Play Black Hole Solitaire Online
Black Hole gathers a full deck into 1 center pile. The Ace of Spades begins in the middle, while the other 51 cards sit face up in 17 fans of 3. An exposed card can enter the center when its rank is 1 step above or below the card already there. Suit and color have no part in the match.
David Parlett designed the game from the older Golf family, but removing the stock changes its character. Every card is present from the opening and every play uncovers the next card in 1 fan. The table looks calm, yet a single choice can decide which ranks remain available several moves later.
1 center pile and 17 open fans
The center pile is the whole destination. Black Hole has no 4-suit foundations, stock, waste or redeal. Each fan begins with 3 overlapping cards, and only its exposed end card can move. Playing that card shortens the fan and reveals the card beneath it. Empty fans stay empty for the rest of the deal.
This compact structure makes the board easy to inspect without making the result automatic. At any moment, the available edge consists of at most 17 cards. The cards behind them are known, but they cannot be reached until the front of the relevant fan has been absorbed.
Rank matters and suit does not
A 7 in the center accepts any 6 or any 8. Hearts can follow clubs, and a red card can follow another red card. The direction may change on every move, so a sequence can descend for several cards, rise for 1 and then descend again.
Kings and Aces are neighbors
The rank order wraps at both ends. A King can follow an Ace, and an Ace can follow a King. This keeps the center pile moving around a 13-rank cycle instead of stopping whenever a sequence reaches the top or bottom of the deck.
The center rank sets the next move
Every successful play changes the only rank that matters. If a 9 enters the center, the next move must be an 8 or 10. Playing the 8 then asks for a 7 or 9. Several legal cards may show the same rank, but they are not interchangeable because each choice opens a different card behind it.
The screenshot below comes from a real certified deal after the opening chain has begun. Some fans are still 3 cards deep, while others have exposed their middle or final card. The center rank has already changed several times, but every later card remains visible on the table.
How Black Hole differs from Golf and TriPeaks
Golf Solitaire also accepts cards 1 rank above or below the waste, but Golf deals 35 tableau cards into 7 columns and keeps a stock in reserve. Black Hole deals every card immediately and permits the King-Ace wrap. There is no stock card waiting to rescue a stalled sequence.
TriPeaks hides cards under a geometric layout and unlocks them through coverage. Black Hole uses 17 short, independent fans instead. It is closer to an open fan puzzle: the order within each group of 3 is fixed, while the player decides how the groups feed a single shared sequence. Players who enjoy clearing exposed pairs in Pyramid may like the same quick scan across many available cards, although Black Hole matches ranks rather than totals.
Short fans show what comes next
A 3-card fan is small enough to read at a glance. Its outer card can be used now, its middle card is next and its inner card is last. As fans shorten at different speeds, the table becomes a record of earlier choices. A cleared fan contributes no more ranks, while an untouched fan still holds its complete 3-card order.
Certified deals replay all 51 moves
The public rotation uses 1,000 certified Black Hole deals. Each deal stores the full deck order and a legal 51-move replay. The replay begins with the required Ace of Spades, removes only exposed fan cards, checks the rank step on every move and finishes with all 17 fans empty.
Hints, undo and the next proven move remain available for practice. A finish that uses assistance is marked Assisted, while a clean certified win can qualify for the leaderboard. The separate explanation of how winnable deals are verified covers the proof policy used across the site.
The last few cards still use the full rank cycle
Near the finish, there may be only a handful of fans left, but the same cyclic rule remains in force. The center can pass through King and Ace repeatedly, and a direction change may still be required before the last fan opens. The board becomes sparse without changing the rules underneath it.
Read the complete Black Hole rules
The Black Hole Solitaire rules guide explains the deal, legal moves, wrapped rank order, dead ends and a full turn sequence with separate teaching screenshots. For a broader comparison with tableau, pairing and stock games, use the types of Solitaire guide.