Play Luckier Thirteen Solitaire Online for Free (No Signup Required)

Build thirteen columns down by alternating color, then slide any card into an empty column, the trick that makes nearly every deal solvable.

Luckier Thirteen Solitaire is the friendlier cousin of Lucky Thirteen. Both deal the whole deck face-up into thirteen short columns of four cards, and both ask you to build the four foundations up in suit from Ace to King. The difference lies in two small rules that together tip the odds firmly in your favor.

Where Lucky Thirteen lets you build down in any suit but never lets you reuse an emptied column, Luckier Thirteen builds down by alternating color and — crucially — lets any card move into a vacant column. That single freedom is what earns the "luckier" in the name: an empty space becomes maneuvering room you can use again and again to shuffle blocked cards out of the way.

The trade-off keeps the game interesting. Alternating-color building is stricter than the parent game's build-anywhere rule, so you cannot simply pile cards on top of one another; you have to weigh color as you dig. With thirteen columns spread open in front of you and no hidden cards, every deal looks solvable, though the tight four-card columns still demand care. Empty a column as soon as you sensibly can, then guard it — hold it open for the card that frees a whole run rather than spending it on the first move available.

Other solitaire games such as Lucky Thirteen Solitaire, the game it varies, and Lucky Piles Solitaire are comparable to this one.

You already know the classic Solitaire — it's always there when you want to go back to basics.

If you run into anything odd or have an idea that would make the game better, please contact me.

Enjoy the game!

How to play Luckier Thirteen Solitaire

Layout:

4 foundation piles: Build up in suit from Ace to King. Cards move here automatically when they are ready.

13 tableau piles: Alternate color build down, one card at a time. Any card can fill an empty column. At the start each pile is dealt four cards, all face-up.

Foundation:

There are four foundation piles, each starting empty.

A card can be added to a foundation pile only if it's one rank higher and the same suit as the pile's current top card, so the only card that fits on a 9 of hearts is a 10 of hearts.

The top card of each foundation can be moved back into play if another pile will accept it.

Tableau:

Thirteen tableau piles of four cards each, all dealt face-up.

A card can be added to a tableau pile only if it's one rank lower and the opposite color of the pile's current top card, so the only cards that fit on an 8 of spades are the 7 of hearts and 7 of diamonds.

Cards on the tableau that are not covered by another card can be played onto the foundation or any other tableau pile.

Any card can fill an empty slot in the tableau.

Only one card may be moved at a time; sequences are not permitted.