How to Play Penguin Solitaire

Penguin's rules begin with the 1st card dealt, called the beak. Its rank starts all 4 foundations and also determines which rank may enter an empty column. The other 3 cards of that rank begin on the foundations, while the beak remains buried at the foot of column 1 until the cards above it have moved.

The version on Penguin Solitaire uses 1 standard 52-card deck, 7 tableau columns and 7 single-card flippers. All cards are visible from the opening. The screenshots below use a certified deal played through the same rules engine as the public game.

Deal 7 Columns and Find the Beak

Turn over the 1st card and place it at the base of the 1st tableau column. This is the beak. Find the other 3 cards of the same rank and place them on 3 foundation spaces. Deal the remaining cards face up until each of the 7 tableau columns contains 7 cards. Leave 7 empty flippers above the tableau.

The beak stays in the tableau until it becomes playable. It does not begin a foundation by itself. For example, if the beak is the 8 of hearts, the other 3 8s begin their foundations and the hearts foundation remains empty. The 8 of hearts must eventually leave its column and start that 4th pile.

Build the 4 Foundations from the Beak Rank

Each foundation holds 1 suit and builds upward by rank. Begin with the beak rank, then continue to the next higher card. The order wraps after King. If the beak is a 10, a completed foundation reads 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2 and continues through 9. If the beak is an Ace, the familiar Ace-to-King order applies.

Only an exposed card can move to a foundation. A buried card cannot jump over the cards below it, even when its foundation is waiting. Cards move there 1 at a time; a tableau packet never transfers to a foundation as a group. The game is won when all 4 foundations contain 13 cards.

Build Tableau Cards Down in the Same Suit

A tableau card may land on the next higher rank of the same suit. The order descends and wraps from Ace to King. A 6 of clubs may therefore move onto the 7 of clubs, while the King of clubs may move onto the Ace of clubs. A matching rank in another suit is not a legal destination.

Suit order matters more here than color. Players coming from FreeCell may instinctively look for red-on-black pairs. Penguin ignores that pattern. A red heart builds only on another heart, and a black club builds only on another club.

Move a Complete Same-Suit Packet Together

A group may move when every card in it follows the same descending suit sequence. Pick up the highest card in that packet and all correctly ordered cards below it travel with the move. There is no formula based on empty flippers or vacant columns: a legal packet can move as a unit even when all 7 flippers are occupied.

The sequence must be intact from its lead card to its last card. If a club interrupts a heart run, the hearts above and below that club are separate pieces. Move the interruption away or rebuild the suit before attempting a group transfer.

Use Each Flipper for 1 Exposed Card

A flipper holds 1 card from the exposed end of a tableau column. A card in a flipper may move back to a legal tableau destination or onto its foundation. Cards cannot stack inside a flipper, and a multi-card packet cannot be parked there.

With 7 spaces, it is tempting to fill several at once. Before lifting a card, identify the move that brings it back. A flipper used to expose an immediate foundation card has a clear purpose. A card parked simply because the space is open may remain there while the useful cards underneath another column stay blocked.

Fill an Empty Column with the Rank Below the Beak

Clearing all cards from a tableau column creates a restricted vacancy. Only the rank immediately below the beak may enter it. A legal suited packet can come along when its lead card has that rank. With a 9 beak, the space begins with an 8. With a 2 beak, it begins with an Ace. With an Ace beak, the cycle wraps and the required card is a King.

Suit does not matter for the lead card, but rank does. Any of the 4 qualifying cards may begin the new column. If none is exposed, leave the vacancy open while you work toward 1. Moving an unrelated card into the space is not allowed.

Check the Table in a Practical Order

1. Read the beak rank and note the rank required for an empty column.
2. Look for exposed cards that extend any of the 4 foundations.
3. Find same-suit joins that turn separate cards into a movable packet.
4. Use a flipper only when the move exposes something useful or has a clear return route.
5. Before clearing a column, locate at least 1 card that is allowed to refill it.

This is a checking order, not a command to send every playable card to a foundation. A low card may still be a useful tableau landing point for the rank above it. If moving it home strands a packet with no destination, leave it in place until the packet has another route.

Finish by Keeping the 4 Suits Moving

Late positions usually have fewer columns but longer suited packets. At that stage, compare the foundation tops before committing a long group to a new lane. Moving 6 cards at once is easy under Penguin's packet rule; moving them back may be impossible if their old parent has already gone to a foundation.

A balanced finish does not require all foundations to remain level, but allowing 1 suit to lag can block the ranks needed by the others. Keep checking which suit owns the next buried card. The final deal ends only when the beak's suit and the 3 foundations that started early all complete their full cycles.

For another open game with same-suit building, compare the reserve structure in FreeCell variants. If changing foundation ranks are the appealing part, Canfield uses a similar rank cycle with a reserve and Draw 3 stock.

Play a Certified Penguin Deal

By Sam R., Solitaire.cx editor. Every screenshot comes from a certified game played on this site. How these guides are written.