Lucky Sevens

Copyright 2022, Phil Leduc

Lucky Sevens Solitaire

The solitaire game uses a well shuffled standard deck of 52 cards. It is played in rounds which consists of a placement phase and a collection phase.

Placement Phase

During the placement phase, four cards are randomly dealt face up from the deck to create or build on a tableau of four columns. The cards in each column overlap and only the bottom cards are completely visible, as in many solitaire games like Klondike.

Collection Phase

During the collection phase, pairs of cards whose ranks/values are equal, or that add up to fourteen, are collected one pair at a time. (For example, a pair of Jacks, or a King (13) and an Ace (1)). Cards must be collected from the bottom of two columns or from the bottom of a single column. Collected pairs are placed face up in the player's area. (Tip: It is recommended that the collected pair is split into two seperate piles as this will ensure the cards in the pair will not be dealt sequentially in future games.)

In addition, single cards of rank seven can be collected from the bottom of a column and added face up to the player's collection pile(s). Each time a Seven is collected, immediately following its collection, the player may move any bottom card to the bottom of a different column. This is optional. But, it is often advantageous to unblock more pairs of cards. The round ends when the player decides to stop or there are no more cards to be collected. The player then starts another round.

Ending the Game

The game ends when the deck is depleted and the player has collected as many cards as possible. The player wins if all 52 cards are collected from the tableau.

Lucky Sevens (Competitive)

The competitive game uses two standard decks. Setup for the three- and four-player games requires any 4 collectable pairs of cards be put aside out of play. The pairs of cards should have equal ranks or ranks that add up to 14. (For example, King and Ace, 10 and 4, Jack and Jack, 2 and 2. Or, more simply, remove 8 Aces. Any pair combination works.)

The rules are the same as for solitaire, with the following changes:

• Each round, the players are dealt four cards and then each player takes a turn. Turns proceed clockwise.

• During a turn, a player distributes his or her cards to the tableau, one card per column in any advantageous order. The player then proceeds to collect as many cards as possible.

Ending the Game

The game ends when the deck is depleted and the last player has completed his or her turn.

The player who collects the most cards wins. In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most Kings wins. If still tied, compare Queens, etc. If after comparing Aces, the tied players are still tied, the game ends in a tie. All tied players are considered lucky and victorious!