Play Penguin Solitaire — Seven Flippers, Same-Suit Building, Rank Wrap

Penguin Solitaire is a single-deck patience designed by David Parlett. Seven tableau columns of seven cards (the first card dealt is the "penguin" — its rank sets the foundation start), four foundations, and seven "flippers" (cells) for temporary storage. You build the tableau down by same suit with rank wrap, and aim to fill four foundations starting from the penguin's rank back to itself. The seven flippers give serious mobility, but the same-suit rule keeps it tight. Free in your browser, no sign-up. Works offline once the page has loaded.

How Do You Play Penguin?

Goal: build all four foundations up by suit (with rank wrap) starting from the penguin rank.

Setup

• Tableau: seven columns of seven cards each (49 cards), all face-up. The very first card dealt is the "penguin" — its rank is the foundation start rank.
• Foundations: four piles. The other three cards of the penguin's rank go to the other three foundations as start cards.
• Flippers: seven cells (sometimes called reserves), all empty at start. Each holds one card.

Rules

• Build tableau columns down by same suit, with rank wrap. K wraps to A; A wraps to K. So K can go on A and A can go on 2.
• Move one card at a time, or a same-suit sequence as a block.
• Each flipper holds one card. Move freely between flippers and the tableau.
• An empty column can be filled by any card or group whose rank is one below the penguin rank. (E.g., if the penguin is a 7, only 6s start empty columns.)
• Foundations build up by suit from the penguin rank, wrapping past K back through A: 7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A-2-3-4-5-6. You win when all four foundations are complete.

Penguin vs FreeCell

Both have open information and reserve cells, but the building rule and foundation rules differ.

What's the Best Penguin Strategy?

• Identify the penguin first. The penguin's rank determines the foundation start, the rank-below for empty columns, and which cards you'll need to chain through the wrap. Plan around the penguin from move one.
• Free the other three penguin-rank cards. Three more copies of the penguin rank exist somewhere in the tableau. Each one starts a foundation, so getting them out is the first concrete goal.
• Use the seven flippers like a workspace. Seven cells is generous — but seven cells stuffed full is no help. Park cards strategically to free same-suit chains.
• Watch the rank wrap. K-A and A-2 are both legal in the tableau. The wrap is what lets penguin-rank foundations reach the cards just below the penguin rank at the end of the run.
• Concentrate on one suit at a time. Same advice as Baker's Game and Eight Off — same-suit building rewards focus over breadth.
• Empty column rules are restrictive. Only the rank-below-penguin starts empty columns. That's much tighter than FreeCell's any-card rule. Don't expect empty columns to be easy reserve space.

A Short History

Penguin Solitaire was designed by British games scholar David Parlett. It appears in his Penguin Book of Patience (Penguin, 1979) — the name is a nod to the publisher rather than the bird, though the game's mascot has since become the literal animal. The variant has remained niche but well-regarded among patience designers for its elegant connection between the penguin rank and three of the game's other rules (foundations, empty columns, and the wrap).

About This Version

This Penguin runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install as an app on your phone or computer; once installed it works offline. Auto-supermoves on same-suit sequences, unlimited undo, statistics, and a daily challenge that gives every player the same deal that day.

Other Solitaire Games to Try

• FreeCell — alternating-color building, four free cells, almost every deal winnable
• Eight Off — same-suit building with eight reserves, King-only empty columns
• Baker's Game — FreeCell layout with same-suit building
• Canfield — random foundation start rank with rank wrap