Rules
Gaps Solitaire rules at a glance
- Use one standard 52-card deck.
- Deal all cards face up into four rows of thirteen.
- Remove the four aces; the spaces they leave are the four gaps.
- A gap in the first column can be filled only by a 2.
- A later gap can be filled only by the next higher card of the same suit as the card on its left.
- Gaps after kings and gaps after other gaps are dead until a reshuffle or another move changes the row.
- When no legal move remains, you may reshuffle the unlocked cards up to three times.
- A reshuffle keeps correct left-side suit runs and places a gap after each kept run.
- Win by arranging all four suits from 2 through king, with one final gap at the right edge of each row.
How to play
How to play Gaps Solitaire
Gaps Solitaire is a sorting game with almost no hidden machinery. The deck is dealt face up into a grid, the aces are removed, and the empty spaces become the engine of the game. You do not draw from a stock, build foundations, or move piles. You read a gap, find the one card that fits it, and try to make the next gap more useful than the last one.
A space at the far left of a row starts a suit and accepts any 2. Once a row begins with the 2 of clubs, the next useful space in that row wants the 3 of clubs. A gap after the 9 of hearts wants the 10 of hearts. The same exact rule carries the row all the way to the king.
The puzzle comes from scarcity. There are only four spaces on the board. If those spaces land after kings or after other spaces, they stop producing moves. Good play is less about grabbing every legal move immediately and more about steering the gaps toward low cards, connected runs, and rows that can survive the next reshuffle.
Version
The Gaps Solitaire version on this page
Gaps, Spaces, Montana, Vacancies, and Addiction are names from the same neighborhood, so it helps to be precise. This page deals all 52 cards into four rows, removes the aces where they appear, and gives each deal three reshuffles. Reshuffle is available only when no legal gap move remains.
During a reshuffle, the game preserves each correct row prefix: a left-side sequence that begins with a 2 and continues upward in the same suit. Everything after that prefix is unlocked, shuffled, and redealt. The gap for each row is placed immediately after its preserved run, which gives your earlier progress real weight.
- The board has four rows and thirteen positions per row.
- Every non-ace card is visible from the opening deal.
- There is no stock pile, waste pile, reserve, or foundation area.
- The four gaps may begin anywhere because they come from the removed aces.
- The status bar tracks ordered cards, gaps, reshuffles, and moves.
Sequence
The row you are trying to build
A finished row contains twelve cards and one empty space. The ace is absent because it was removed to make a gap. The target sequence is always one suit from 2 through king, followed by the empty space.
2345678910JQKgap
Rows are not assigned suits at the start. The first 2 to claim a left-column gap gives that row its suit identity. If the 2 of diamonds starts a row, that row now wants the 3 of diamonds, then the 4 of diamonds, and so on.
Moves
Legal and illegal moves
In Gaps Solitaire, the empty space decides what can move. Do not start by asking where a card can go; start by asking what the gap is asking for. If the gap is in column one, it is asking for a 2. If it is after the 7 of spades, it is asking for the 8 of spades.
Legal2 of clubs into the first space of any row
Legal8 of spades into a gap after the 7 of spades
Illegal8 of spades after the 7 of hearts
IllegalAny card into a gap after a king
Dead gapA gap immediately after another gap
ReshuffleAllowed only after every legal gap move is gone
A gap after a king is a dead end because the row sequence stops at king. A gap after another gap is also dead because there is no card on the left to define a suit or rank. Dead gaps are common; the danger is letting all four spaces die before you have built enough protected progress.
Reshuffles
How the three reshuffles work
A reshuffle is not a new deal. The game first looks at each row from the left edge. If a row starts with a 2 and continues in the same suit, that connected run is locked in place. The unlocked cards are then shuffled back into the remaining row positions.
Because only connected left-side runs are preserved, a tidy sequence in the middle of a row is fragile. A 9-10-J of clubs floating away from the left edge may look promising, but it can disappear on the next reshuffle. A humble 2-3-4 run at the left edge is much more valuable.
Progress
How progress is counted here
Ordered cards count only when they belong to a preserved-style run connected from the left side of a row. A card can be legally placed and still not count as ordered if the row is missing the lower cards that connect it back to the 2.
Moves include card slides and reshuffles. Undo restores the previous board state. Restart returns the same deal to its opening layout, while New game creates a fresh shuffle.
Strategy
Gaps Solitaire strategy that changes the board
Give first-column gaps special attention. A row cannot become permanent until a 2 reaches the left edge. If you have a choice between starting a row with a 2 and making a neat but unconnected middle move, the 2 usually deserves priority.
Watch the gap you create, not only the gap you fill. Every move trades one empty space for another. A strong move places a card into order and opens a new space beside a card that can continue the chain. A weak move may look legal but leave the new gap after a king or in a row that cannot use it.
Build from the left before polishing the right. This version rewards connected progress because reshuffles preserve only the left-side run. Middle fragments can still be useful, especially when they create live gaps, but they are not protected.
Treat kings carefully. Moving a king into its correct spot can finish a row segment, but the gap left behind might be the better tool. If moving a king creates a dead gap while a low-card move could open a live one, keep the king where it is for now.
Mistakes
Common Gaps Solitaire mistakes
- Moving a card just because it fits, without checking what gap it leaves behind.
- Ignoring first-column gaps when a 2 is available.
- Building attractive middle sequences that a reshuffle will not preserve.
- Creating a gap after a king while another live gap can extend a low run.
- Forgetting that suits must match after the first card in a row.
- Assuming full visibility means the deal is guaranteed to be solvable.
Winnability
Is Gaps Solitaire winnable?
Gaps Solitaire is not always winnable. The open board gives you complete information, but the move rule is strict. A single missing connector can block a long row, and dead gaps can force reshuffles before enough low-card structure has formed.
This page does not quote a universal win rate because useful statistics should be measured from this exact ruleset: aces removed where they fall, three stuck-board reshuffles, preserved left-side runs, and no free reshuffle while moves remain.
Variants
Gaps, Spaces, Montana, and Addiction variants
The gaps family has more name overlap than most solitaire groups. Some sources say Gaps, Spaces, Vacancies, or Montana for nearly the same game. Others reserve Montana for a stricter version, use Addiction for a digital variant, or change the number and timing of reshuffles.
The important differences are practical: whether the aces leave gaps where they were dealt or the gaps start in fixed positions, whether reshuffles are allowed only when stuck, how many reshuffles are available, and whether a reshuffle preserves correct suit runs. When two Gaps pages disagree, the reshuffle rule is usually where the disagreement begins.
Nearby games
How Gaps compares with Montana, Addiction, and FreeCell
Montana is the closest cousin on this site. Both games remove aces, use four spaces, and build rows from 2 to king by suit. The Gaps version here gives three stuck-board reshuffles, while Montana gives two. That extra chance makes Gaps a little more forgiving without changing the basic pressure of dead spaces.
Addiction is related but starts with a different opening rhythm on this site. Its spaces begin at the ends of rows, so the early game feels less like hunting for scattered ace holes and more like working backward from row-end space. FreeCell is open-information too, but its empty places store cards. In Gaps, empty places are not storage; they are demands for one exact card.