Accordion

Idle Year, Methuselah, Tower of Babel

For 1 Player — Level: Difficult

Play: Start by dealing the cards one at a time face up in a row of four from left to right. Go slowly, so that you can keep comparing the cards you deal with their neighbours. Whenever a card matches the card on its left — or third to the left — you move the new card over onto the one it matches. The match may be in suit or rank.

Let’s say that the first four cards you turn up are:

The 8 of Spades matches the 8 of Clubs (on its left) and also the 5 of Spades (third to the left). You could move it onto either one. Which one will turn out better? You really can’t tell at this point.

Once you move a card over, though, the card on the bottom doesn't have any more significance. The card on top is the one to match.

As soon as you move a card — or a pile — move the later cards over to close up the sequence. That will open up new moves for you, too.

Go on dealing cards, one at a time, stopping after each one to make whatever moves are possible, until you’ve used up all the cards.

For example, suppose that you deal:

You can move the 2 of Clubs onto the 2 of Hearts. Then close up the row. The 5 of Clubs moves next to the 2s. It’s a Club, and that’s a match! But, once you move the 5 over onto the 2 of Clubs, another move opens up: You can move the entire pile over onto the 5 of Spades, which is the third card to the left. So, the cards look like this:

To win the game: Get the whole pack into one pile. It’s almost impossible. If you end up with five piles, you’re doing pretty well.

From '101 Favourite Card Games for One'.
© 1992 Sheila Anne Barry.