Marina Golf

French deck · 52 cardsGolf-style chains

Shuffling the cards…

Marina Golf is a golf-style patience on the French deck: seven columns, one pile, and the whole game is choosing which neighbouring value to play next.

Rules

Thirty-five cards are dealt face up in seven columns of five. One card starts the pile and sixteen stay in the stock.

Move the bottom card of any column onto the pile when it is one value higher or lower than the top card. Suits do not matter.
Values run Ace, 2 … 10, Jack, Queen, King, with no wrap-around: an Ace never goes on a King, nor a King on an Ace.
When no column card fits, turn the next stock card onto the pile. The stock is used only once.
Clear all seven columns to win.

Strategy and tips

Read three cards ahead
Every move changes the top of the pile. Before playing, look at the bottom cards of all seven columns and trace two or three steps forward, not just the next one.
Kings and Aces are corners
A King accepts only a Queen and an Ace only a 2. When the pile turns into a King or an Ace, the chain usually stops, so play those cards when you have nothing better left.
Keep choices in many columns
If all the useful cards sit in one column, a single wrong card blocks them. Spread your moves so that several columns keep a playable bottom card.
Don't turn the stock early
Sixteen stock cards are all the help you get. Turn one only when no column card fits; every card turned too early is a lost chance later.
Prefer the deeper column
When two moves are equal, take the card from the column with more cards left. Short columns finish themselves; long ones are what make a deal impossible.

Numbered deals of Marina Golf

Thirty fixed deals of Marina Golf, each won by the solver before it was listed. Start with an easy one or jump straight to the hard ones.

All 30 deals by difficulty

Questions and answers

Why does golf feel so hard?

Many random golf deals cannot be won however you play. Here, with “Only winnable deals” on, every new deal has been won by the solver first, and so have the daily deal and the numbered deals. Even so, golf deals are tight: to find our 30 numbered deals, the solver went through 136 shuffles.

Can a Queen go on a King?

Yes. A King accepts a Queen, and a Queen accepts a Jack or a King. There is just no step between the King and the Ace.

Is there a score?

There are no points. The game counts time and moves, and your statistics keep the best time, the fewest moves and your win streak.

Can I undo after turning a stock card?

Yes. Undo works for every move, including stock turns, and it survives a page reload.

Go further

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Marina Golf

Rules

Strategy and tips

Read three cards ahead

Kings and Aces are corners

Keep choices in many columns

Don't turn the stock early

Prefer the deeper column