Aces Up Solitaire Strategy Guide
Aces Up is the solitaire that almost never works out. You deal four cards, discard any card that is beaten by a higher card of its suit, and try to finish with only the four aces left. Ordinary play wins about 3% of games, so careful play matters more here than in almost any other solitaire. This guide covers the few real decisions the game gives you: which column to empty, which card to move into it, and when to deal.
Opening principles
One card goes onto each of four columns and 48 cards wait in the stock. Aces are the highest cards, so an ace discards any other card of its suit, and an ace can never be discarded. You win when all 48 other cards are gone and one ace stands in each column.
- Discarding costs nothing. A card that is beaten by a higher card of its suit can only get in your way, so the game discards it for you and shows the card flying to the discard pile.
- The real decisions are few. Discards are automatic, so what is left is when to deal and, once a column is empty, which top card to move into it.
- Everything is visible except the stock. Cards under a column's top card are face up, so you can see what each move will reveal.
Making and using empty columns
An empty column is the only tool that lets you reorder anything. In this version it accepts the top card of any other column, not only an ace.
- Move a card that has something under it. Moving the only card of a column into an empty column just swaps one empty column for another and gains nothing.
- Look at what the move reveals. If the card underneath is beaten by a top card elsewhere, it is discarded straight away and the column may become useful or empty again.
- Remember that a deal fills the gap. A dealt card always lands on an empty column, so use the gap before you deal.
When to deal
There are 12 deals after the opening one, and each puts a new card on top of every column, covering the card you were working with. There is no redeal.
- Move first, deal second. Before you tap the stock, check whether a card can be moved into an empty column.
- A deal can also open up discards. Four new top cards can beat cards that were safe before, so when no move remains the stock is the only way forward.
- Keep the aces in mind. The aces are the cards that stay. A column that ends with an ace on top and nothing under it is a column you are finished with.
Common mistakes
- Moving a lone card. It changes nothing and wastes the empty column.
- Dealing too soon. Tapping the stock the moment a column looks stuck often throws away a move that was still available.
- Forgetting that aces stay. An ace can never be discarded, so an ace buried under cards that cannot be cleared means the deal is lost.
- Playing on after the deal is lost. If the stock is empty and no move is left, start a new deal instead of searching for one.
How winnable are the deals?
Most random Aces Up deals cannot be won. In our screening, the solver proved that about 18.5% of 12,000 random deals can be won (2,215 of them). New games and the daily challenge only use those deals. The library is small, so you may meet a repeated deal.
Winnable does not mean easy. The solver sees the whole stock, and you do not, so even a winnable deal is often lost in normal play. Ordinary play wins about 3% of games.
Practice and play
Play a few deals with a single rule: before you tap the stock, look for a card to move into an empty column. Even when you lose, you will start to see which cards decide the deal. Undo lets you test another branch for free.