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What is Spoilt Solitaire?
Spoilt is a distinctive 32-card shuttling patience that uses a reduced deck (7 through Ace of each suit). Unlike its 52-card cousins in the Travellers family, Spoilt incorporates suit-based placement: four rows represent the four suits and seven columns represent the ranks from 8 to Ace. Each card has exactly one correct position on the tableau, determined by both its suit and rank. A four-card reserve starts the shuttling sequence.
Spoilt Solitaire history
Spoilt appears in classic patience collections alongside other shuttler variants descended from Ednah Cheney's 1869 Wandering Card. The reduced Piquet deck (32 cards) and suit-rank grid placement set it apart from rank-only shuttlers like Clock Solitaire and Travellers. The name "Spoilt" comes from the loss condition: when the last 7 arrives early and its displaced card lands out of position, the game is declared spoilt.
How to play Spoilt Solitaire
- Use a 32-card deck: 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of each suit (Clubs, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds).
- Deal face-down into a 4x7 grid (28 cards) plus a reserve of 4 face-down cards set aside.
- Label rows by suit and columns by rank (8 through Ace). The extra column to the left is for 7s.
- Flip the top reserve card and place it at its correct grid position (matching suit row and rank column).
- Take the displaced face-down card from that position and shuttle it to its correct grid cell.
- Continue the chain: each displaced card goes to its proper cell.
- When a 7 appears, place it to the left of the 8 column in its suit row.
- If the 4th (last) 7 arrives while face-down cards remain, turn any face-down card. If it is already in its correct position, play continues. If not, the game is spoilt and you lose.
- Win when every grid cell holds its correct card (suit and rank).
Strategies to win Spoilt Solitaire
Spoilt is a purely mechanical game with no player decisions during shuttling. The outcome is determined by the initial shuffle and how the 32 cards distribute across the grid. The 7s act as chain terminators: each time a 7 appears, you move to the reserve for a fresh start. Games where all four 7s are deep in the grid tend to produce longer chains and better winning chances.
Spoilt Solitaire rules and objective
The goal is to sort all 32 cards so each grid cell contains the card matching its suit (row) and rank (column). The 7s occupy the leftmost column of each suit row. The game ends in a loss when the fourth 7 arrives and a randomly chosen face-down card is not in its correct position.
Game setup
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Deck | 32 cards (7 through Ace of each suit) |
| Layout | 4x7 grid + 4-card reserve |
| Face | All face-down |
| Placement | By suit (row) and rank (column) |
| 7s | Placed to the left of the 8 column |
| Loss | 4th 7 appears and displaced card is out of place |
| Objective | Each cell holds its matching suit+rank card |
Spoilt Solitaire variants
Spoilt is the most unusual member of the shuttler family, using a reduced deck and two-dimensional suit-rank placement. Other shuttler variants stick to rank-only placement with a full 52-card deck.
- Clock Solitaire: circular clock-face dial with Kings to the centre.
- Travellers Solitaire: 13 face-down row piles with rank-only placement.
- Hidden Cards: 12 face-up piles in a 2x6 grid with a separate Kings pile.
- Hide and Seek: German variant (Versteckenspiel) starting from the Ace pile.
- Wandering Card: the 1869 original with a dealing set-aside phase.
- Four of a Kind: grid layout with sequential pile advancement.
How difficult is Spoilt Solitaire?
Spoilt is moderately difficult for a shuttler game. The reduced 32-card deck means fewer cards need to be placed correctly, and four reserve cards give multiple chain restart opportunities. However, the suit-rank requirement means each card has only one valid destination, and the 7s act as hard chain-stoppers.
What is Spoilt Solitaire's win percentage?
Spoilt Solitaire has an estimated win rate of about 5 to 10%. The smaller deck and four reserve cards give it significantly better odds than Clock (about 1%) or Travellers (about 1%), but the suit-rank constraint prevents it from reaching the higher rates seen in strategic solitaires.
What is the difference between Spoilt and Clock Solitaire?
Spoilt and Clock share the chain-shuttling mechanic but differ in almost every other aspect. Spoilt uses a 32-card Piquet deck with suit-rank grid placement, while Clock uses a full 52-card deck with rank-only circular placement.
| Feature | Spoilt | Clock Solitaire |
|---|---|---|
| Deck size | 32 cards (Piquet) | 52 cards (standard) |
| Layout | 4x7 grid + reserve | 12 clock positions + centre |
| Placement | Suit + rank | Rank only |
| Loss trigger | 4th 7 + wrong card | 4th King |
| Reserve | 4 cards | None |
| Win rate | About 5-10% | About 1% |
Spoilt Solitaire FAQ
Why is the game called Spoilt?
The name comes from the loss condition: when the fourth 7 appears and a displaced face-down card is not in its correct position, the game is declared "spoilt," meaning ruined or gone wrong.
What is a Piquet deck?
A Piquet deck is a 32-card deck created by removing all 2s through 6s from a standard 52-card deck. Each suit retains 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. It is traditionally used in French card games and some patience variants like Spoilt.
Why do 7s go in a separate column?
The 7s act as chain terminators. When a 7 appears during shuttling, it is placed in the leftmost column of its suit row (next to the 8 column). Since the 7 position was not part of the original grid, the chain stalls and you must draw the next reserve card to continue.
Can I choose which face-down card to turn when the last 7 appears?
Yes. When the fourth 7 arrives, you may turn any remaining face-down card on the grid. If it happens to be in its correct suit-rank position, the chain continues. If not, the game is lost. This is the one moment of choice in the entire game.
Is Spoilt Solitaire related to Clock Patience?
Yes. Both belong to the shuttler patience family descended from Ednah Cheney's 1869 Wandering Card. They share the chain-shuttling mechanic but differ in deck size, layout, and placement rules. Spoilt uses suit-rank placement on a 32-card grid while Clock uses rank-only placement on a circular dial.