Both the setup and gameplay for Aces Up is straightforward and easy, with very few rules. A standard deck of playing cards (with the Jokers removed) is shuffled and dealt to the game board. Four columns with slight space between each column is dealt a single face up card. The remaining cards are placed in a pile face down and are used as the Stock Pile.

After the game has been set up, your objective is to completely clear the Tableau of all cards except for the four Aces. To clear cards from the columns, you must scan the board for multiple cards of the same suit. At this point, you are able to remove cards of lower value than others of the same suit, with a caveat. When identifying same suit cards, both cards must be playable (i.e. no cards atop of them) for them to be in-play. For example, in the opening deal, if there is a Q♣️, 5♥️, 10♦️, and 7♥️ on the board, you are able to remove the 5♥️ because no cards are atop the 5♥️ or 7♥️ and the 7♥️ is higher than the 5♥️.

Cards can be freely moved to an empty column when available, however this is the only type of card movement allowed in Aces Up. When no moves are available, you are able to tap the Stock Pile to place one face up card in each column. The game is won when all cards except for the four Aces are removed from the game board and the Stock Pile. If Aces are the only cards remaining and they are stacked, they are automatically animated to empty spots on the Tableau and the round is won.