Plan which two columns a pair will open.
All 52 cards are visible in twelve columns: the first four hold five cards each and the other eight hold four. Only column tops can pair. There is no stock, so every choice changes which two cards become available next.
Last updated: September 2026
Work backward from buried partners
The legal pairs are King–Ace, Queen–2, Jack–3, 10–4, 9–5, 8–6, and 7–7. A pair removes the top card of each of two columns. Before selecting it, look at the cards directly beneath both tops. A useful removal can expose the complement to another available card and start a chain; a different legal pair may leave both new tops blocked.
Suppose a top King can pair with either of two top Aces. One Ace covers a 7, while the other covers a 4. If another 7 is currently exposed, taking the Ace over the 7 offers a second immediate pair. Check the rest of the layout as well: an exposed 10 could make the Ace over the 4 equally useful.
Track the four 7s
Sevens have no different-rank complement. The four sevens must leave in two pairs, each from two different column tops. Note their positions before a sequence that clears a column; a seven buried beneath another seven in one column requires access to a seven elsewhere before both can leave.
All cards are face up, but visibility is not availability. A buried partner cannot be selected until its column above it has been cleared. If a promising chain depends on a buried card, trace the moves needed to reach it rather than assuming the card can be used now.
Compare another column-pair game
Gay Gordons also removes two column tops, but it pairs pip cards to 11 and has different rules for court cards. In Fourteen Out every removal totals 14, including King–Ace and 7–7.