Accordion Solitaire Questions and Answers
Find the rules behind the board and the answers to common questions. For step-by-step illustrations, open the how-to guide.
What is the goal?
Bring all 52 cards into one pile with no cards left to deal. A single pile before the stock is empty does not count as a win.
What does one or three positions mean?
Count occupied piles in the current sequence. You can move onto the immediately preceding pile or leap over two piles onto the third preceding pile. Pile size does not affect the count.
Can I move right or two positions?
No. Standard moves go one or three positions earlier in the sequence. A rank or suit match at any other distance is insufficient.
Does matching color count?
No. Match the exact suit or rank of the top cards. A heart and diamond match only if their ranks also match.
Does the entire pile move?
Yes. All cards underneath travel with the top card. The moving pile goes on top of the destination, then its old position disappears.
Can buried cards become visible again?
Not through a normal move. Piles move whole, so buried cards remain covered. Undo can restore an earlier position where they were visible.
Can moves cross rows?
Yes. The rows display one ordered sequence. The last pile of a row is immediately before the first pile of the next row. Count one or three occupied piles backward in the sequence, regardless of row boundaries. The board closes gaps after each move.
How do the two modes differ?
Open deals all 52 cards face up at the start. Deal as you go starts with one card and lets you add the next at any time. Both use the same matching rules; there is no redeal.
Must I move before dealing another card?
No. Our gradual mode allows dealing even when a merge is available. Historical compulsory-play versions impose additional restrictions and are not the mode used here.
Why can a legal move make things worse?
It covers a top card permanently on the current path and changes pile distances. A useful future match may disappear. Compare destinations and use undo to explore another branch.
Is every deal winnable?
We do not guarantee it. Reported success depends on rules and methods, and this game does not run a solver before dealing. Getting stuck only establishes that your current position has no continuation.
What happens when no moves remain?
If cards remain in the stock, deal another. If the stock is empty and multiple piles remain, try undo or begin a new game. Fewer final piles is a better result.
What do New Game, Undo, and Hints do?
Undo reverses the latest merge or dealt card back to the start. New Game shuffles a new deal in your current mode. Hints is a toggle: when on, selecting a pile highlights its legal destinations; when off, placement hints and destination counts are hidden. It never selects a source or makes a move for you. The setting is remembered in this browser and does not change your undo history.
Are the other variations playable here?
This release offers Open and Deal as you go. The how-to discusses Revenge, different leap distances, Concertina, 23 Skidoo, compulsory play, and the related Royal Marriage game as further reading.