How to Play LaBelle Lucie Solitaire

Objective

Your goal is to move all 52 cards to the 4 foundation piles by suit from Ace to King in ascending order. You do this by moving and organizing cards in the tableau.

The Setup and Play Area

Foundation piles: These are the 4 piles where you aim to move playable cards in order from Ace to King by suit. Successfully placing all 52 cards in the foundation wins the game.

Tableau piles: This area consists of 18 columns. The first 17 columns face three face-up cards, and the last column has 1 face-up card.

Stock pile: There is no stock pile in the game.

Waste pile: There is no waste pile in the game.

Available moves

• The last card of each tableau column can be moved to a foundation if it is playable.
  
• You can only move one card at a time in the tableau. A card may be moved on top of another card at the bottom of a tableau column if it's of the same suit and one rank higher. For example, a 10 of Spades can be placed on top of a Jack of Spades.
• You cannot move groups of sequenced cards. You can only move individual cards.
• You cannot place cards in an empty tableau column.
• You win when all cards have been moved to the foundation.

Strategy

• Move aces to the foundations as soon as they’re available. This will clear the card from the tableau, enabling you to build more.
• Try to free up lower-ranking cards. Because foundations are built starting with Aces, try to make low cards available so you can move them out of the tableau into the foundation and make other cards playable.
• The first visible sequence may not always be the best one. Plan out your moves to remove as many cards as possible from the tableau.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some games similar to LaBelle Lucie Solitaire?

A few popular LaBelle Lucie variations include:

• The Fan, where Kings can be placed in an empty tableau column, making it an easier game.
• Trefoil, where the Aces are placed in the foundations at the beginning of the game, and there are sixteen tableau columns containing three cards each.

What are the odds of winning?

When looking at 292 random games played, 12 were won, making the win rate 4.11%.

Who invented La Belle Lucie Solitaire?

While its origins are unknown, the rules were first published in 1870 by Lady Adelaide Cadogan, making the game at least 150 years old.

What are other popular Solitaire games?

Here are some good games to play:

• Solitaire
• Mahjong
• Spider Solitaire
• FreeCell Solitaire
• Crescent Solitaire
• Yukon Solitaire
• TriPeaks Solitaire
• Pyramid Solitaire
• Golf Solitaire