Rules, Strategy, and How to Play

Quick Answer: La Belle Lucie is a classic patience game where all 52 cards are dealt into 17 fans of three cards plus one spare card. Only the top card of each fan is playable. You build four foundations from Ace to King by suit, and may redeal twice by gathering and reshuffling all tableau cards (excluding foundations). Win rate is approximately 30–40% with good play.

La Belle Lucie — also known as "Midnight Oil," "Lovely Lucy," or "The Fan" — is one of the most elegant and historically significant patience card games ever devised. Its fan-based layout makes it visually distinctive from columnar games like Klondike or FreeCell, and its two-redeal mechanic gives players multiple chances to complete a challenging deal. The game has been a staple of patience compendia since at least the nineteenth century.

What Is La Belle Lucie?

La Belle Lucie is a single-deck patience game in which all 52 cards are laid out face-up at the start. Cards are arranged in overlapping fans of three, leaving only the topmost card of each fan accessible. The goal is to build four foundations from Ace up to King, one per suit.

Definition: A "fan" in card game terms is a group of cards fanned out so that each card is partially visible beneath the one above it. Only the outermost (top) card in a fan is available to play.

The game's name is French, roughly translating to "The Beautiful Lucy" or "The Fair Lucie." It has been documented under numerous names across English and French patience traditions. Today it is catalogued alongside other fan-based games on [La Belle Lucie Solitaire Rules](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patience_(game) and on [Wikipedia's patience game page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patience_(game). For players in cities like New Orleans or in French-speaking communities, the French name has an additional cultural resonance.

La Belle Lucie Setup

Cards needed: One standard 52-card deck, shuffled.

Layout:

1. Deal all 52 cards face up into fans of three: this creates 17 fans of three cards each, with one single card left over (52 = 17×3 + 1)
2. In each fan, overlap the cards so the third card dealt is on top and fully visible
3. The single leftover card sits alone as a one-card fan
4. Four foundation spaces sit above or to the side of the fans — these are empty at the start

Result: You have 18 groups in total (17 fans of 3 + 1 single), all face-up, with only the top card of each fan accessible.

How to Play La Belle Lucie

Objective: Build all four foundation piles from Ace to King, one per suit (Ace of Hearts → ... → King of Hearts, etc.).

Playing tableau cards:

• Only the top card of each fan is available
• Move top cards to foundations if they continue the foundation sequence for that suit
• Move top cards onto other fans if they are one rank lower than the destination fan's top card AND the same suit
• Example: The 7 of Spades may be placed on the 8 of Spades (same suit, one rank lower)

Same-suit tableau building: This is La Belle Lucie's defining tableau rule. Unlike Klondike's alternating-color building or Yukon's mixed-group movement, La Belle Lucie requires strict same-suit sequences in the tableau. This severely limits move options and is the primary source of the game's difficulty.

Freeing buried cards: When you play the top card of a fan, the next card beneath it becomes available. This is the main mechanism of the game — strategically peeling back fans to reach buried Aces and low cards.

Redeals: When no more useful moves can be made, you may collect all tableau cards (leaving foundation cards in place), shuffle them thoroughly, and re-deal them into new fans of three with any remainder. Most standard rules allow two redeals per game. Some variants allow one "merci" (grace) — a one-time privilege to pick up any buried card and play it freely after the second redeal is exhausted.

Strategy for La Belle Lucie

Locate all four Aces immediately. Before making any moves, scan the 18 fans to find each Ace. Aces that are already the top card of their fan should go to foundations immediately. Aces buried under two other cards are your most urgent priority.

Plan sequences of moves, not single moves. La Belle Lucie punishes reactive play. Because each fan can only accept cards of the same suit and one rank higher, you need to think several steps ahead. Ask: "If I move this card to free that one, does it create or block future opportunities?"

Preserve fan flexibility. Once a fan is exhausted (all three cards played or moved away), that space disappears — unlike columnar games where empty columns serve as free spaces. This means La Belle Lucie gets harder as fans empty, not easier, because you have fewer destinations for cards.

