Gaps
All 48 cards lie face up in four rows of 13, with four gaps where the aces were. Fill each gap with the next card of its left neighbour’s suit and sort every row into one suit, 2 to king.
How to play Gaps
How to play
A gap can take only one card: the card one higher, in the same suit, than the card on its left. After the 6 of hearts, only the 7 of hearts. Tap a gap to move that card in, tap a card to move it into the gap it fits, or drag it. Any 2 may go into a gap in the first column. A gap after a king, or after another gap, takes nothing. You win when every row runs from 2 to king in a single suit, with the gap at the end.
Redeals
When the gaps are blocked, tap Redeal. Each row keeps its run from the left: a 2 in the first column and the cards that follow it in order. Every other card is shuffled and dealt back with a gap right after each row’s run. Classic gives you two redeals, Relaxed four. Undo takes back moves since the last redeal, but not the redeal itself.
Tips
Kings are the trouble: a gap after a king is dead. Before you fill a gap, look at what the move opens up where the card came from. Grow the runs from the first column, since those cards are safe through every redeal, and choose which 2 starts which row with care. The blue bar under a card means it is in place.
Winnable deals
Gaps is also known as Montana, Addiction or Blue Moon. Every deal here, including the daily, was won by a computer solver using at most two redeals, and its win was replayed by a separate rules checker. The solver is a limited search, so it skips some deals that could be won; it never ships one it didn’t win.
Questions
How do you play Gaps solitaire?
Deal all 52 cards face up in four rows of 13 and take out the aces, leaving four gaps. Move into a gap the card one higher in the same suit as the card to its left, or any 2 into a gap in the first column. Sort each row into one suit from 2 to king.
Is Gaps the same as Montana or Addiction solitaire?
Yes. Gaps, Montana, Addiction and Blue Moon are names for the same family of games. Small details vary, such as the number of redeals; here Classic has two and Relaxed four.
What happens when a gap follows a king?
Nothing can go into it, because no card is one higher than a king. The gap stays blocked until the king moves away or you redeal.
How does the redeal work?
Each row keeps its run of cards in place from the left. All other cards are gathered, shuffled and dealt back, with one gap right after each row’s run, so every row can carry on from where it was.
Can every game of Gaps be won?
No, but with two redeals about half of random deals can, going by our solver. Every deal here has been won by the solver with at most two redeals, so a win is always possible.