Play Red Moon Solitaire Online — Blue Moon With the Gaps Beside the Aces

Red Moon is Blue Moon with a friendlier deal. The four aces are dealt to the first slot of each row, the slot beside each ace is left empty, and the other forty-eight cards fill the rows from the third slot on. A gap takes the card of the same suit one rank higher than the card to its left; a leftmost gap takes an ace. Two redeals. Win by making every row read ace to king in one suit.

Setup

Shuffle one deck and take out the aces. Place one ace in the first slot of each row, leave the slot beside it empty, and deal the remaining cards face up into the rest of the row. Every row starts with its ace seated and a live gap right next to it.

Rules

• Rows build up in suit from the ace in the first slot to the king.
• A gap takes one card: the card of the same suit one rank higher than the card to its left. A gap to the right of a king, or of another gap, is dead until a redeal.
• A leftmost gap takes an ace.
• The redeal: when no move remains, every card that is not part of its row's run from the first slot is gathered, shuffled and dealt back after the runs, leaving a gap after each run. Two redeals a game.
• Win when all four rows read ace to king in one suit; the last slot of each row stays empty.

Strategy

In Blue Moon the gaps open wherever the aces were dealt, often beside a king. In Red Moon every opening gap sits next to an ace, so all four are live from the first move: each wants a two. The game is easier at the start and just as tight at the end.

• Read the runs, not the cards. Every row wants one suit in order from its first slot. Before any move, find the longest run each row already has and work to extend it.
• Never open a dead gap. A gap to the right of a king takes nothing. Moving a card away from beside a king leaves a slot that is lost until the next redeal.
• Prefer the move that creates a live gap. Where a card leaves matters as much as where it lands. Take it from a slot whose left neighbour is a low card with its successor still loose.
• Count the redeals. A redeal keeps the seated runs and reshuffles the rest, with a gap after each run. Seat as much as you can before spending one; what is seated is safe.
• Play the twos at once. Every opening gap takes a two of its row's suit, and each two you move opens a new gap somewhere useful or somewhere dead; look before you choose which two.
• The suit of a row is fixed by its ace. A row's ace was dealt, not chosen; read each row's suit and hunt its cards in order.

Where It Sits in the Gaps Family

Red Moon is Blue Moon's easier deal on the Gaps engine: the same rule and redeals with the gaps beside the aces. Double Red Moon plays it with two decks; Galary keeps this deal and lets a gap fill from the right as well.

Other Games to Try

• Blue Moon — the gaps where the aces were dealt
• Galary — this deal with gaps filled from either side
• Double Red Moon — the same with two decks
• Jungle — any suit fills a gap, one redeal

About This Online Version

Red Moon runs in your browser — free, no download, no sign-up. Install it as an app on your phone or computer and it works offline. You get unlimited undo, a hint button that names a legal move, statistics that track your wins and times, and seeded deals: every game has a seed you can replay, so a board you enjoyed (or lost) can be played again exactly.