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Aces Up Solitaire is the quick one-deck patience game also known as Idiot's Delight or Firing Squad, free to play online in your browser with no download and no sign-up. Four cards are dealt face up in a row. Whenever two of the cards on top of the columns share a suit, the lower one is discarded — Aces are high, so they are never thrown away. Any top card can slide into an empty column, and you deal four more cards from the stock, one onto each column, whenever you choose. Clear all 48 cards that are not Aces and you win. It looks like pure luck, but it is not: the solver behind this page, which can see the whole deck, wins 973 of the first 4,000 deals, while a simple rule-of-thumb player that never thinks ahead wins only 55 of them. The difference is what you do with an empty column. Drag or tap the cards, undo any move right back to the deal, ask for a hint, replay a deal by its number, or switch to Winnable deals to play only hands the solver has proven can be cleared.
How to play Aces Up Solitaire
- The game deals four cards face up, one at the top of each of four columns, and keeps the other 48 face down in the stock.
- Look at the four top cards. If two of them share a suit, the lower one can be discarded — tap it or drag it to the discard pile. Aces are high, so a King is discarded below an Ace and an Ace is never discarded.
- When a column is empty, move any top card into it by tapping or dragging. That uncovers the card underneath, which may now be discardable.
- When you have done what you can, tap the stock (or press D) to deal four more cards, one onto every column — empty columns included. You can deal whenever you like, but the stock is dealt only once and there is no redeal.
- You win when the 48 cards that are not Aces are all on the discard pile and only the four Aces are left. If no move is left before that, the game is over: undo, replay the same deal or start a new one.
Tips
- Treat an empty column as the most valuable thing on the table. Fill it with a card that is hiding a card you can discard, not just with whatever is on the tallest column.
- Do not rush to deal. Every discard you can still make before dealing is a card that will not end up buried under the next row.
- Watch where the Aces are. An Ace on top of a column blocks every card under it until an empty column lets you move it, so try to get each Ace to the bottom of its own column — moving an Ace into an empty column is often the strongest move in the game.
- High cards are the hardest to get rid of: a King can only be discarded while the Ace of its suit is showing, a Queen only against that suit's King or Ace. Free them before the stock runs low.
- Stuck on a deal? Undo back a few moves and try a different card in the empty column — or press Hint, which says whether the deal can still be won from where you are.
FAQ
Is Aces Up Solitaire free to play?
Yes. Aces Up Solitaire is completely free to play online in your browser, with no download, no account and no in-game purchases. It works on phones, tablets and computers.
How do you play Aces Up Solitaire?
Four cards are dealt face up in a row. Whenever two of the top cards share a suit, discard the lower one. Any top card may move into an empty column. When you choose, deal four more cards from the stock, one onto each column, and keep going until the stock is used up.
How do you win Aces Up?
Discard all 48 cards that are not Aces, so the four Aces are the only cards left on the table. Aces are high, so they can never be discarded — the game is won with all four still standing.
Are Aces high or low in Aces Up?
High. An Ace beats every card of its suit, so a King showing next to the Ace of the same suit can be discarded, but the Ace itself never can.
What can go into an empty column?
Any card on top of another column, one card at a time. The only move this version does not offer is lifting a column's last card into another empty column, because it changes nothing on the table.
How often can you win Aces Up?
We measured it on the first 4,000 deals. A solver that sees the whole deck, including the order of the stock, can clear 973 of them — about one deal in four. A simple rule-of-thumb player that always discards first, fills an empty column from the deepest pile and deals only when stuck clears just 55 — about one in 70. Good choices about empty columns and when to deal close most of that gap.
What does Winnable deals mode do?
It deals only hands the solver has proven can be cleared: the 973 winnable deals among the first 4,000. Random deals draws from all 999,999 deal numbers, so most of those hands cannot be won however well you play.
How does the hint work?
The hint looks ahead with the solver, which knows the order of the stock. While the deal can still be won it shows the next move of a winning line and says so; once it cannot, it shows the move that clears the most and tells you no winning line is left.
Can I undo a move?
Yes. Every move — discards, moves into empty columns and deals — can be undone one at a time, right back to the first deal, even after the game has ended with no moves left.
What is the deal number?
Every shuffle has a number from 1 to 999,999, shown at the top of the table. The same number always deals the same cards, so Replay deal gives you exactly the same hand again, and New deal picks a different one.
Is Aces Up the same as Idiot's Delight?
Yes. Aces Up is also called Idiot's Delight, Firing Squad and Aces High. Rule books differ in small details; this version uses the common rules described above.
Does it save my game, and can I play with a keyboard?
An unfinished deal is saved in your browser and picks up where you left it. With a keyboard, the arrow keys move between piles, Enter plays the top card, D deals, U undoes, H asks for a hint and N starts a new deal.