How to play Accordion Solitaire

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How to play Accordion Solitaire

Accordion is a one-player patience game with a simple goal and a famously low win rate: deal the whole deck into a single row, then squash it into one pile by matching suits or ranks.

Dealing

Deal cards one at a time from the stock into a row, left to right. You can make moves whenever you like between deals.

Moving a pile

A card (with the pile under it) can move onto the card directly to its left, or three places to its left, when the two cards share a suit or a rank.

Winning

You win when all 52 cards sit in a single pile. That is rare — finishing with under 10 piles is considered a strong game.

Tips from the table

  • When a card can go either one or three places left, jumping three usually opens more chances.
  • Don't make a move just because you can — sometimes waiting for the next card sets up a longer chain.
  • Use undo to test both options; your fewest-piles finish is saved as a personal best.