Ace Ascent

Goal

Create one Ace of each suit by merging identical ranks and suits.

How do I select and move cards?

Select an exposed card, then a column or free cell. You can also drag. Use Tab and Enter with a keyboard. The table has eight columns, four temporary cells and four Ace goals.

What makes a matching pair?

Matching rank and suit combined two Fours into one Five of Spades. The Four of Clubs was not a matching partner. Each action merged exactly one equal pair: Fours became a Five, Fives a Six, and Sixes a Seven. New matches wait for your next action.

Where can a single card go?

An unmerged single card may go onto a card one rank higher, regardless of color. Any exposed single card can enter an empty column. A mismatched equal-rank card cannot merge.

How do free cells work?

The cell held one blocking card while you accessed the matching pair beneath it. A card in a free cell may return to a legal column or merge with a matching exposed card. An occupied cell cannot accept another card. Try to free temporary cells after using them.

When can I move a group?

The Seven, Six and Five formed a descending alternating-color run. Its head was one rank below the destination Eight. A movable run can contain at most (empty cells + 1) × 2 for each other empty column. The destination empty column does not count as temporary space. Moving one card into a cell reduces available capacity.

How do I win?

Two matching Kings produced an Ace, which moved directly into the Spades goal. Win by collecting an Ace for every suit. Collected Aces leave the working table. The table tracks moves and time rather than a separate points score. If no legal moves remain, Undo or a new deal may help. You moved a blocking card into temporary storage and merged the exposed Kings into the Ace goal.

Can I restart, undo or choose a deal?

Normal play uses verified deals. Choose a new deal to begin again; Restart restores the current deal. Undo, Redo and Curio’s move hint are available in normal play. Lesson Restart Step restores only this practice position.

Why might an older saved deal behave differently?

Older saved deals retain their recorded rules. Some allowed freer single-card placement or automatic merge cascades. New deals use the rules taught here: rank-based placement and one merge per action.

What changes with difficulty?

Relaxed, Standard and Challenge choose separate collections of 100 verified solvable deals, with the same rules. Relaxed favors straightforward merging; Standard rewards planning; Challenge is harder for the simple merge-first strategy used to rate these pilots. Hint, Undo and Redo remain available. Changing difficulty starts a new deal. Earlier numbered collections remain available and are unrated. These are pilot ratings for player feedback.