Lucas Solitaire
How to play Lucas
Lucas is a two-deck solitaire game of the Forty Thieves family in which the eight Aces start on the foundations and thirteen face-up piles of three are built down in suit, one card at a time.
Thirteen piles of three built down in suit, with all eight Aces on the foundations before the deal.
The goal of Lucas
Move all 104 cards onto the eight foundations, two for each suit, each built up from the Ace to the King.
How to set up Lucas
Two standard decks are shuffled together and the eight Aces put on the foundations. Thirty-nine of the other 96 cards are dealt face up into thirteen piles of three, and the remaining 57 form the stock.
Lucas rules
Piles build down in suit, one rank at a time. Only one card moves at a time, the top card of a pile or of the waste, and an empty pile takes any card.
Turn the stock onto the waste one card at a time, once through with no redeal. Only the top waste card is in play.
A card on a foundation never comes back into play.
Click a card to send it to its foundation, else onto the first pile it builds on, else into an empty pile. Drag it to choose yourself. With Autoplay off in Settings, only a drag moves a card.
How to win at Lucas
You win when all 104 cards are home. With the stock and waste empty and every pile in order, Auto complete, on by default in Settings, plays the rest for you. The game is stuck when no card can move and the rest of the stock brings up nothing that can.
Lucas strategy tips
Thirteen piles give thirteen top cards to build on, three more than Forty Thieves, and no dealt card starts under more than two others. Before you turn the stock, check every one of them: with so many piles, a waste card often has a place you missed.
Short piles empty fast, and an empty pile takes any card. Save the first one for a card that covers a Two or a Three rather than the first card that will fit, since the low cards are what the foundations are waiting for.
Nearly every Lucas deal the solver tried could be won, so a lost game is worth playing again. Press Restart to deal the same board from the start and look for the move that went wrong.
Lucas lays out thirteen columns, the widest board of the family, so its cards are the smallest. On a phone, tapping a card to play it is easier than dragging it.
Each suit has 24 cards to send home after its two Aces, spread over the thirteen piles and the stock. A suit whose Twos and Threes all lie in the stock will move only as fast as the stock turns, so build its higher cards on the table meanwhile.
Lucas questions and answers
How do you play Lucas solitaire?
Put the eight Aces on the foundations, shuffle the rest of the two decks, deal thirteen piles of three cards face up and keep the other 57 cards as the stock. Build the piles down in suit, one card at a time, and go through the stock once, one card at a time. You win when all 104 cards are home.
What is the difference between Lucas and Forty Thieves?
Lucas deals thirteen piles of three instead of ten piles of four, and puts all eight Aces on the foundations before the deal, so 57 cards go to the stock. As in Forty Thieves, the piles build down in suit, one card moves at a time and the stock goes through once.
Why is Lucas easier than Forty Thieves?
Lucas starts with the eight Aces home and deals thirteen piles of three instead of ten of four, so more top cards are open to build on and no card starts deep in a pile. The solver proved 97% of the Lucas deals it tried winnable, against 29% for Forty Thieves.
What is a good first move in Lucas?
Look for a Two among the thirteen top cards: with every Ace home, it goes straight to a foundation and shows the card under it. Then move top cards between piles of the same suit where that empties a pile or uncovers a Two or a Three. Turn the stock only when the table has nothing left to give.
Can every Lucas deal be won?
Almost every one. Searching up to a million positions per deal, the game's solver proved 97% of the Lucas deals it tried winnable, and an earlier trial at three million positions reached 99%. In the Forty Thieves family, only Fortune's Favor and Blockade proved a higher share. With Winnable on, in the menu beside New deal, each board comes from a list of 500 proved deals. Hint asks the same solver for a winning line before it suggests a move.
Is there a daily Lucas game?
Yes. Lucas has a daily board, the same deal for everyone that day, dealt the way a Winnable board is. Log in to play it.