Accordion is one of the simplest solitaire games to learn and one of the hardest to win. You deal cards in a row and fold them together like a squeezebox. The goal is to end with a single pile. Here is how to play it the right way.
- Accordion uses one deck dealt into a single long row of cards.
- You move a card onto the one to its left, or three places to its left.
- A move is legal only if the two cards share a suit or a rank.
- The goal is to squeeze the whole deck down to one pile, which is rare.
What Accordion is
Accordion goes by a few names, like Idle Year and Methuselah. The idea is always the same. You have one long row of cards, and you fold them inward until, with luck and skill, only one pile is left. The name comes from the way the row shrinks and stretches like the bellows of an accordion.
It is a solo game with no foundations and no building up by suit. That makes it very different from Klondike Solitaire, where you sort cards into neat suit piles. Accordion is more of a chain puzzle. It is not hosted on our site, so you play it with a real deck, but it is easy to set up anywhere.
Setting up the game
The setup could not be easier.
- Shuffle one full deck of 52 cards.
- Deal cards face-up in a row, left to right. You can deal them all at once or one at a time as you play.
- Leave room to slide cards together, since the row will shrink.
Many players deal one card at a time. That way the row is shorter and easier to read. Others deal the whole row first. Both work. If you are new to card games in general, a quick look at the basic solitaire rules helps you get comfortable with terms like rank and suit.
The two moves you can make
There are only two legal moves in Accordion, and both go to the left.
- Move one card left. Place a card on top of the card directly to its left.
- Move three cards left. Place a card on top of the card three spots to its left.
But you can only make the move if the two cards match in one way. They must share the same suit, or the same rank. For example, a 7 of hearts can land on any other heart, or on any other 7. If neither matches, you cannot make that move.
When you move a card onto a pile, you move the whole pile as one unit from then on. Only the top card of each pile counts for matching. Close the gap so the row stays tight, and keep folding.
A quick example
Say your row starts like this, left to right:
| Position | Card |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9 of clubs |
| 2 | 4 of hearts |
| 3 | 2 of spades |
| 4 | 9 of hearts |
The 9 of hearts in spot 4 can jump three spots left onto the 9 of clubs in spot 1, because both are 9s. Now spot 1 holds a small pile topped by the 9 of hearts. The row slides in, and you keep looking for the next match. Small chains like this are how you shrink the deck.
Tips to fold more cards
Winning Accordion all the way to one pile is very rare. Even so, good habits help you fold far more cards.
- Prefer the three-card jump. A move that skips three spots often keeps more matches open than a simple one-step move.
- Look before you fold. A quick move can block a better one. Scan the row first.
- Undo and retry. If your app allows it, use undo to test a line. Playing the same deal a few ways teaches you the traps.
- Do not chase every match. Sometimes leaving two cards apart sets up a longer chain later.
Because so much depends on the shuffle, some deals simply cannot be won. That is true of many games. If you like the idea of games where some deals are dead from the start, the piece on whether all solitaire games are winnable is a fun read.
Playing Accordion the right way
Playing Accordion the right way means slowing down before each fold. Deal your row, remember the two moves, and only match on suit or rank. Favor the three-spot jump, scan for what a move blocks, and use undo to learn each deal. You will not win every game, and that is fine. The joy is in the folding, in watching a long row squeeze down toward that single, perfect pile. Try a few deals, and you will feel the puzzle click. When you want a change, the list of solitaire games has plenty more to try.