How do you play Golf Solitaire?
Golf Solitaire is a one player card game where you clear 35 cards laid out in seven columns of five by playing cards exactly one rank higher or lower than the top card of the waste pile. Suits do not matter, and only the bottom card of each column is available.
Thirty five cards go on the table and the other 17 form the stock. The game flips the first stock card onto the waste to start. If the waste shows a 7 you may take a 6 or an 8; take the 6 and you are now looking for a 5 or a 7. The longer the chain, the faster the table empties. When nothing fits, flip the next stock card to get a fresh starting point. Once the stock is empty and no card can be played, the hole is over and the cards still on the table are your score.
What are the three rule options?
They differ only in how Kings and Aces behave. Pick King stop, Standard or A·K wrap on the title screen; each has its own par per hole.
| Rule | What it means | Par per hole |
|---|---|---|
| King stop (classic) | Nothing may be played on a King. A King on the waste forces a stock flip, so this is the hardest. | 7 |
| Standard | Ace and King are the ends: only a 2 goes on an Ace and only a Queen goes on a King. The daily deal uses this rule. | 5 |
| A·K wrap | King leads to Ace and Ace leads to King, so chains never hit a wall. The easiest option. | 3 |
How is Golf Solitaire scored like golf?
Your strokes for a hole are the cards left on the table. Clear all 35 and each card still in the stock counts as one stroke under zero. A 9 hole round adds the nine holes together and compares the total with par, and lower is better.
Each hole gets a golf name such as birdie, par or bogey, marked with circles and squares on the scorecard like a real one. Clearing the table is always a hole in one. Here is a sample Standard rules card (par 5 per hole):
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 45 |
| Cards left | 3 | 6 | −2 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 37 |
| Result | Eagle | Bogey | Hole in one | Par | Triple bogey | Birdie | Albatross | Double bogey | Par | −8 |
The −2 on hole 3 means the table was cleared with 2 stock cards to spare. The round totals 37, eight under par 45.
What is the difference between the round, single deal and daily deal?
A 9 hole round chains nine fresh deals into one total, a single deal is one hand on its own, and the daily deal gives everyone the same layout for the whole day.
Before the daily deal is served, a solver searches it move by move and only deals that can be cleared completely are used. If you finish the daily deal with cards left, a better order existed somewhere. Finishing it marks your daily streak, and sharing the result sends friends the very same deal. Single deal share links also open the same layout.
How can I lower my score?
- Look for the longest chain. When two cards fit, count how many more cards follow each one and take the longer road. Leaving one of two matching ranks behind often bridges the next chain.
- Dig into tall columns. A column of five stays locked until its bottom card moves. With equal chains, take from the column with more cards.
- Clear Kings and Aces early. Under Standard rules a King only connects to a Queen and an Ace only to a 2, so end ranks left at the bottom of a column tend to trap the cards above them.
- Look again before flipping the stock. You have only 17 stock cards, every flip breaks your chain, and unused stock cards become strokes under zero when you clear the table.
- Learn with Undo and Hint. The hint shows the first move of a full clear when the solver finds one, otherwise the start of the longest chain.
What is a chain?
Taking cards one after another without flipping the stock builds a chain, shown above the waste. At 3, 5 and 7 in a row the chime climbs a note and the sparkles grow.
Chains do not add points, but a long chain is the quickest way to empty the table, so your strokes drop with it. The result screen shows your longest chain of the hand.
Controls
- Mouse: playable bottom cards glow softly. Click one to send it to the waste, or drag it onto the waste. Click the stock to flip a card.
- Phones and tablets: a single tap takes a card. In portrait the waste and stock are drawn larger.
- Keyboard: 1 to 7 take from that column, or pick a column with ← → and press Enter. Space or ↓ flips the stock, Z undoes, H gives a hint and M toggles sound.
- Buttons: Undo, left of the stock, works as many times as you like; Hint, on the right, highlights the next move.
Best scores and clear counts are stored per rule in this browser only. The cards, grass, flags and sound effects are all drawn and synthesized in code, so there is nothing extra to download.