Away from the screen
Play Accordion with a real deck
Remove the jokers from one standard 52-card deck. You need a broad surface, although the line may wrap into several physical rows as long as you preserve one continuous left-to-right order.
Keep counting through a wrapped row. Physical line breaks do not reset which pile is immediately left or third left.
Lay out the open line
- Shuffle the deck and turn every card face up.
- Place the cards left to right as 52 separate, single-card piles. Do not overlap neighboring piles in a way that hides their order.
- When space runs out, continue on the next physical row while treating the sequence as one unbroken line.
Rules version 1.0.0
Accordion rules
Compare only top cards
A pile acts as its top card. Cards buried in that pile do not take part in later matches.
Match one pile to the left
Move a pile onto the pile immediately to its left when the two top cards share a rank or share a suit.
Or match three piles to the left
The same rank-or-suit match is legal when the destination is exactly three current pile positions to the left.
Move the entire pile
Lift the whole source pile onto the destination without splitting or reordering it. The source pile's top card remains the new top card.
Close the gap and count again
Shift every pile to the right of the vacated space one position left. Legal distances always use the new current positions.
Choose any legal move
If several moves are available, including both distances from one source, you may choose among them. This version does not force a third-left or nearest move.
How the deal ends
You win only when all 52 cards occupy one pile. If two or more piles remain and none can move, the deal is stalled; this version does not count a small remainder as a win.
Think after the gap closes
Accordion strategy
Before taking an immediate match, check whether that source also reaches a third-left pile. The two choices reshape the line differently.
Every merge closes a gap. Look at which top cards will become one and three positions apart after the move.
A top card whose rank or suit appears among nearby tops may support more follow-up choices than an isolated match.
A legal move can still lead to a short branch. Undo lets you compare alternatives; the hint offers one legal move, not a guarantee of the best path.
Before you compress
Common mistakes
- Matching by color. Red on red is not enough; the top cards must share their exact suit or rank.
- Moving only the top card. The complete source pile moves as one packet and keeps its internal order.
- Counting old positions. After every gap closes, immediate-left and third-left relationships must be recalculated.
- Assuming move precedence. Rules version 1.0.0 lets the player choose any legal move; the hint is only a suggestion.
- Calling five piles a win. Partial-success rules exist elsewhere, but this game requires exactly one pile.
Choose the rules before the deal
Accordion variants
Published versions differ about deal timing, forced moves, and partial success. This table keeps those choices fixed so a saved deal always returns to the same puzzle.
Some tables reveal cards gradually and pause for moves. It is not enabled here: version 1.0.0 begins with all 52 piles face up.
Some rule sets require a move or prefer the third-left match. Version 1.0.0 leaves every legal choice to the player.
Some descriptions recognize a small number of remaining piles. Here, one pile is a win and any immovable larger remainder ends the deal without a win.
The game checks every move, but it does not claim that every shuffled deal can be won.