Accordion Solitaire Instructions

JSolitaire home page: http://www.idiotsdelight.net/

Overview

In accordion solitaire, the objective is to compress a spread-out deck so that only the topmost card is visible. Accordion is notoriously difficult to win using the standard rules, but some options have been added which should make victory attainable in one's lifetime.

Layout

The entire deck is spread out horizontally at the beginning of a game. Some cards might not be visible if the screen size is less than 1024 x 800. The screen size option (see Options below) can adjust the interval between cards so that all cards fit on the screen.

Compressing the Stack

The stack is compressed by moving cards from right to left, placing them on top of other cards in the stack. To move a card within the stack, simply click on the card and then click on the card the moved card will cover. The moved card and the card it is placed upon must have the same suit or rank. The default options allow a card to be placed on top of a card immediately to its left or a card three cards to its left (there will be two cards between the moved card and its destination). When a card is moved, all other cards which the card has are moved along with it. The allowed intervals can be altered (see below).

Options

Clicking on the options button will bring up a dialog box with the following options:

Allowed Moves: This option sets the allowed distances that a card can be moved. If all boxes are set, a card can be placed upon any of the six cards to its left (if the suit or rank are the same.) The default settings allow movement upon the card immediately to the left or three cards to the left. Allowing more distances increases the likelihood of victory.
Screen Size: This option will shrink the interval between cards so all cards will fit in the given screen size. If the gaps between cards are too small to easily determine the identity of the buried cards, the scrollbar can be used to view all parts of the stack.

Click here for information about common options and buttons

History

Version 2.0.0 (2002/12/03): Variable card sizes, backgrounds and card backs added.
Version 1.0 (2001/06/23): First public release