Big Ben

Big Ben takes the clock-face idea and makes an actual game of it. Twelve named cards form an inner ring of foundations, each of which has to climb to the rank matching its own position on the dial, so the whole thing finishes as a readable clock.

Outside that ring sit twelve piles of three that build down by suit and run continuously past King to Ace. Because every foundation has a known destination, you can always tell exactly how far along you are — which makes it one of the more satisfying long games here, and at even odds one of the more achievable. It is the two-deck cousin of Grandfather's Clock, and considerably meatier.

Two decks, and twelve particular cards are pulled out to form an inner circle of foundations arranged like a clock face — each one building up by suit until it reaches the rank that matches its own hour position, so the Queen of spades climbs to the seven of spades. Twelve piles of three ring the outer circle as the tableau, building down by suit and running continuously so an Ace follows a King. Piles must be topped back up to three from the stock all together before any further building is allowed, which paces the game.

Each foundation has a fixed finishing rank, so you always know exactly how many cards each one still needs — and that makes it unusually easy to see which is lagging. Prioritise the foundations furthest from their target. The rule that gaps must all be refilled before building resumes means you should extract everything available before letting the stock top up, otherwise you bury your own openings. Continuous building past King to Ace is easy to forget and is often the move that unblocks a pile. At 1 in 2 it is genuinely winnable, and the twenty minutes are mostly bookkeeping rather than agonising.