Three Blind Mice Solitaire
How to play Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is a one-deck solitaire with no stock, played in ten piles built down in suit, with two cards dealt into cells that can only be played out.
One deck in ten piles built down in suit, with two cards dealt into cells that can only be played out.
The goal of Three Blind Mice
Build four runs of thirteen cards, one for each suit, from King down to Ace. A finished run leaves the table at once, and the game is won when all four are gone.
How to set up Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is played with one deck of 52 cards, 50 of them dealt into ten piles. The first seven piles hold five face-up cards each, and the last three hold three face-down cards under two face-up ones. The other two cards are dealt face up into two cells. There is no stock.
Three Blind Mice rules
A card can be laid only on the card one rank higher in its own suit, so the Seven of hearts goes on the Eight of hearts.
Any face-up card can move onto a pile whose top card it builds on, and every card lying on it moves with it, whether or not those cards are in order.
Only a King can fill an empty pile, together with any cards lying on it. When a move leaves a face-down card on top of its pile, that card is turned face up.
The two cards in the cells can each be played onto a pile they build on, a King into an empty pile, but nothing ever goes back into a cell.
When thirteen cards of one suit run from King down to Ace on top of a pile, they leave the table at once for a foundation.
Click a face-up card to move it with every card lying on it onto the first pile it builds on, else into the first empty pile that takes it. Drag a card to choose its place yourself.
How to win at Three Blind Mice
You win when all four runs are off the table. There is no stock and no redeal, so every move is made with the cards already dealt. There is no auto complete either, since finished runs already leave on their own.
Three Blind Mice strategy tips
Watch for the cards the two cell cards build on. A cell never takes a card back, so once both are played, the cells stay empty for the rest of the game.
Uncover the face-down cards under the last three piles early. They are the only cards you cannot see, nine in all.
A card does not have to be on top of its pile to move. If the card you need is buried, move the card lying directly on it, and everything above goes along.
There is nowhere to park a card. Every move lays a card on the one a rank higher in its suit, plays a cell card out, or sends a King into an empty pile, so look several moves ahead before you commit.
A King dealt partway down a pile keeps the cards under it there until it moves, and it can move only into an empty pile. Count the Kings like that in a deal and give the first empty pile to the one covering the cards you need most.
Three Blind Mice questions and answers
How do you play Three Blind Mice solitaire?
Deal one deck into ten piles, five face-up cards in each of the first seven and three face-down cards under two face-up ones in each of the last three, with the last two cards face up in two cells. Build down in suit, moving any face-up card with every card lying on it, play the cell cards onto the piles, and fill an empty pile only with a King. You win when four runs of thirteen, one for each suit from King down to Ace, have left the table.
What is the difference between Three Blind Mice and Scorpion Head?
Three Blind Mice deals into ten piles instead of seven, with face-down cards under only the last three, and its two cells start full: their cards can only be played out, and nothing goes back in. Scorpion Head starts with four empty cells that a pile's top card can use.
Can every Three Blind Mice deal be won?
No. The game's solver has shown a good number of Three Blind Mice deals lost outright, and of 2,390 shuffled deals it searched, at up to a million positions each, it proved only 21% can be won, the lowest share of any Spider game here. Deals it could not settle are not counted, so 21% is a lower bound. With Winnable on, in the menu beside New deal, every new board is a deal the solver has proved can be won. Hint asks the same solver for a winning line before it suggests a move.
Is there a daily Three Blind Mice game?
Yes. Three Blind Mice has a daily board, the same deal for everyone that day, dealt the way a Winnable board is. You need to be logged in to play it.