Gaps

Gaps is a member of the Montana group of Patience games, where the arrangement of cards from Deuce (a Two card) to King is the object. Other games in the group include Spaces, Vacancies, Clown Solitaire, Paganini, Montana itself, Red Moon, and Blue Moon.

Rules

The cards are dealt into four rows of thirteen. The aces are removed and discarded from further play. The gaps that they leave behind are filled by cards that are the same suit and a rank higher than the card on the left of the gap. (For example, 4♣ can be placed beside 3♣.) However, any gap at the right of a King is considered dead and no card can fill it.

Any gap on the left hand side of the row should be placed by a deuce and the row should be built up by suit beside the deuce (i. e. 2-3-4-5, etc.). It is the discretion of the player on which suit would occupy which row.

When there are no more possible moves, the round is over. The cards that are not in order are gathered, making sure to leave any suit sequence (e.g., ♥2-3-4-5) behind. In Montana and Spaces, the cards are then shuffled; in Gaps, they are not. The cards are then redealt, making sure there is a gap in each row at the immediate right of each suit sequence or at the extreme left of the row if no suit sequence is formed in that row. There are only three rounds in the usual rules. But some variants allow four, and some have no limit.

The game is won when all 48 cards are arranged in numerical order and in suits, with the gaps of each row beside the Kings at the extreme right hand of the row. The probability of winning depends on which rules are followed. In Spaces, where the cards are shuffled after each round and the rounds are limited to three, an experienced player will win perhaps one game in 20. In Gaps (cards are not shuffled, but the limit of three rounds remains), one win in seven games may be expected. If the number of rounds is not limited, winning is just a matter of time, whether the cards are shuffled or not.

Variants

There are some variants of this game.

One variant is called Addiction Solitare, a game developed by GameHouse for Yahoo! Games. This game is played exactly as Gaps except that there are three reshuffles rather than the standard two and the aces can be used in each reshuffle and redeal to create any gaps.

There is also a variant with two decks, sometimes called Double Montana or Big Paganini. The cards are dealt in eight rows of 13 cards each. Aces are removed and placed at the left of each row. In some sub-variants, two redeals are allowed, in others, there are no redeals.

See also

• Pas de Deux (solitaire)

Links

• Montana solitaite rules on PySol site

Patience or Solitaire (US) - (list) Adding and pairing Baroness Fourteen Out Gay Gordons Golf Monte Carlo Nestor Pyramid Bisley Baker's Dozen Capricieuse Martha Perseverance Castle Beleaguered Castle Congress Fortress Seahaven Towers Canfield American Toad Duchess Eagle Wing Fan Alternation Bristol Flower Garden House in the Woods Intelligence La Belle Lucie The Plot Shamrocks Forty Thieves Deuces Diplomat Emperor Miss Milligan Napoleon's Square FreeCell Baker's Game Eight Off Penguin Stalactites Klondike Agnes Batsford Gargantua King Albert Seven Devils Westcliff Yukon Non-builder Accordion Clock Gaps Maze Perpetual Motion Poker Squares Royal Marriage Pocket Decade One-Handed Spider Auld Lang Syne Blockade Curds and Whey Labyrinth Mrs. Mop Scorpion Simple Simon Other Aces and Kings Algerian Black Hole Carpet King's Audience The Clock Glossary Grandfather's Clock