BIG BEN

Welcome to the world of Big Ben, a thrilling solitaire game that will keep you on your toes! As you dive into the game, you’ll find yourself immersed in the challenge of managing your cards and building the foundations with careful precision. Are you ready to take on the clock and emerge victorious?

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

In Big Ben, we’ll be working with two decks of cards, each consisting of 52 cards. Before we begin, let’s set up the layout. We’ll need to remove a few cards from the deck – the 2 of Clubs, 3 of Hearts, 4 of Spades, 5 of Diamonds, 6 of Clubs, 7 of Hearts, 8 of Spades, 9 of Diamonds, 10 of Clubs, Jack of Hearts, Queen of Spades, and King of Diamonds.

Now, let’s get the clock ticking! To start, we’ll place the 2 of Clubs at the nine o’clock position. From there, we’ll continue placing the cards in order, completing the clock. These cards will become the foundation piles, forming the backbone of our game.

Next, it’s time to deal. We’ll create three card fans, each containing cards that are face up. These fans will be placed around the outside of the clock and should be adjacent to the clock face cards. Together, these fans will form the tableau, providing us with options and opportunities to strategize.

THE GAME

Hey there! Let me explain how this game works. You see, the foundations in this game are created by building up cards in a specific order. Each foundation is represented by a number on a clock face. So, let’s say we have the 2 of Clubs. To build up that foundation, we need to find the 9 of Clubs.

Now, here’s the fun part. The top cards in the tableau fans can be played on the foundations or on other fans. But, here is the catch – when we play cards on the fans, we have to build them down in suits. And guess what? We can keep filling up the fans as long as we have at least three cards in them.

But wait, there’s one more thing. When we decide to replenish a fan, we have to refill all of them. We start with the fan at the 12 o’clock position, and then we move in a clockwise order. And guess what again? We can only refill the fans with cards from the draw pile.

When playing this card game, here’s what you need to do:

1. Flip over one card at a time from the draw pile.
2. Decide whether to place the card on the foundations or the tableau.
3. If you can’t play a card, put it on top of the waste pile.
4. You can use the top card from the waste pile to build foundations or fans.
5. But remember, during the replenishing phase, you can’t use the top card from the waste pile to refill a fan.

The game continues until there are no more cards left in the draw pile and you can’t make any more moves.

How to Win:

You win the game when you use the cards to build the foundations in the shape of a clock face.