La Belle Lucie, "lovely Lucy", is the best known of the fan games. The whole deck is spread out face up in little fans of three cards, so you can see everything, and yet the game is famously hard to win. The trouble is that only the top card of a fan moves, and a card can only go on the next higher card of its own suit. Two reshuffles give you second and third chances, and that rhythm of play, get stuck, redeal, play again is what makes it so satisfying.
Play it here free in your browser, on a computer or a phone, with no download and no sign-up. You get unlimited undo, hints, a timer, a move counter and saved statistics.
How to Play La Belle Lucie
Setup. The deck is dealt face up into seventeen fans of three cards each, with the last card forming an eighteenth fan of its own. Here the fans stand in rows, each fanned downward so you can read every card, and the card at the bottom of each fan, the one you see in full, is its top card. Any Ace that starts on top of a fan goes straight to the foundations.
Goal. Build four foundations up by suit from Ace to King. All 52 cards on the foundations wins.
Moves.
- Only the top card of each fan can move, one card at a time.
- Fans build down in the same suit. The 9 of Clubs goes only on the 10 of Clubs.
- An empty fan is never filled again, not even with a King. Empty fans are removed from the table.
- Any card that can go to a foundation goes there by itself. With same-suit building it can never be needed on the table.
- Redeals. Twice per game you may gather all the cards left in the fans, shuffle them and deal them out again in fans of three. Tap the button in the top-left corner (it shows how many redeals are left).
- Merci (optional). In the "With merci" mode, after the second redeal you may pull any one buried card to the top of its own fan, once. Just tap the card.
Controls. Drag a top card, or tap it to send it to the best legal spot. If you turn tap-to-move off in Settings, a double-tap sends a card to a foundation. Undo and Redo are unlimited, even across a redeal. Hint looks a few moves ahead for real progress, and when there is none it points you to the merci or the redeal button. Shortcuts: Ctrl or Cmd+Z to undo, Ctrl+Y to redo, H for a hint, N for a new game.
The toolbar shows the timer, move counter and deal number. Add ?deal=NUMBER to the page address to
replay a deal (and &merci=1 for the merci mode). Your statistics and any unfinished game are
saved in this browser.
La Belle Lucie Strategy
- Look for knots before you move. A knot is a low card sitting under a higher card of the same suit in the same fan, like the 3 of Spades under the 8 of Spades. The 3 cannot come out until the 8 moves, and the 8 can only go on the 9 of Spades. Spot these early; they decide which fans matter.
- Play to the foundations in a line. Each card that goes home can open the card under it. When you have a choice, follow one suit up as far as it will go before switching.
- Do not rush to empty fans. An empty fan is gone for good, and every card you stack onto another fan buries whatever is under it. Short fans are fine to leave alone if moving them blocks something.
- Long same-suit fans are good news. A fan that reads 10, 9, 8 of Diamonds is three cards that will all go home together once the 7 is up. Building these is how you make the most of a deal.
- Squeeze every move out before you redeal. A redeal shuffles only what is left on the table, so the more cards you have sent home, the smaller and friendlier the next layout is. Ask for a hint before tapping the button; when it suggests the redeal, you have nothing useful left.
- Save the merci for the card that matters. The best merci frees a card that goes straight to a foundation and lets several more follow, usually the next card of a suit that is stuck under a higher one.
A Little History
La Belle Lucie comes from France and was first published in English by Lady Adelaide Cadogan in 1870. It has collected plenty of other names along the way, including Clover Leaves, Midnight Oil and Three Shuffles and a Draw, the last one describing the merci house rule. Related fan games include Trefoil, which starts with the Aces on the foundations, and The Fan, which lets a King fill an empty fan. If you enjoy same-suit building, try Eight Off, or Scorpion for a game where whole stacks move at once.
La Belle Lucie FAQ
How do the redeals work?
When you are stuck, tap the redeal button in the top-left corner. All the cards still in the fans are gathered up, shuffled and dealt out again in fans of three, with any one or two cards left over forming a last, smaller fan. You get two redeals per game. The number on the button shows how many are left.
What is the merci?
Merci is French for "thank you", and it is an old house rule that gives the game its other name, Three Shuffles and a Draw. After your second redeal you may pull one buried card out of any fan and put it on top of that fan, where it can be played normally. Choose "With merci" above the board to play this way, then tap the buried card you want.
Can I put a King in an empty fan?
No. In La Belle Lucie a fan that has been cleared stays empty, even for a King. Empty fans simply disappear from the table here.
Can I move more than one card at a time?
No. Only the top card of each fan can move, one at a time, onto the next higher card of the same suit or onto its foundation.
Why is it so hard to win?
Because a card can only go on the card one rank higher in its own suit, and only top cards move. If the 4 of Hearts sits under the 9 of Hearts in the same fan, the 4 can only be reached after the 9 has a place to go, which it may never get. The redeals and the merci are there to break those knots.
Can I replay a deal?
Yes. Restart replays the current deal from the beginning, including the same redeal shuffles if you make the same moves. Adding ?deal=NUMBER to the page address opens a specific deal.
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