Black Hole Solitaire Rules: The One-Foundation Card Collector

Quick Answer: Black Hole Solitaire deals 51 cards into 17 fans of 3 cards each, with the Ace of Spades as the central "Black Hole." You build up or down on the Black Hole (regardless of suit) — any card that is one rank higher or lower than the current top of the Black Hole can be played there. The goal is to get all 51 cards onto the Black Hole. Win rate is approximately 87% with good strategy.

Black Hole Solitaire is one of the most satisfying single-foundation patience games. Unlike Klondike where you maintain four separate foundations, everything in Black Hole collapses into one central pile — the Black Hole. Cards "fall" into it from any direction (up or down in rank), making it both forgiving in rules and deeply satisfying when a long chain of plays flows into the hole.

What Is Black Hole Solitaire?

Black Hole Solitaire is a patience game with a single foundation (the Black Hole) that starts with the Ace of Spades. All other cards are dealt into fans of three cards each. The top card of each fan is available for play. Cards go to the Black Hole if they are exactly one rank above or below the current top card, regardless of suit.

The game appears on Pagat's Black Hole page. It's classified as a "one-deck fan solitaire" — a family of games where cards are dealt into fans and there is one central target pile.

Setup

Cards needed: One standard 52-card deck.

Layout:

1. Find and set aside the Ace of Spades — this is the Black Hole
2. Shuffle the remaining 51 cards
3. Deal the 51 cards face-up into 17 fans of 3 cards each, arranged in a circle or arc around the Black Hole
4. In each fan, all 3 cards are visible (or at minimum the top card is available)

Start position: Ace of Spades sits alone as the foundation. 17 fans of 3 cards surround it. The top card of each fan is available.

How to Play Black Hole Solitaire

Objective: Move all 51 cards to the Black Hole.

The Black Hole rule: Any available card (top card of any fan) that is exactly one rank higher or lower than the current top card of the Black Hole can be played there. Suits do not matter.

Rank wrapping: In most versions, Aces can follow Kings (and vice versa) — the sequence wraps around. So after King, you can play a Queen or an Ace (wrapping back to low). This significantly increases playability.

Example sequence: Black Hole starts with Ace. You can play a 2 or a King. Say you play 2 of Hearts. Now the Black Hole shows 2. You can play Ace (wrap) or 3 (of any suit). Say you play 3 of Diamonds. Now you can play 2 or 4, and so on.

Fan available cards: Only the face-up top card of each fan is available. Once the top card is played, the card beneath it becomes available.

No tableau moves: In Black Hole, you cannot move cards between fans. All moves go to the Black Hole. This simplicity makes the game faster to play than most solitaire variants.

Game over: The game ends when either all 51 cards are in the Black Hole (win) or no available fan card is one rank away from the current Black Hole top (lose).

Black Hole Solitaire Strategy

Think in chains. Look ahead along possible chains of plays: "If I play that 7, the 6 over there becomes available, then the 7 of Clubs, then the 8..." Long chains are the engine of Black Hole. Before playing a card, estimate how many subsequent plays it enables.

Avoid dead-end plays. Some plays lead to positions where only a few cards are available and none match. Before playing a card, verify that at least one subsequent play will be possible.

Monitor rank availability. The Black Hole needs cards of the current rank ±1. If the Black Hole shows a 9 and all 8s and 10s are buried deep in fans, you're approaching a dead end. Try to keep common ranks accessible.

Fan depth awareness. With 3-card fans, each fan has at most 3 plays before it's exhausted. Deep fans (where the needed card is the bottom card) require playing the two cards above it first. Plan accordingly.

Wrap-around management. The A-K wrap-around creates chains that cross the rank boundary. Keeping Aces and Kings available when the Black Hole is near rank 2 or rank Q gives you flexibility.

Black Hole vs. Similar Games

| Feature | Black Hole | Klondike | Golf Solitaire | |---------|-----------|----------|----------------| | Foundations | 1 (any rank, any suit) | 4 (by suit, A to K) | 1 (up or down, no suit) | | Tableau moves | None (fans only → hole) | Yes | Limited | | Win rate | ~87% | ~15–25% | ~40–50% | | Game speed | Fast (5–10 min) | Medium | Very fast |

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the win rate for Black Hole solitaire?

Black Hole solitaire has one of the highest win rates among patience games — approximately 87% with good strategy. The high win rate comes from the flexible "up or down, any suit" placement rule and the rank-wrapping feature. When you lose, it's typically due to a few specific cards becoming inaccessible at a critical rank.

Can you play Ace after King in Black Hole solitaire?

Yes, in standard Black Hole rules, the rank sequence wraps: after King you can play Ace or Queen; after Ace you can play King or 2. This wrapping is crucial to the game's flow and significantly increases the win rate. Some stricter variants don't allow wrapping, which reduces win rate substantially.

Are there any tableau moves in Black Hole solitaire?

No. In standard Black Hole, you cannot move cards between fans. All plays go directly to the Black Hole. This makes the rules extremely simple (one decision type: "can this card go to the Black Hole?") while the strategy comes from choosing which available card to play when multiple options exist.

How is Black Hole different from Golf solitaire?

Both games have a single waste pile you build up or down on. Golf deals cards in columns (not fans) and typically doesn't allow rank wrapping (Ace is a dead end after King in standard Golf). Black Hole uses circular fans of 3 and usually does allow wrapping. Black Hole's higher win rate and fan structure make it more forgiving and strategic than Golf.

For other fan-based patience games, see our solitaire game variations overview and tripeaks solitaire guide.