The term Clock used in this article refers to Big Ben. It may also refer to Clock Solitaire

Clock patience

Clock patience, also known as clock solitaire is a solitaire card game with the cards laid out to represent the face of a clock.-Rules:...

.

Big Ben (or known in other solitaire

Solitaire

Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. The solitaire card game Klondike is often known as simply Solitaire....

 brands as Clock) is a solitaire card game

Card game

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...

 which uses two decks of playing card

Playing card

A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...

s mixed together. It is basically a large-scale, two-deck version of Grandfather's Clock

Grandfather's Clock

Grandfather's Clock is a solitaire game using a deck of 52 playing cards. Its foundation is akin to Clock Solitaire; but while winning the latter depends on the luck of the draw, this game has a strategic side....

 and is probably named after Big Ben

Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...

, the colloquially used nickname for the clock face

Clock face

A clock face is the part of an analog clock that displays the time through the use of a fixed numbered dial or dials and moving hands. In its most basic form, recognized universally throughout the world, the dial is numbered 1–12 indicating the hours in a 12-hour cycle, and a short hour hand...

 at the tower of the Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Before the start of the game, the following cards are separated from the decks: 2♣, 3♥, 4♠, 5♦, 6♣, 7♥, 8♠, 9♦, 10♣, J♥, Q♠, K♦. These cards are used to form a circle

Circle

A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....

 arranged like numbers on a clock face with the 2♣ on the "9 o' clock" position

Clock position

Clock position is a way of communicating the relative direction of an object using the analogy of a 12-hour clock. One imagines a clock face lying either upright or flat in front of oneself, and identifies the twelve hour markings with the directions in which they point.Using this analogy, 12...

, the 5♦ at the "12 o' clock" position, and the K♦ at the "8 o' clock." This will be the foundations, or the "inner circle" (otherwise known as the "clock").

Twelve piles of three cards are then dealt around the inner circle. These piles form the tableau, or the "outer circle." The top cards of the outer circle are available for play to the inner circle or around the outer circle. Building on the outer circle is down by suit, while the foundations in the inner circle are built up by suit until the last card corresponds to the its position on the clock (i.e. the Q♠ should be built up to 7♠, for instance). Building is also continuous, with Aces placed over Kings in the inner circle and vice versa in the outer circle.

The minimum number of cards in each pile in the outer circle is three. A pile containing less than three cards is said to have gaps; an empty pile has three "gaps," a pile having one card has two "gaps," and a pile with two cards has one "gap." As cards are built, "gaps" are formed and the only way these are "filled" is by dealing cards from the stock. Building on a pile having cards less than three is like "filling a gap" from the tableau and is therefore not allowed.

It is the player's discretion when to fill the "gaps," but when the player decides to do so, one has to fill all "gaps," i. e. replenish all piles with less than three cards so each of them contains three cards once again. For example, two piles are empty, one pile has one card left, and two piles have two cards left. So the player has to fill a total of 10 gaps. He does this by dealing cards one card per pile at a time clockwise

Clockwise

Circular motion can occur in two possible directions. A clockwise motion is one that proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top...

starting from the pile above the "12 o' clock" foundation. No building is done until this process is complete. The player can do this as long as there are "gaps."

Sometimes, the player cannot make any moves even when all piles contain three cards each. So the player can deal cards from the stock one at a time. Cards that cannot be built either onto the inner or outer circles are placed on the wastepile (as a suggestion, one can place the waste pile at the center of the inner circle for convenience). Again, cards at the wastepile cannot be used to fill "gaps." But once the stock is exhausted, there are no re-deals; the game ends sooner after this or later.

The game is successfully won when all foundations show cards corresponding to their positions in the clock (J♠ on "11 o' clock," Q♦ on "12 o' clock," A♣ on "1 o' clock," and so on.)

Solsuite deviates from the rules above by implementing these rules http://www.solsuite.com/games/clock.htm:

• When filling "gaps" it starts from the pile over the "1 o' clock" foundation.
• The cards at the waste pile can be used as a new stock (this can be done only once).

In addition, JSolitaire's version of Big Ben (as well some rule sets) also allows building on piles with less than three cards. http://www.idiotsdelight.net/frameset.php?game=Big+Ben&version=2-4-1