How to Play Fifteens Solitaire

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. The goal: Clear every card off the grid. Remove two uncovered cards that add up to 15 (Aces count as 1), or build a card onto a foundation pile in ascending same-suit order (Kings wrap back to Aces).

Setup

1. Sixteen cards are dealt face-up into a 4x4 tableau grid, one card per pile
2. The remaining 36 cards sit in the stock and feed into the tableau automatically as spaces open, with no way to redeal them
3. Four foundation piles start empty, ready to hold same-suit runs

How to play

• Move one uncovered tableau card onto another that adds up to 15 with it (Ace = 1) to remove both to the discard pile
• Move a tableau card onto an empty foundation pile to start it, then keep adding the next card up in the same suit (King wraps back to Ace)
• When you clear a tableau card, the empty space is immediately refilled with the top card from the stock until the stock runs out
• Only the top card from a pile can be moved. The top card of a foundation pile can also be pulled off to pair with an uncovered tableau card that adds up to 15
• Keep pairing and building foundations until the whole grid is empty

How to win

Objective: Clear every card off the grid. Remove two uncovered cards that add up to 15 (Aces count as 1), or build a card onto a foundation pile in ascending same-suit order (Kings wrap back to Aces).

You win once all sixteen tableau spaces are cleared. You're stuck when no two cards add to 15 and no card can extend a foundation pile.

Tips

• Scan for pairs that add up to 15 first, such as a 9 and a 6, or an 8 and a 7
• Since foundation piles wrap from King back around to Ace, you can start one with any card without wasting potential
• Plan a move or two ahead, since clearing one card can open up new pairs or foundation plays

Play Fifteens free on Windows

CardTray is a free solitaire app for Windows that includes Fifteens 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:

• 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).
• Nines — A luck-based pairing game where you discard single Nines or pairs of cards totaling nine, or build cards up onto the foundations.
• Tens Out — A streamlined matching game where you eliminate pairs of cards that total 10 or pairs of face cards (10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings).