Step 1 — Start a New Game
Click the New Game button to deal four cards face-up, one to each column. The remaining 48 cards go to the stock pile (shown face down on the lower left of the board).
Click Restart at any time to replay the same deal from the beginning — your original shuffle is preserved.
Step 2 — Look for Cards You Can Discard
A card can be discarded (removed from the game) when a higher card of the same suit is showing as the top card of another column.
For example: if you see the 5 of Spades and the King of Spades both showing as top cards of different columns, the 5 of Spades can be discarded. Click it and it will be removed automatically.
Remember: Aces are always the highest card. They can never be discarded — they are what you're trying to keep.
Step 3 — Use Empty Columns Strategically
Whenever a column becomes empty, you can move the top card of any other column there. This is a free move with no restrictions.
Using empty columns wisely is the key skill in Aces Up. Moving a card to an empty column can expose a lower card beneath it, which may then become discardable.
Step 4 — Deal from the Stock
You may click the stock pile whenever cards remain in the stock. When you deal, one new card is placed onto each column. You can choose to discard first or use an empty-column move first, but the deck will not force you to do so.
These new cards land on top of the existing columns and may immediately create new discard opportunities.
Step 5 — Keep Discarding and Dealing
Continue the cycle: discard when it helps, use empty columns to expose buried cards when helpful, and deal from the stock whenever you choose while cards remain. Repeat until the stock is empty.
Step 6 — Final Moves
Once the stock is empty, you're in the endgame. Make all remaining discard moves possible. If you've discarded all 48 non-ace cards — congratulations, you won! If no more moves are possible, the game ends.
Controls Reference
- New Game
- Deals a freshly shuffled game. Your previous game is replaced.
- Restart
- Restarts the same deal from the very beginning. Useful if you want to retry a hand.
- Undo
- Takes back your last move. Use sparingly — undo count is tracked on the leaderboard.
- Hint
- Highlights one possible move (a discardable card or a useful column move). Hint count is tracked.
- Discard Pile
- Shows the most recently discarded card so you can see what was just removed from play.
- Stock Pile
- Click to deal one card to each column from the remaining stock whenever cards remain. Discards and empty-column moves are still available before dealing, but they are optional.
- Submit Score
- Submits your result to the daily leaderboard. Only available at a true end state (win or no more moves). Runs longer than 2 hours are not eligible for the public leaderboard.
Winning Tips
- Discard aggressively early — every card removed improves your odds.
- Protect your aces — never bury an ace under several other cards if avoidable.
- Use empty columns to shuffle cards around before dealing from the stock.
- Try to avoid having two or more cards of the same suit in the same column — you lose discard opportunities.