Instructions Aces up

Objective

The aim of Aces Up is to remove all cards from play except for the four aces by playing and removing cards from a tableau of four piles.

Materials

• One standard 52-card deck (without Jokers).

Setup

1. Shuffle the deck thoroughly.
2. Deal four cards face up in a row to form your four piles.
3. The remaining deck serves as the draw pile.

Gameplay

Basic Rules

• Objective: Remove all cards except for the four aces from the tableau.
• You can only move or see the top cards on each pile.

Taking Turns

1. Compare the top cards of the four piles.
2. If two cards share the same suit (e.g., both are spades), you may remove the lower ranked card.
3. For example, if you have a 7 of spades and a King of spades, you remove the 7 of spades.
4. Empty Piles: If a pile is emptied, you can move a card from another pile to this empty space.
5. Refill the Piles: After removing cards, draw cards from the draw pile to fill any empty pile, ensuring each of the four piles has one card. Do this only when one or more piles are empty.

Special Rules

• No redeal: Once the draw pile is empty, no new cards are drawn.
• Aces are the highest cards and should never be removed; they remain in play.

End of the Game

The game ends when the draw pile is exhausted, and no further moves are possible.

Winning Conditions

• You win if only the four aces remain on the tableau.

Strategic Tips

• Delay the exhaustion of the draw pile by making strategic decisions about which cards to remove.
• Keep multiple options open by not immediately moving all possible cards into empty spaces.