Rules
La Belle Lucie Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Deal seventeen fans of three cards, plus one final fan with one card.
- All tableau cards are face up, but only the top card of each fan is playable.
- Foundations start with aces and build upward by suit to kings.
- Fan cards build downward by suit: 7 of clubs onto 8 of clubs, for example.
- Move only one top card at a time; sequences do not move as packets.
- Empty fans cannot be filled, not even by kings.
- When no useful moves remain, reshuffle and redeal the tableau. This page allows two reshuffles.
- Win by moving all 52 cards to the foundations.
How to play
How to play La Belle Lucie Solitaire
La Belle Lucie is a fan solitaire game. The whole deck starts visible in small overlapping fans, so the puzzle is not about discovering hidden cards. It is about finding an order that releases the right top cards before the fan structure locks them away.
Start by moving exposed aces to the foundations. From there, each foundation builds upward in the same suit: ace, 2, 3, and so on to king. Tableau moves go the opposite direction. A top 7 of clubs can move onto a top 8 of clubs. A red 7 cannot move onto a black 8 unless the suits match, and a 6 cannot jump onto an 8.
The important restriction is top-card-only play. If a needed ace sits under two other cards in its fan, you cannot take it directly. You must first move or remove the cards above it. That small rule is what makes La Belle Lucie feel open and stubborn at the same time.
Version
The exact rule version on this page
This implementation uses the classic strict version: one deck, fans of three, ace-up foundations, same-suit descending fan builds, no filling empty fans, and two reshuffles of the remaining tableau cards. The reshuffles do not touch cards already on foundations.
It does not use the merci rule. In the related game Three Shuffles and a Draw, a player may get one mercy move that frees a buried card after the normal reshuffles. That is an interesting variant, but it changes the endgame. Here, if a card is buried, you must free it through legal top-card play or wait for one of the two reshuffles.
Layout
Setup and table layout
The opening deal creates eighteen fans: seventeen fans with three cards and one fan with a single card. On a phone, the fans wrap into a compact grid so the game does not require sideways scrolling. On larger screens, the same fans spread out with larger cards.
The foundations sit above the fans. Empty foundation spaces show suits, but they cannot accept anything except the matching ace. Once an ace is there, the next card must be the 2 of that suit, then the 3, and so on.
Fans
How fan moves work
Fan moves are same-suit and descending. The source card must be exactly one rank lower than the destination card. A queen of hearts can go onto a king of hearts; a jack of hearts can go onto that queen later if it becomes exposed.
Empty fans are closed. This is different from many tableau builders where spaces are powerful. In La Belle Lucie, clearing a fan is good because it removes clutter, but it does not create a storage space.
Examples
Legal and illegal La Belle Lucie moves
A move to the foundation must be in suit and in ascending order. If the diamonds foundation shows 5 diamonds, only 6 diamonds can go there. A 6 of hearts belongs to a different foundation, and a 7 of diamonds skips a rank.
A move between fans is also suit-specific, but descending. If a fan top shows 10 spades, the 9 spades can be placed on it. The 9 clubs, 8 spades, and jack spades are all illegal destinations or sources for that exact move.
FoundationA hearts starts the hearts foundation
Foundation4 spades goes onto 3 spades
Fan7 clubs goes onto 8 clubs
Illegal7 clubs cannot go onto 8 spades
Illegal6 clubs cannot jump onto 8 clubs
IllegalEmpty fans cannot be filled
Reshuffles
How the two reshuffles work
A reshuffle gathers the cards still in the tableau, shuffles them, and deals them again into fans of three. Cards already on foundations stay there. Because fewer cards remain after foundation moves, later reshuffles usually create fewer fans.
Use reshuffles after the useful visible moves are gone, not as a nervous habit. A reshuffle can rescue buried aces or blocked low cards, but it can also bury a card that was perfectly placed on top of a useful fan.
Blocked cards
Why visible cards can still be blocked
La Belle Lucie looks transparent because every card is face up. But a visible buried card is still unavailable. If a 4 of clubs is under a queen and a 9 in its fan, it may as well be locked until those two cards move away or a reshuffle changes the fan.
Kings are especially awkward. Since kings cannot move between fans except to foundations at the very end of a suit, any card buried under a king may need a reshuffle before it can matter.
Strategy
La Belle Lucie strategy that actually helps
Move foundation cards when they do not damage the tableau. Aces and early low cards are usually safe because they open the foundation path and rarely serve as fan destinations for long. Still, look before you send a card home. A 6 sitting on top of a useful 7 of the same suit might be part of your only route to uncovering another low card.
Prefer fan moves that uncover something specific. Moving a 7 onto an 8 is much stronger when it exposes an ace, a 2, or the next foundation card. It is weaker when it simply piles more cards onto a fan that cannot move for several ranks.
Build onto single-card fans and kings more freely. A single-card fan has no buried card to protect, so covering it does not trap information. A king is often a natural parking point because it cannot move between fans anyway. These are not automatic moves, but they are less likely to damage the position.
Keep same-suit order in mind. If the 8 of hearts is available and the 7 of hearts is buried, moving another card onto the 8 may block the one landing place the 7 needs. La Belle Lucie punishes moves that look tidy but close the only matching suit ladder.
Mistakes
Common La Belle Lucie mistakes
- Forgetting that fan moves must match suit, not just color or rank direction.
- Trying to move a whole built sequence instead of one top card.
- Clearing a fan and expecting to fill the empty space later.
- Using a reshuffle while useful top-card moves are still available.
- Covering a destination card before checking which buried card needs it.
- Assuming visible cards are playable even when they are not on top of a fan.
Winnability
Is La Belle Lucie Solitaire winnable?
La Belle Lucie is not always winnable. Complete visibility helps you make informed choices, but the movement rules are narrow. Same-suit descending fan moves, closed empty fans, and top-card-only play can trap a required foundation card until it is too late.
This page does not publish a win-rate number because a meaningful number should be measured against this exact implementation. What is fair to say is that La Belle Lucie is harder than it first appears, and undo is useful for testing whether a tempting fan move was actually progress.
Variants
La Belle Lucie variants and nearby house rules
The fan family has many close relatives. The Fan often removes the reshuffles but allows kings to fill empty fans, which makes empty spaces matter in a completely different way. Trefoil starts by moving aces out before dealing the fans. Three Shuffles and a Draw adds the merci rule, a one-time mercy draw of a buried card after the normal reshuffles.
Those small changes are not cosmetic. Allowing king fills turns empty fans into resources. Removing reshuffles makes the opening layout more final. Adding merci gives the player a last tactical escape. This page keeps the stricter La Belle Lucie identity so the rules stay easy to explain and the ending stays sharp.
Nearby games
How La Belle Lucie compares with Canfield, Forty Thieves, and Crazy Quilt
La Belle Lucie and Canfield both build suit foundations, but they create pressure in opposite ways. Canfield hides pressure in the reserve and waste. La Belle Lucie shows every card, then restricts which visible cards can move.
Forty Thieves is stricter and longer, using two decks and same-suit tableau building with very little forgiveness. Crazy Quilt is also an exposed-card puzzle, but access depends on the edges of a woven layout rather than the top card of a fan. If you like La Belle Lucie, those games are natural next stops because they reward careful attention to access and suit order.