How to Play Black Hole Solitaire
Black Hole starts with the Ace of Spades in the middle of the table and every other card face up around it. Your next card must be 1 rank higher or lower than the current center card. The rule takes seconds to learn. Winning takes a longer view, because the card you remove from a fan determines which card becomes available there next.
The aim is to move all 51 surrounding cards onto the single center pile. There is no stock to turn when the sequence stops and no empty column where a blocker can wait. You can play Black Hole Solitaire online beside this guide; every screenshot below comes from a separate certified deal on the live game board.
Set up 17 fans around the Ace of Spades
Black Hole uses 1 standard 52-card deck. Place the Ace of Spades face up as the first center card. Deal the remaining 51 cards face up into 17 fans, with 3 cards in each fan. The cards overlap, but all ranks and suits remain visible from the opening.
Each fan has a fixed order. Only the exposed card at its end can move. Once that card enters the center, the card immediately behind it becomes exposed. A fan that has lost all 3 cards is finished and cannot be used again. Nothing is dealt onto the table after the opening.
Play 1 rank up or down, regardless of suit
Look only at rank when testing a move. If the center shows a 6, any exposed 5 or 7 is legal. A 10 accepts a 9 or Jack. Suits and colors may be mixed freely, so the 7 of hearts can follow the 6 of hearts, clubs, diamonds or spades.
The direction is allowed to change. A run can go 6, 7, 8, 7, 6 without breaking a rule. After each move, forget the earlier part of the pile and read the new top card. That card alone sets the next 2 possible ranks. Cards already in the center never return to a fan.
Aces and Kings connect
The rank sequence wraps around at both ends. A King may be played on an Ace, and an Ace may be played on a King. A 2 is also legal on an Ace, while a Queen is the other legal neighbor of a King. This creates a closed cycle of 13 ranks rather than a line with 2 dead ends.
It helps to picture the order as Queen, King, Ace, 2. When an Ace reaches the center, check both the Kings and the 2s. When a King reaches the center, check both the Queens and the Aces. Missing the wrap is an easy way to overlook a live continuation.
Make a move on the online board
Click or tap the exposed end card you want to play. A legal card moves directly to the center and uncovers the next card in its fan. Covered cards are visible for planning but cannot be selected as moves. If a card is not adjacent to the center rank, the game leaves it in place and explains which ranks are required.
The counters above the fans show cards left, cards cleared, current legal choices and moves made. The choices count is especially useful on a crowded table. A value of 1 means the next move is forced. A larger value asks you to compare what each candidate will expose.
Read each fan from the outside in
Treat every fan as a 3-card queue. The end card is available now, the middle card becomes available second and the inner card is last. Before removing the end card, name the card behind it. That small habit turns a legal move into a useful forecast.
Suppose 2 exposed 8s can both follow a center 7. The 8 that reveals a 6 may continue the sequence, while the other reveals a Queen. If another exposed 7 or 9 can keep the sequence near the first fan, the 6 may join the run soon. The Queen may remain stranded until the center travels through Jack or King. The rank of the moving card is identical; the hidden consequence is not.
Choose between duplicate ranks by what they reveal
Duplicate ranks create most of the meaningful branches in Black Hole. When 2 legal cards share a rank, compare the next card in each fan, then check whether either choice shortens a fan to its final card. Prefer the move that adds a reachable continuation or removes a fan that would otherwise need another visit.
Do not assume that opening a useful rank makes it immediately playable. The center changes to the card you just moved. If an 8 reveals a 7, that 7 is ready at once because it can follow the 8. If the same 8 reveals a 3, you still need a route from 8 down to 4 before the 3 can help. Count that distance before treating the reveal as progress.
Keep the center near ranks you can revisit
Long runs often depend on a few ranks that connect separate parts of the table. If many exposed cards cluster around 4 through 8, leaving that band for a lone Queen may make the return expensive. Check whether the table still offers Jack, 10 and 9 before moving away from the active group.
Reversing direction is often correct, but repeated back-and-forth moves can spend duplicates without opening new fans. A useful turn either exposes a card that fits the current neighborhood, clears a fan or carries the center toward a rank you have already located. A move that does none of those jobs deserves a second look.
