How to Play Nines Solitaire

A luck-based pairing game where you discard single Nines or pairs of cards totaling nine, or build cards up onto the foundations. The rules are simple, making it an easy game to pick up for quick, casual play.

Setup

1. Tableau has 9 piles with 1 card each
2. Four foundation piles start empty, each ready to build upward from an Ace in the same suit
3. Stock holds remaining cards
4. Only the top card of each tableau pile is available
5. When a tableau pile empties, it's immediately refilled with the top stock card

How to play

• Identify single Nines or pairs that total nine (Ace + 8, 2 + 7, 3 + 6, 4 + 5)
• Remove an uncovered Nine on its own, or drag one uncovered card onto another uncovered card that pairs with it to remove both
• You can also drag a tableau card onto a foundation pile to build it up by rank in the same suit, starting from an Ace
• Every card involved in a removal or foundation move must be uncovered (no buried cards above it)
• When a tableau pile empties, the next stock card is placed there automatically
• Continue until no more valid pairs or foundation moves remain

How to win

Objective: Clear all cards from the tableau by removing single Nines, pairs totaling nine (Ace = 1), or building cards up onto the foundations.

Win when all cards are removed, either paired off, removed as single Nines, or built up onto the foundations. You're stuck if no uncovered card can be paired, played to a foundation, or removed as a Nine.

Tips

• Nines are highly valuable—save them for when you're stuck and need a removal
• Use the foundations as a second way to clear a stuck card when no pair is available
• This is a luck-heavy game, so focus on finding all valid moves each turn rather than deep planning

Play Nines free on Windows

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

• Tens Out — A streamlined matching game where you eliminate pairs of cards that total 10 or pairs of face cards (10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings).
• Triple Fourteens — Remove all cards from the board by pairing them to sum 14.
• Double Fourteens — Clear the board by removing pairs of cards that add up to 14.
• Eighteens — This pairing game asks you to clear the board by dragging together any two uncovered cards that add up to 18.
• 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.