Set up six columns
Deal 22 cards into six tableau columns: four cards in each outer column and three in each of the two middle columns. Only the top card of each column starts face up. The remaining 30 cards make the face-down stock.
Suited solitaire · 1 player
Autumn
Leaves.
Six columns, five extra deals and one aim: gather every suit into a complete King-to-Ace run.
Created by Toby Ord ↗
Six columnsBuild down in suit · Move to any higher card of the same suit
Choose a run, then a column.
Tap any face-up card in a consecutive descending run of the same suit. All cards above it move with it. A highlighted column accepts the run. An empty column accepts any card or valid run.
Recent moves
01 How to play
A little room
to breathe.
Autumn Leaves is a one-player game with a standard 52-card deck. You win by arranging the whole deck into four complete suited columns.
Move in the same suit
Move the top card of a column onto a card of the same suit with a higher rank. The ranks need not be adjacent: a 4♥ may go on a 7♥. When a face-down card becomes the top card, turn it face up.
Carry a complete run
You may move several cards together when they already form a consecutive descending sequence in one suit, such as 7♠–6♠–5♠. The first card of the moving run must fit the destination. Cards with a gap or different suit cannot move together.
Use empty columns
If a column becomes empty, you may fill it with any available card or valid run. Empty space is valuable because it lets you rearrange runs and expose cards that would otherwise stay buried.
Deal from the stock
At any time, deal six cards from the stock, one face-up card onto each column, including empty columns. You can do this five times. There is no stock reset and no requirement to fill empty columns before dealing.
Complete four suits
Win when the stock is empty and four columns contain one complete suit each, from King down to Ace. Finished runs remain on the table; they are not removed. If the stock is empty and no legal move remains, the game is over.
02 History & variants
A different
kind of patience.
Modern design
Autumn Leaves was invented by Toby Ord, who explains the game in his original illustrated guide. It shares the goal of assembling long suited sequences with Spider, but its six-column layout and one-suit movement give it a distinct rhythm. A single exposed card can move onto any higher card in its suit, creating openings that strict one-rank building would not allow.
The challenge comes from choosing when to deal. Every new row covers useful top cards, yet it also brings six more cards into play. Empty columns help you make room for the next deal and reorganise long runs.
How this version plays
This table follows the single-deck form: 22 tableau cards, 30 stock cards and five deals. You can select only a complete descending run of one suit, and the destination highlights when it can accept that run. The game tracks all 52 cards in the six columns; complete suits remain there until the win.
No separate named variant is documented in the rules used for this version. The related game Spider uses more columns and a different approach to dealing and moving cards.