "building down", "packing", "foundations", "talon" and "tableau". Once learnt they are helpful in des ...
{{Patience
Single-deck patience card games
Simple builders