Same-suit sequences are rare. In any shuffled deck, getting three or four same-suit cards in playable order is uncommon. Celebrate when it happens, and plan multiple redeals to work toward it systematically.

Use redeals strategically. Do not use your first redeal the moment you are stuck. Look carefully for any move you might have missed. Each redeal is precious — the final redeal is often your last chance.

The Merci rule. If playing with the optional one-time grace rule, save it for the most critical buried card — almost always an Ace or a 2 that would unlock a complete suit sequence. Using the merci on a mid-rank card rarely wins games.

Compare La Belle Lucie's approach to other strategic solitaire games in our advanced solitaire strategies guide.

Variations of La Belle Lucie

Midnight Oil: Identical to La Belle Lucie but typically played without any redeals. Extremely difficult, with a win rate of under 5%.

Alexander the Great: A variant where Kings must be placed at the bases of fan piles, and foundations build from King down to Ace.

Super Flower Garden: Not directly related but shares the fan-and-reserve concept with La Belle Lucie's layout philosophy. See our Flower Garden Solitaire guide for a contrasting example.

Three Shuffles and a Draw: Another variant name for La Belle Lucie allowing three redeals and one free card draw.

According to [Wikipedia's patience article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patience_(game), La Belle Lucie and its variants represent one of the oldest continuous patience traditions, with recorded references dating to the 1860s.

Win Rate and Difficulty

La Belle Lucie is a moderately difficult patience game. With the standard two-redeal rule and good strategic play, the practical win rate is approximately 30–40%. Without redeals (Midnight Oil variant), win rates drop to single digits.

The game's difficulty comes not from complexity of rules but from the severe restriction of same-suit tableau building. In a typical deal, a significant portion of Aces and 2s are buried under unrelated cards, and the same-suit requirement means you cannot always reach them by building normal sequences.

For difficulty comparison, La Belle Lucie is harder than Klondike Turn 1 (which most players win about 15–20% of the time) but more approachable than Spider Solitaire four-suit. It sits comfortably in the "challenging but satisfying" tier, making it a favorite among experienced patience players who enjoy the slow unfolding of a well-planned redeal sequence.

Digital implementations of La Belle Lucie are available on various platforms. When playing online, verify that the game enforces same-suit tableau building — some casual implementations incorrectly use alternating colors, which changes the character of the game entirely. Visit our best solitaire games compared guide for platform recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the rules for La Belle Lucie solitaire?

In La Belle Lucie, all 52 cards are dealt into 17 fans of three cards plus one spare. Only the top card of each fan can be moved. Cards are built onto other fans in same-suit descending sequences, or moved to foundations (built up by suit from Ace to King). Players may redeal twice by gathering all tableau cards and re-fanning them.

How many times can you redeal in La Belle Lucie?

Standard La Belle Lucie rules allow two redeals. After each redeal, all remaining tableau cards (not those on foundations) are collected, shuffled, and re-dealt into new fans of three. Some variants also allow one "merci" — a single free pick of any buried card after all redeals are exhausted.

What is the win rate for La Belle Lucie?

With two redeals and optimal play, La Belle Lucie has an estimated win rate of 30–40% for experienced players. Without redeals, this drops below 5%. The main challenge is the same-suit-only tableau building rule, which severely limits legal moves in most positions.

What does "same-suit building" mean in La Belle Lucie?

Same-suit building means you can only place a card on top of a fan if both cards belong to the same suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades). A 7 of Hearts can only go on an 8 of Hearts, not on an 8 of Diamonds or 8 of any other suit. This differs from Klondike, which uses alternating colors.

What other names does La Belle Lucie go by?

La Belle Lucie is also known as "Midnight Oil," "The Fan," "Lovely Lucy," "Three Shuffles and a Draw," and "Alexander the Great" (in a related variant form). The game has collected many names across different patience traditions in France, Britain, and North America over its roughly 150-year history.

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💡 Variant Strategy Note (2026)

Each solitaire variation demands unique table space management. In column-heavy formats like Spider or Yukon, prioritize unlocking hidden columns early to act as temporary staging areas.