How to Play Eighteens Solitaire

This pairing game asks you to clear the board by dragging together any two uncovered cards that add up to 18. A set of foundations on the side gives you a second way to clear cards.

Setup

1. Twelve tableau piles are dealt, one card face up in each.
2. A stock pile sits to the side; cards cannot be drawn from it.
3. Four foundation piles are ready to go: any card can start one, and ranks wrap so a King is followed by an Ace.
4. A discard pile collects the cards you remove as pairs.

How to play

• Drag one tableau card onto another whose ranks add up to 18 (Aces count as 1) to send both to the discard pile - for example, a 9 and a 9, or an 8 and a 10.
• You can also play any tableau card onto a foundation to start it, then build that foundation up by suit one rank at a time.
• The top card of a foundation pile can be moved back into play if you need it there.
• When a tableau pile is emptied, it is immediately refilled with the top card from the stock.

How to win

Objective: Clear every card off the board, either by pairing cards that total 18 (Aces count as 1) or by playing them up through the foundations.

Win by clearing every card off the board through pairing and foundation play. You're stuck when no pairs total 18 and no foundation moves remain.

Tips

• Look for foundation plays as well as pairs - sending a card to a foundation clears it just as well as pairing it off.
• Keep an eye out for numeric pairs like 9+9 or 8+10, plus any face-card combination that adds up to 18.
• Use foundation moves to break a stalemate when you run out of pairs that add up to 18.

Play Eighteens free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Eighteens alongside 300+ other games. It saves every move as you play, so you can close the window and pick the game up later, replay any deal, and take on a new Daily Challenge deal every day. Browse every game in the Game Gallery.

Related games

More games from the Pairing family:

• Fifteen Rush — A pairing game where you remove pairs of cards that either sum to 15 (with Ace counting as 1) or match the same rank, plus traditional solitaire foundations.
• Fifteens — A quick game where you clear a 4x4 grid of cards by pairing cards that add up to 15, or by building runs on the four foundation piles.
• Fourteen Out — Remove cards in pairs that add up to 14, working with a fixed layout of 12 tableau piles where only top cards are available.
• Friday — Clear the board by matching cards that add up to 13 or discarding lone Kings, dealt across two differently-sized tableau sections fed by a hidden stock.
• Juvenile — Clear the board by pairing cards that total 14 (Ace=1, numbered cards face value, face cards 11–13).