Accordion Solitaire: A Beginner's Guide to Playing

How to Play Accordion Browse the article How to Play Accordion

How to Play Accordion

Even if you are not musical, you can while away idle moments playing Accordion, the popular solitaire card game. This game is quick and requires only a small space. Here's how to play:

Card Term GlossaryHere's a quick reference for some of the card language you will find in this article.

Match: To equate by being of the same rank (or by another criterion).

Tableau: In solitaire, the layout of cards on the playing surface, not including the foundations.

For a complete listing of card terminology, click here.

Object: To form one faceup pile.

The cards: Standard 52-card deck

Dealing to the tableau: Shuffle the cards, and deal them one at a time faceup into a single row from left to right. Because the row usually becomes quite long, you may want to create more than one row, but still treat the split row as one row.

Playing: As you play, match cards by rank or suit at any time using the following rules:

1. If the card is next to another card of the same suit or rank, move the rightmost card on top of the leftmost card.
   
   
2. If two cards are in between the two matched cards, move the rightmost card on top of the leftmost card, leaping over the two cards in between.
   
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   You can place the 5 either on top of the 5 or the Q.

It is not necessary to make a match for each card you deal, but when you do, pile one card on top of another matched card, moving leftward. Once you've made a pile, treat it as a single card.

When a newly turned card gives you two choices of moves, make whichever seems right. Don't expect to create a single pile often; this game is even more difficult to win than Klondike, another solitaire game.

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