Montana Solitaire
Fill the gaps until every row runs ace to king
How to play
Montana Solitaire on Matsuri is a free online game of Montana, also known as Gaps and, in Russia, as Kovrik (the rug): fill the empty places until every row runs ace to king. It plays in any browser on phone or desktop and inside Telegram via @MatsuriGamesBot, with no download. Every deal is checked by a solver, the daily deal is the same for everyone, and a challenge link gives a friend your exact deal.
Montana, also called Gaps, Addiction or, in Russia, Kovrik (the rug), is a calm solitaire where you plan rather than dig. All 52 cards lie face up in four rows of fourteen places, and the four places on the left start empty. Any ace goes into an empty first place. Every other empty place takes exactly one card: the next higher card of the same suit as the card on its left, so an empty place after the 5 of hearts wants the 6 of hearts. Nothing can go right of a king or right of another empty place, so watch which gaps you close. Build every row from ace to king in one suit to win. Three times a game you may reshuffle: the cards already in order from a row's ace stay, the others are shuffled and dealt again with a fresh empty place after each row. Tap a card to send it to its place, tap an empty place to bring in the card it wants, or drag. Every deal can be won even without reshuffling: a solver checks it before you see it. Each card in order scores 10, a win adds 500 and up to 300 more for finishing near the deal's par; an undo costs 20, a reshuffle 30. The daily deal is the same for everyone.
- Click a card to send it to its empty place, click an empty place to bring in the card it wants, or drag.
- An empty place takes the next higher card of the same suit as the card just before it in its row (after ♥5 comes ♥6); a row's first place takes any ace; nothing goes after a K.
- Fill every row from A to K in one suit. Stuck? S or 🔀 reshuffles the cards not yet in order (3 a game, −30). Z undoes (−20), H or 💡 shows a good move.
How to play Montana Solitaire
The table has four rows of fourteen places. All 52 cards are dealt face up into the last thirteen places of each row, so the first place of every row starts empty. Any ace may move into an empty first place. Every other empty place takes exactly one card: the next higher card of the same suit as the card just before it in the row, so a gap after the five of hearts wants the six of hearts. Nothing can go after a king, or after another empty place.
Win by building every row from ace to king in one suit; the fourteenth place of each row stays empty. Three times a game you may reshuffle: every card already in order from a row's ace stays where it is, and the rest are shuffled and dealt back, leaving one empty place right after each row's ordered run. A reshuffle cannot be undone. On a tall phone screen the rows stand up as columns with their first place on top; the rules are the same.
Montana Solitaire strategy and tips
- Before filling a gap, look at the gap you will leave behind. If the card you move sits right after a king or another gap, its old place will be dead, and dead places are what stop a game.
- Work from the left. The cards in order from each row's ace are safe through every reshuffle, so extending those runs is the most valuable thing you can do.
- Choose the row for each ace with care. An ace in a first place wants its two next, so put it in the row where its two, three and four will be easiest to bring along.
- Keep at least one live gap whenever you can. A gap after a low card in the middle of a row is a lever that can free several cards in a chain.
- Save reshuffles until every gap is dead, and before each one place as many cards in order as you can, since those stay put.
Modes and difficulty
The daily deal is the same for everyone and changes at 00:00 UTC; your first try goes on the daily leaderboard. Practice deals another proven deal as often as you like. After a game you can send it as a challenge: your friend gets the very same deal, the same reshuffles included, with your score to beat.
Playing Montana Solitaire on Matsuri
Every deal here can be won without a single reshuffle: a solver checks it before you see it, and the three reshuffles are extra help when you get stuck. Tap a card to send it to its gap, tap a gap to bring in the card it wants, or drag. The bulb shows a good move, and the place after each row's run glows to show where the row grows. Each card in order scores 10, a win adds 500 and up to 300 more for finishing near the deal's par; an undo costs 20, a reshuffle 30 and a rewind out of a dead end 50.
A little history
Montana belongs to a family of twentieth-century patience games built around empty spaces, known by many names: Gaps, Spaces, Addiction and Montana. In the classic Gaps the aces are taken out and the empty first places take twos; in Blue Moon the aces are moved to the left of the rows. The version played here, with the first places empty, aces placed by the player and three reshuffles, is the one Russian players know from online solitaire sites as Пасьянс Коврик.
Questions
- Is Montana Solitaire free to play online?
- Yes. It is free, needs no download or account, and plays in any browser on phone or desktop, or inside Telegram through @MatsuriGamesBot.
- Is this the same game as Gaps, Addiction Solitaire and Kovrik?
- Yes, they are names for the same family. This version is the one Russian players know as Kovrik: four rows of fourteen places with the first places empty, any ace into a first place, and three reshuffles a game.
- Can every deal be won?
- Yes. Every deal here is checked by a solver and can be won even without a single reshuffle; the three reshuffles are extra help when you get stuck.
- How does scoring work, and is there a daily deal?
- Each card in order from a row's ace scores 10; a win adds 500 and up to 300 more for finishing close to the deal's par; an undo costs 20, a rewind 50 and a reshuffle 30. The daily deal is the same for everyone and has a leaderboard.