Do not empty the easiest fan too early
Clearing a fan removes 1 future source of cards. That can be excellent when its final card joins the current run, but rushing through all 3 cards from 1 fan may leave the rest of the table with poor connections. Often it is better to take 1 card from several fans and widen the set of exposed ranks.
Midgame positions become easier to read as full fans disappear. Count how many fans still hold 3 cards and which ranks sit at their ends. If the center keeps circling through already short fans while a full fan never becomes adjacent, plan a route specifically toward its outside card.
Plan the last fans backward
With 8 or fewer cards left, stop judging moves only by the next turn. Write the exposed ranks in fan order and work backward from a possible finish. If the last 2 cards in a fan are 4 then 9, the center must reach 5 or 3 to take the 4, travel to 8 or 10 and then return for the 9. The cards in other fans must supply that bridge.
A final fan of 2 cards is not automatically easier than 2 single-card fans. Its order cannot change. Check that the first card can be reached and that its move leaves a route to the second. When only 1 legal move remains, follow it. When several remain, preserve the option that can still visit every outstanding rank.
Recognize a dead end
The deal stops when no exposed card is 1 rank above or below the center. Because there is no stock or reserve, a position with 0 choices is over unless you undo an earlier move. Covered cards cannot rescue it, even when a matching rank is visible deeper in a fan.
Before making a move that leaves only 1 possible reply, look 1 card farther. If that reply exposes nothing adjacent and all other fans are several ranks away, you are walking into a forced stop. Undo to the last branch and try the other duplicate or direction.
Use hints without losing track of the position
Hint marks a legal move from the current table. It does not mean every legal choice is equally strong. On a certified deal, Is it winnable? can also compare your actions with the stored winning replay and show the next proven move when your position still matches that path. The winnable deals guide explains how those replays are checked through the actual game engine.
Undo and the proven line are practice tools, so a finish using them is marked Assisted. A clean result means the certified deal was completed without hint, undo or auto finish. Both modes use the same rules and card order; the label only records how the result was reached.
A quick check before every move
Read the center rank first. Scan the 17 fan ends for both adjacent ranks, including the King-Ace wrap. For each legal card, inspect what lies behind it. Then ask whether the move opens a continuation, clears a fan or carries the center toward a rank needed by a full fan. If none of those answers is clear, compare the other direction before clicking.
This routine is slower for the first few deals and fast once the table becomes familiar. It also transfers well to Golf Solitaire, where rank adjacency is the same but a stock supplies extra center cards. TriPeaks uses the same up-or-down reading with covered geometric rows instead of 17 independent fans.
Common Black Hole mistakes
Looking at suit or color
Neither affects legality. Read the rank on the center and the ranks at the fan ends. A same-suit move has no advantage unless the card behind it improves the route.
Forgetting the King-Ace wrap
An Ace accepts both a 2 and a King. A King accepts both a Queen and an Ace. Check both sides of the cycle before deciding that the table has stopped.
Choosing a duplicate without checking behind it
2 exposed cards of the same rank make the same immediate center card, but they reveal different followers. The next card in the fan is usually the reason to prefer a particular copy.
Emptying the easiest fan first
A quick empty fan feels productive, yet it may consume ranks needed to reach a stubborn full fan. Keep the whole table connected rather than racing 1 group to zero.
Black Hole, Golf and other open puzzles
Black Hole was designed by David Parlett as a game in the Golf line. Both games build 1 pile by adjacent rank, but Golf Solitaire has 7 tableau columns and a stock, while Black Hole places the full deck on view and allows King-Ace wrap. That change makes fan order more important than stock timing.
Players who prefer every card visible may also enjoy FreeCell, although its movement rules and 4-suit foundations create a different kind of planning. The types of Solitaire guide compares these families by layout, movement and win condition.
Common questions
Can you change direction in Black Hole Solitaire?
Yes. Each move may go 1 rank up or 1 rank down from the current center card. The direction may change as often as the exposed cards allow.
Does suit matter in Black Hole?
No. Only rank matters. Any suit or color may follow as long as the card is adjacent in rank.
Can a King go on an Ace?
Yes. Kings and Aces are adjacent in Black Hole. An Ace may also follow a King.
Is there a redeal when no move remains?
No. Black Hole has no stock, waste or redeal. If no exposed fan card is adjacent to the center, the position is blocked unless you undo to an earlier choice.